STEPHEN J. ALBERT (1951-2017) was Court Theatre’s Executive Director from 2010-2017. He was a founding partner in Albert Hall & Associates, LLC, a leading arts consulting firm. He led some of America’s most prestigious theatres, including the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group, Alley Theatre, and Hartford Stage Company. Albert began his career with the Mark Taper Forum/Center Theatre Group in Los Angeles where he worked in senior management positions for over a decade, rising to Managing Director. He went on to become Executive Director of Houston’s Alley Theatre where he led a turnaround that stabilized the organization, enabling the Alley to return to national standing, and drove a capital campaign that secured the organization’s future. At Hartford Stage, his partnership with Mark Lamos resulted in some of the theatre’s most successful seasons and reinforced Hartford Stage’s position at the forefront of the regional theatre movement. During his tenure in Hartford, Mr. Albert led the initiative to create a 25,000 square foot, state-of-the-art production center, securing the donation of the facility and the funding for its renovation. Albert served as president of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT) and as a board member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG). He wrote and produced a variety of productions for television, was an ACE award nominee, and was an associate producer of numerous acclaimed Broadway productions. He was a Senior Fellow with the American Leadership Forum, a graduate of the University of Southern California, and held an MBA from the UCLA Graduate School of Management. Stephen was also on the St. Thomas the Apostle Finance Committee.
On December 29, 2017, Court Theatre was deeply saddened to learn that Steve Albert, our friend and partner, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family.
From Court’s Artistic Director Charles Newell:
“For many years, we at Court had an idea and a plan of where we might go, and Steve brought creative, strategic thinking to help us achieve our goals. He was fond of saying his job lived at the intersection of ambition and reality. He believed in dreaming big and then figuring out how you could get even partially there. He became a dear, close friend and I am the better man for that.”