St. Paul’s Park Square Theatre announced Monday the hire of new executive artistic director Stephen DiMenna and plans to reopen its doors for the 2024-25 season.

“Stephen brings to Park Square Theatre a wealth of expertise over the last three decades,” said board president Mark Howlett in a news release. “After a time of strategic assessment by our organization, we are now in a place to execute our proactive vision, and Stephen is the right person to lead us going forward.”

Park Square canceled five of its planned shows this year, citing the pandemic and slow ticket sales. The company’s sole 2023 play was “The Revolutionists,” a co-production with PRIME Productions that ran in April.

DiMenna has theater experience in both the Twin Cities and New York City and currently teaches acting for musical theater at the University of Minnesota. He was associate artistic director of St. Paul’s History Theatre from 1989 to 1995 and has directed productions for numerous local theaters including the Guthrie Theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, Theatre in the Round, Minnesota Opera and Children’s Theatre Company.

“Park Square has a long and distinguished legacy and a committed board and group of amazing supporters,” DiMenna said. “I’m honored to build upon that legacy and move forward as we produce some of the best plays and musicals in contemporary American theater and beyond.”

DiMenna is currently planning the next season, which is set to open September 2024, with a theme of “Celebrating New Beginnings,” featuring plays about redemption, renewal and rebirth. The season will be announced this winter.

Park Square is also starting a new event series dubbed Live at the Square. The ongoing series of performances and social events will be produced alongside its regular season of plays and musicals.

The first Live at the Square event is “Holiday Hot Chocolate,” a jazz concert featuring locals Thomasina Petrus and T. Mychael Rambo that runs Dec. 15 and 16. Tickets are $35 and are available via parksquaretheatre.org.

Park Square started in 1975 with 70 seats and has grown to a multi-stage, 550-seat professional theater. In August 2020, Park Square and SteppingStone Theatre for Youth announced they were becoming partners due to prepandemic debt issues. SteppingStone later moved into Park Square’s home in the historic Hamm Building in downtown St. Paul.

Related Articles

Musical theater review: So much flavor to savor in History Theatre’s ‘I Am Betty’

Holiday arts guide: ‘Black Nativity,’ Dickens and the Grinch lead the holiday stage offerings

Theater review: Guthrie’s ‘A Christmas Carol’ lulls more than inspires

Lively revival of Stephen Sondheim’s ‘Company’ is sure to please Orpheum Theatre audiences

Review: Children’s Theatre’s ‘Grinch’ is funny, flamboyant, ultimately touching slice of Seuss