WOONSOCKET – Jennifer Webb will soon enter a more prominent role with the Stadium Theatre Performing Arts Center & Conservatory stage left.
The nonprofit performing arts organization announced Thursday that Webb, the Stadium’s current artistic director, will become its new CEO and executive director. Webb formally succeeds Cathy Levesque, who announced back in November that
she will retire in the first quarter of 2025 after leading the Stadium for 20 years.
The theater currently hosts multiple events weekly and attracts around 130,000 guests annually. In 2023, the theater welcomed 128,000 attendees, according to Providence Business News research.
“I am delighted to lead such a dedicated team and partner with our board on this next chapter,” Webb said in a statement.
The Stadium says Webb had appeared in both national and European tours of “A Chorus Line” with Troy Garza and Lois Englund, where she played Bebe and Diana Morales. Before becoming the Stadium’s artistic director – a role she has had since 2022 – Webb, the theater says, spent the past 15 years as a theater educator for the Shrewsbury [Mass.] Public Schools, where she was honored with the Superintendent’s Award for Excellence in Teaching.
Armand Desmarais, the Stadium’s board president, said in a statement that Webb’s experience being immersed in the theater’s philosophy “has prepared her for this role” of CEO and executive director.
“The board was impressed by her extensive experience and her numerous accolades,” Desmarais said. “The combination of her expertise in the arts along with her broad vision for the future will be a powerful recipe for continued growth and innovation at the Stadium.”
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on X at @James_Bessette.