“If you had asked the 16-year-old Kwofe that was pushing wheelchairs up the hill that this would be the case, at that point I had no idea,” said Kwofe Coleman, newly appointed managing director for The Muny.
At 36, Coleman is extremely young for the position he assumed last month – but he has 20 years of experience in a host of capacities at the world-renowned institution under his belt. He’s now a critical member of the leadership team as The Muny prepares to embark on its 101st season this summer.
He has risen from the ranks of teen usher to one of the top positions within the organization. A friend of the family worked there and introduced the Colemans to the organization. Coleman followed his older sister’s footsteps by coming to work there while he was still a student at SLU High.
“Twenty years is more than half of my life. This has been an essential part of my life since I was a child and for that reason, I feel well-equipped for this job,” Coleman said. “This place is an incubator for success across the board – on either side of the ‘curtain. ‘That’s why I can be 36 and be 20 years in. That’s why our president can be 50 years in at an institution that is 100 years old. Those things don’t just happen by chance.”
The Muny was his first job and his first internship while in college at Emory University in Atlanta. He says a huge part of his successful ascension can be traced to strong family values set by his parents, who came to the U.S. from Ghana.
“My parents sacrificed and stretched significantly to make sure my sisters and I could take advantage of every educational opportunity possible,” Coleman said. “As a result of that, I’m now in a position where I can now use that to positively affect the institution that I work in. Way before those 20 years, I was set on the right course by my parents.”
He worked his way up from aiding patrons from the aisles of the outdoor space in the heart of Forest Park to his previous role of marketing director before assuming the newly created position that has a critical role in taking the Muny into its next chapter – which includes a $100 million second century capital campaign.
“Kwofe is an incredibly talented individual who understands both the culture inside the institution and how The Muny interacts with the St. Louis community,” said Muny President and CEO Denny Reagan. “As we embark on our second century, it’s important to honor the past and just as important to ensure the future is sustainable and exciting. I am eager to see Kwofe step into this new role and continue the growth of The Muny’s mission.”
For the past 10 years, he’s been seen at Reagan’s side sharing in the opportunity to engage with the audience. His handshake and smile are as consistent as his blazer – regardless of the temperatures that St. Louis summers impose. Coleman said that Reagan, who began his career at the Muny as a teen picking up trash after performances, has given him invaluable lessons regarding how to treat people and helped shape his views on leadership.
“From my first job as an usher, when I interned in the finance department in college up through today, this institution has said, ‘we believe in you as an individual and as a part of what will move this place forward and along – and how can we support that?’” Coleman said. “And that’s from the president, board leadership and all the way through to my co-workers – who are this incredible team of people that I get to work with.”
Marketing, operations, fundraising, ticket sales and all administrative departments report to Coleman as managing director.
“We had Denny at the head. We had Mike Isaacson as the leader of the artistic side, but what we needed was something that was on that same level on the administrative side,” Coleman said. “Together the two of us can report up to Denny. On a day-to-day, it’s checking on a stream of projects and making sure they are moving in the same direction.”
As a black man, Coleman said that there is an additional sense of pride that comes with the notion that seeing him in the position will help everyone connect with the concept that The Muny is “everyone’s theater,’ especially in the black community.
“I hope that my role makes our efforts for diversity top-of-mind for people, but not necessarily that it’s all of sudden different – but recognize what already exists for the African-American community in this institution.”
Coleman said that from inside-out, The Muny represents an incredible level of diversity in all areas – from the top level and throughout the ranks – pointing to the Director of Advancement Courtney Simms as further evidence.
“I can stand at the side of that house – from the free seats to the first row of box seats – there is such a large swath of the socio-economic representation of the city in one place,” Coleman said. “And for two or three hours, or however long the show is, it doesn’t matter who you are, how you got there or whatever means you have, when you leave this place, there is a shared singular experience that everyone is having. And to play any part in that means more than anything else.”
He said St. Louis has a gem not just in The Muny – and its performing arts scene in general – and he’s thrilled to move the culture forward at the place responsible for his passion for the American art form that is musical theater.
“On a really basic, personal level, I grew up here,” Coleman said of The Muny. “What is a greater dream than to get to help lead the place that formed who you are? Professionally, what else can you ask for?”
For more information about The Muny’s upcoming 101st season, visit www.muny.org.
