Ted Chapin, the President and Chief Creative Officer of The Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization for the past 40 years, will step away from the post at the end of his current contract this month, Scott Pascucci, CEO of Concord, announced today.
“It’s astonishing to me just how fast time passes when you love what you do,” Chapin said in a statement. “I can’t help but feel that, over the course of our time together, this incredible organization and I have helped each other grow and flourish in ways that could never have been anticipated 40 years ago.”
Chapin is credited with expanding what was a family business into the company responsible for management of the significant copyrights created by Richard Rodgers and/or Oscar Hammerstein II and others. On Chapin’s watch, new major productions of Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals on Broadway have won eight Tony Awards for Best Musical Revival, including On Your Toes, Carousel, Show Boat, Annie Get Your Gun, South Pacific, The King and I (twice), and Oklahoma!
“Ted’s experience, deep knowledge, and steadfast guidance have been a vital part of the successful Rodgers & Hammerstein heritage and integration of the catalog into Concord since 2017, when we acquired Imagem,” said Pascucci, adding he has “full confidence in the vibrant and experienced Concord team continuing to champion R&H, one of the jewels of our portfolio.”
In addition to revivals, Chapin has helped develop new, original Broadway productions including Irving Berlin’s White Christmas, Rodgers + Hammerstein’s Cinderella, State Fair, A Grand Night for Singing, and Holiday Inn, as well as major, highly rated television productions like The Sound of Music Live! on NBC and Cinderella, starring Whitney Houston, on ABC.
Chapin will continue his roles as chairman of the Kurt Weill Foundation, co-chair of the American Theatre Wing and will serve on the boards of New York City Center and Goodspeed Musicals.