History Of The Human Race

Our 40th anniversary season celebrated family in all its forms, with three world premieres and a full-circle moment when Bob Hetherington, who directed our very first production, Count Dracula, returned to direct Noël Coward’s Hay Fever. It all built to April 28, 2026, our 40th birthday to the day, when Certified Human Night: The Birthday Bash Edition took over the Loft Theatre for a night of 80s flair, games, a silent auction, and the reveal of our 41st season, Perception vs. Reality.

Photo: Certified Human Night: The Birthday Bash Edition, 2026; photo by Scotty D Studios

We refreshed our lobby to make the time before the curtain and during intermission feel as welcoming as the show itself, with new curved seating and room to gather around the concessions bar. Lobby comfort was provided by the Jack W. & Sally D. Eichelberger Foundation, Oakwood Rotary, Dayton Live, Michael Kammer, Shannon & Brian Carlson, Christine & Wilfred van Breukelen, Kappy Kilburn, Michael Roediger, Virgilio Acevedo, and Emily N. Wells & Chris Brislin.

In June 2023, Indigo had its world premiere on our stage, with music and lyrics by Scott Evan Davis and a book by Kait Kerrigan. Dayton went first, and the musical kept going: a UK premiere at Curve in Leicester in 2025, Rosie O’Donnell joining its producing team in 2026, and a London premiere planned for 2027. That same year we also premiered the British Invasion musical This is Tom Jones! and Reindeer Sessions by Eric Ulloa, the playwright behind 26 Pebbles, and in 2025 we opened our 40th season with the world premiere of Jake Lockwood’s comedy Dad’s Place.

Photo: The cast of Indigo, 2023; photo by Scott J. Kimmins

After a nationwide search and a unanimous vote by the search committee, Emily N. Wells was named The Human Race’s fourth Artistic Director, joining full time that March to plan the next season side by side with Kevin Moore. In May, beloved faces from our past and present filled the Victoria Theatre for a tribute performance honoring Kevin, who retired in June after 35 years with the company, from our first Executive Director to Artistic Director.

26 Pebbles is named “Best New Play of the Decade” by BroadwayWorld.com

Photo: The Cast of 26 Pebbles, 2017

The Human Race named “Best Local Theatre Group” by Dayton.com March 12, 2020, a worldwide pandemic forces closure of the Loft Theatre during the successful run of Gloria: A Life. During our closure, The Human Race produces three virtual projects: a virtual reading of a new play by local playwright Robb Willoughby, a virtual reading of a play by resident playwright Michael Slade, and a broadcast of our world premiere production of 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa.

Photo: The Cast of Gloria: A Life, 2020

We launched our 33rd season – celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the 19th Amendment: Women of Influence: Their Power, Passion & Pitfalls. Our musical production of LIZZIE rocked the Loft Theatre in June, and was named “Best Professional Musical of the Season” by Dayton Most Metro. In December. The Human Race workshopped a new play by Elizabeth von Trapp and Michael Slade called My Von Trapp Dream.

Photo: The Cast of LIZZIE, 2019

Tapping into local baseball history, we produced the world premiere of Banned From Baseball by Patricia O’Hara, about legendary “Hit King,” Pete Rose. In October, The Human Race Theatre Company added an Executive Director, Katherine “Kappy” Kilburn, to the team.

Photo: Katherine “Kappy” Kilburn

Produced world premiere productions of 26 Pebbles by Eric Ulloa, and Family Ties by Daniel Goldstein; produced the American premiere of the new musical Legendale by Andrea Daly and Jeff Bienstock.

Photo: The Case of Legendale, 2017

On April 28, we celebrated our 30th birthday.

Photo: Scott Stoney in Sweeney Todd, 1996

Michael Slade’s drama, Family Shots, had its world premiere with stars Corbin Bleu and Colleen Zenk.

Photo: The Cast of Family Shots, 2015

After workshopping the script for a number of years, The Human Race premiered the country musical Play It by Heart.

Photo: The Cast of Play it by Heart, 2014

We presented a stage-reading of Gingerbread Children by Michael Slade, the first of the newly formed Marsha Hanna New Play Workshops. Avenue Q set a new box office sales record in the Loft Theatre, only to have that record shattered in the fall by Fiddler on the Roof. The Human Race collaborated with Victoria Theatre Association in creating the Broadway Studio, a unique theatre summer camp for teens.

Photo: The Cast of Gingerbread Children in a workshop, 2013

The 25th Anniversary Campaign was renamed The Jesse and Caryl Philips Foundation Fund for the Development of New Works which included the newly formed Marsha Hanna Memorial Fund. We produced the world premiere of Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical for Victoria Theatre Association’s Broadway Series and co-produced the world premiere of the thriller Under a Red Moon by Michael Slade with the Carnegie Visual and Performing Arts Center in Covington, Kentucky.

Photo: Tory Ross in Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, 2012

The Human Race lost its Artistic Director, Marsha Hanna, in January after a lengthy battle with cancer. Executive Director Kevin Moore was named Producing Artistic Director and Company Manager Tara Lail was named Managing Director. 2011 marked the opening of our 25th Anniversary Season and the launching of the 25th Anniversary Campaign for the Development of New Works.

Photo: Marsha Hanna and Kevin Moore

The Human Race again collaborated with Wright State University to produce August: Osage County which was presented at WSU’s Festival Theatre. Resident Lighting Designer John Rensel was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame. Artistic Director Marsha Hanna and Executive Director Kevin Moore received the 2010 Ohio Governor’s Award for Arts Administration.

Photo: The Cast of August: Osage County, 2010

The Human Race again joined forces with Rhythm in Shoes to produce Brother Wolf, a traditional Appalachian retelling of the Beowulf myth. The scheduled production of Gem of the Ocean was postponed and replaced by the new musical Ethel Waters: His Eye Is on the Sparrow. The Miriam Rosenthal Foundation has underwritten our Musical Theatre initiative by supporting two summers of Lovewell and Musical Theatre Workshops as well as the revival of Man of LaMancha and the premiere of Ordinary Days.

Photo: Danielle Lee Greaves as Ethel Waters in His Eye is on the Sparrow, 2009

We completed our partnership with the Victoria Theatre Association and rejoined the two subscription series into the single Eichelberger Loft Season. The Musical Theatre Workshop held its first summer festival, performing two new shows in repertory along with performances by the new Lovewell Institute SummerStock where teens write, rehearse and perform their own original musical.

Photo: Lovewell SummerStock at The Loft Theatre

On April 28, we marked the 21st birthday of the company, a coming of age celebrated by “The Mirror Ball”, the company’s signature fundraising event. We began our third decade by premiering Stephen Schwartz’s Snapshots and instituted a scholarship fund in Mr. Schwartz’s name for high school and collegiate students pursuing a career in musical theatre.

Photo: The Cast of Snapshots, 2007

We began our 20th anniversary season. Kevin Moore was named to the board of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre. Resident Artist Kay Bosse was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.

Photo: Kay Bosse

The “Race to the Future” capital campaign was launched to raise funds for renovation and programming of the new Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center of The Human Race, a facility to house both the additional classes and the company’s collection of costumes and props.

Photo: Caryl D. Philips Creativity Center

The Human Race “Join the Race” 5K Run/Walk was introduced as a friend raiser. In the inaugural year of The DayTony Awards, The Human Race received 34 of 39 Awards in the Professional Theatre category. Resident Artist Scott Stoney was inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.

Photo: Scott Stoney

We commissioned and produced the world premiere of Wild Blue for the Inventing Flight celebration. Executive Director Kevin Moore and Artistic Director Marsha Hanna were both inducted into the Dayton Theatre Hall of Fame.

Photo: Kevin Moore and Marsha Hanna

West Side Story combined our talents with the Dayton Philharmonic, Dayton Ballet, Victoria Theatre and Wright State University for an epic collaboration with record-breaking ticket sales.

Photo: The Cast of West Side Story, 2001

We launched our Musical Theatre Workshops, dedicated to the development of new musical works for the stage (33 new musicals to date and 2 national summits for musical writers).

Photo: The Cast of Minneola Twins, 2000

We commissioned and produced the world premiere of Mother Russia by Jeffrey Hatcher and moved the show to Indianapolis and Chicago. This represented our 4th collaboration with The Phoenix Theatre of Indianapolis.

Photo: Deb Sargent Shaver in Mother Russia, 1999

We began our partnership with the Victoria Theatre Association. By splitting our subscription series into Loft Series 1 and Loft Series 2 and mixing locally produced theatre with innovative touring productions, we increased our subscription base by 100%. This partnership between a producer and a presenter was unique to the industry, setting a precedent in other cities.

Photo: Cast of Zombies from The Beyond, 1997

We premiered And That’s My Story as the completion of the Dayton Stories project, a 3-year collaboration with CityFolk in honor of the Dayton’s 200th anniversary. With an original script by Tony Dallas and directed by Sheila Ramsey, it featured the talents of Resident Artists Michael Lippert, Kay Bosse, and Scott Stoney as well as Sharon Leahy, Rick Good and other members of Rhythm in Shoes.

Photo: The Cast of And That’s My Story, 1996

The Human Race was accepted into Culture Works as a Level I constituent, establishing the company as an on-going recipient of community funds and insuring that a theatre production company would be a part of Dayton’s future cultural scene.

Negotiations were completed with Actors’ Equity, the union for professional actors and stage managers. We began our practice of combining our regional professional artists with visiting artists from Chicago, New York and other metropolitan areas.

Photo: The Human Race aligns with Actors’ Equity

Suzy retired from The Human Race to focus on the Muse Machine and Marsha Hanna was named as her successor. In June, we moved to our current home, the Loft Theatre in the Metropolitan Arts Center.

Photo: The Loft Theatre in the Metropolitan Arts Center

We produced and performed Viva Victoria to re-open the newly refurbished Victoria Theatre in January.

Photo: The Victoria Theatre

We moved into the renovated lobby of the old Biltmore Hotel, where we performed 19 major productions in four seasons.

Photo: The Cast of Baby, 1988

Suzy Bassani, Caryl D. Philips and Sara Exley joined forces to form Dayton’s own permanent professional theatre production company, incorporating it as The Human Race on April 28. The first production, Count Dracula, was performed at the old Victory Theatre in September. Kevin Moore became the first Executive Director.

Photo: Scott Stoney & Cherri Varnadoe in Count Dracula, 1986