York Theater Artistic Director Out After ‘Hurtful’ Diversity Comments

James Morgan, who has been with the small New York theater company for 50 years, blamed the effects of a stroke for his behavior.

The longtime leader of the York Theater Company, a small New York nonprofit known for its emphasis on musical theater, is acknowledging making “hurtful” comments about diversity that he says prompted his abrupt departure from the organization.

James Morgan, who has served as producing artistic director of the York since 1979, and who has been with the company for 50 years, issued a letter on Monday saying that he had suffered a stroke in 2022, and attributed his behavior to that medical incident.

“During a recent staff meeting, I responded to a colleague’s concerns about the diversity of our audiences in a way that was inappropriate and hurtful,” Morgan wrote in the letter. “The words came out — at a raised volume that has been one of the side effects of the stroke — differently than I intended them.”

The York is a niche company, founded in 1969, that operates out of a church on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. During fiscal 2023, it had an annual budget of $2.2 million, according to a filing with the Internal Revenue Service; Morgan was paid a salary of $95,000.

On Friday at 5 p.m., the company issued a news release saying that Morgan had “resigned from his duties, effective immediately.” Jim Kierstead, the board’s president, raised the diversity issue in his statement in the news release, saying, “We will soon be announcing plans for a future filled with diversity, talent, and musical theater in order to continue our long legacy of supporting artists of all backgrounds.”

It quickly became clear that Morgan’s departure had been preceded by the resignation of Gerry McIntyre, the theater’s associate artistic director.

In a letter circulated to board members and posted on Facebook, McIntyre said his resignation came after he had “noticed that there were no people of color or any youth demographic” at a pair of shows he had seen on a single day at the York recently, so he brought up the lack of audience diversity at a video staff meeting. Morgan, he said, “started to yell at me.”

One of the shows McIntyre had attended, and where he said he witnessed an audience that lacked diversity, was a one-night production of a Noël Coward work; McIntyre quoted Morgan saying “I want you to find anyone who would like this except this audience.” McIntyre added, “I thought to myself, so people of color don’t like or know Noël Coward? His comment immediately struck me as racist.”

Neither McIntyre nor Morgan immediately responded to requests for comment, but in his letter, Morgan said: “There’s no question I was being defensive. I’ve tried to make diversity a consideration in everything we do — our programming, our outreach, our hiring, our everything. Were we late coming to the table? Yes. Could we — should we — have been doing more? Always. So, I am heartsick that the words that came out of my mouth reflected the exact opposite of how I feel.”

He added, “I’ve also learned that my aphasia, an after-effect of the stroke, has caused hurt and misunderstandings among the staff. I should have realized that sooner. Whether because of ego or stubbornness — or maybe just cluelessness — I didn’t. And I apologize.”