Alexander Fraser (Credit: Bucks County Playhouse)
After 12 years at its helm, Alexander Fraser has announced he will step away from his role as producing director of Bucks County Playhouse in June 2026.
Fraser came to New Hope in 2014 after a producing career in New York on and off-Broadway. Enticing fellow producers Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler to join him, together they resurrected the theater’s long-dormant distinguished reputation.
“When I arrived, I found a beautifully restored theater with almost no audience and a skeptical community. Who knew this would turn into the job of a lifetime… working with Robyn and Josh to bring top-tier artists back to the Playhouse, and in turn attracting new audiences and bringing new life to New Hope,” Fraser said.
“The community has been incredibly supportive; during the pandemic we raised $2 million in a few months, allowing us to keep all our staff who have been invaluable to our success. Now that we’re back in full force, it’s a good time to get someone who’s full of new ideas while I take aim at a few of my own.”
Fraser will resume his work as a theater producer with a focus on new project development for musicals and nightclub experiences, as well as consulting partnerships. Goodman and Fiedler will also step away from the Playhouse to focus on their slate of upcoming Broadway productions.
“When my private foundation bought the Bucks County Playhouse in 2011, my intent was to bring Broadway back to New Hope,” said Kevin Daugherty, president of Bridge Street Foundation and chair of the Playhouse board from 2012 to 2023. “Alex arrived in 2014, with his relentless optimism, his Tony Award and his little three-legged dog. They quickly became beloved figures in our community. Over the next 10 years, we watched Alex, Robyn and Josh elevate the production standards to Broadway heights and sold-out shows. It was the consistent quality of these shows that led to New Hope’s resurgence as a travel destination. We’ve been lucky to have them here.”
The transformation of Bucks County Playhouse has been remarkable. Since 2014, the organization’s annual operating budget has grown from $2 million to $12.1 million, and average audience capacity expanded from 34% to 64%. Once a summer theater, the Playhouse now produces year-round, attracting more than 100,000 visitors to its campus annually.
The theater’s success has had an enormous economic impact in and around New Hope, attracting millions of dollars of investment in new luxury hotels and restaurants, as well as a real estate boom driven by a post-pandemic influx of urban transplants seeking serene locales with a rich cultural heritage.
According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, the Playhouse is now “the triumphant centerpiece of New Hope’s revival along the Delaware that has attracted developers, homebuyers, shoppers, and tourists” (Maureen Coulter, Philadelphia Magazine, Oct. 4, 2024).
“I’ve seen New Hope change a lot over my last 27 years as mayor… but nothing like what’s happened since Alex came to town: front and center in this community, bringing a vision of what we could be, along with a big sense of humor,” said New Hope Mayor Larry Keller.
At the heart of this transformation has been season after season of increasingly successful productions, education programs and new work development. Fraser, Goodman and Fiedler attracted top-tier creative teams and actors, ranging from established stars to newcomers who have gone on to make their Broadway debuts.
“Bucks County Playhouse gave me my first directing opportunity. Candace Bushnell’s “Is There Still Sex in the City?” transferred to off-Broadway and became a New York Times Critic’s Pick,” said director and choreographer Lorin Latarro (“Waitress” and the upcoming “Chess”). “Alex, Robyn and Josh create a magical artistic environment and foster Broadway-caliber work in one of the most beautiful places on Earth.”
The Playhouse board, with the support of Fraser, Goodman and Fiedler, has engaged Management Consultants for the Arts, with Shruti Adhar as lead consultant, to conduct a national search for the next artistic leader to join Managing Director Teresa Sanpietro and Executive Director Nicole Hackmann.
“We are forever in debt to Alex, Robyn and Josh for their tireless work in building a community around 11 seasons of extraordinary productions,” said Gayle Goodman, chair of the Playhouse board of directors. “They’ll be a tough act to follow… but they leave a strong foundation and a stellar opportunity for our next artistic leader.”
ABOUT BUCKS COUNTY PLAYHOUSE
Steeped in theatrical history dating back to its founding in 1939 by a roster of theatrical royalty, Bucks County Playhouse is celebrating the 13th anniversary of its 2012 reopening and restoration. With more than 75,000 patrons walking through its doors each year, the Playhouse continues to lead the economic resurgence of New Hope and the surrounding community.
In 2014, Tony Award-winning producers Alexander Fraser, Robyn Goodman and Josh Fiedler assumed leadership of the Playhouse, helping it reclaim its reputation for attracting top-tier Broadway and Hollywood talent. Productions of “Company,” starring Justin Guarini, and “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee” were named to The Wall Street Journal’s “Best of Theatre” list in 2015. In 2018, the Journal hailed the Playhouse as “one of the best regional theaters on the East Coast.”
Box office records have been repeatedly broken by signature productions including “Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story,” “Steel Magnolias” (directed by Marsha Mason), “Million Dollar Quartet,” “42nd Street,” “Guys & Dolls” and “Irving Berlin’s White Christmas” (all directed by Foster), as well as “Mamma Mia!” (directed by Artistic Associate John Tartaglia and choreographed by Shannon Lewis).
A brief pause during the pandemic did not diminish the theater’s momentum. The Playhouse continued producing both onstage and onscreen throughout 2020, culminating in a live summer season in 2021 that included “The Marilu Henner Show” and the world premiere of “Is There Still Sex in the City?,” directed by Lorin Latarro, which moved to New York and was named a New York Times Critic’s Pick.
The 2023 season featured standout productions such as “The Bridges of Madison County,” directed by Foster and starring Kate Baldwin and Nicholas Rodriguez; “The Rocky Horror Show,” starring Frankie Grande; and Jonathan Larson’s “Tick, Tick… Boom!,” directed by Artistic Associate Eric Rosen, who returned in 2024 to helm the audience and critical favorite “Anastasia: The Musical.” In 2024, more than 40% of the audience were first-time attendees.
The Playhouse continues to attract some of the most talented creative teams in professional theater—artists who relish the opportunity to work on the historic stage where Grace Kelly, Robert Redford and Jessica Walter began their careers.
