Nov. 6 – Lyndy Franklin Smith and Jeremy Smith, Co-founders, The Lexington Theatre Company

William Shakespeare famously noted in his play As You Like It that “All the world’s a stage.”  Performing for us today on the Rotary “stage” are Lyndy Franklin Smith and Jeremy Smith, co-founders and producing directors of The Lexington Theatre Company (The Lex).  Lyndy and Jeremy (who play a happily married couple in real life!) co-founded The Lex as a way to give back to the community and to the theatre industry.

Lyndy enjoyed a successful performance career in New York, appearing in the Broadway companies of A Chorus Line and The Little Mermaid; the Radio City Christmas Spectacular; National Tours of Fosse and White Christmas; and numerous regional productions.  Now, her greatest joy is training and creating opportunities for the next generation of theatre artists, while crafting professional productions for Central Kentucky audiences through her work at The Lexington Theatre Company.  Her directing credits for “The Lex” include Joseph…Dreamcoat, Fiddler on the Roof, A Christmas Story, White Christmas, The Sound of Music, Disney’s The Little Mermaid, Sondheim on Sondheim, Newsies, A Chorus Line, Songs For A New World, Mary Poppins, 42^nd Street, Legally Blonde (alongside longtime friend Laura Bell Bundy), and all editions of “Concert With The Stars.” Other directing credits include work for Music Theatre Wichita, University of Michigan, and University of Kentucky. She hosted the podcast “Beyond the Fourth Wall” for The Lex, available on Simplecast.  The book she co-authored, Broadway Swings: Covering the Ensemble in Musical Theatre is available on Amazon.com. She also is a frequent speaker and workshop leader for corporate retreats in the areas of creativity and leadership. She is a graduate of Sayre School and Oklahoma City University, member of Actors’ Equity Association, and “Mom” to Ben (13) and Andrew (11).

Jeromy hails from Oklahoma.  He combines both his extensive performance and arts management experience to produce first-rate professional theatre at The Lex, while training the future of the industry.  He earned a Bachelor of Science in Dance and Arts Management from Oklahoma City University. Performing credits include the National Tours of 42nd Street and Swing!; numerous regional productions at theatres including Houston Theater Under the Stars, Paper Mill Playhouse, Music Theatre Wichita, and Oklahoma’s Lyric Theatre; Television appearances on “A Capitol Fourth” and “Star Search.” As an arts manager, Jeromy worked with Broadway theatre-owner, Jujamcyn Theaters, and the Broadway management company, Richards/Climan, Inc., as Associate General Manager, where projects included August: Osage County (Pulitzer Prize and Tony Winner), Blithe Spirit (starring Angela Lansbury), and November (starring Nathan Lane), to name a few.