Reagle Music Theatre Founder To Retire After 52 Years

WALTHAM, MA — It is the end of an era for the Reagle Music Theatre. When the theater was founded back in the summer of 1969 to acclaim, Robert Eagle, then just in his 30s, was there. When the theater employed its first professional actor in 1984, Eagle was there. Through five decades of awards and acclaim, Eagle was there.

But this June he is exiting stage right.

The founder of the theater and producing artistic director announced March 29 he plans to retire on June 30.

"Everything – and everyone – has a season. In my case, I recognize that it is now my time to take a bow," he said in a letter to the theater's board of directors. "It’s been an exhilarating 52 years, which I would not trade for anything."

The announcement prompted a search for a successor to lead the theater as it prepares to return to the stage following the pandemic shut down.

“It would take a book to recount everything Bob Eagle has created, sustained, and developed with Reagle Music Theatre," the members of the theater's board of directors said in a statement. "His vision and never-say-die attitude have been the driving force behind the success of the organization."

Lest anyone start throwing the red roses too soon, the theater's board has already invited him to direct a production of "ChristmasTime" 2021, and he has accepted.

"We are so grateful for all he has done for the school, the city, the artists, and the audiences," the board said. "He is an institution and a force in the arts."