At seven, maybe eight, Meghan Distel saw Annie. “I felt this connection to the actors,” she said. “Looking up at that stage, I could see myself.” It kindled in her not only the excitement shared by so many other children who saw that show, but an understanding: she would make theater part of her life.
As she made her way through school, she had several interests. She was an athlete: a runner and high jumper (in her latter capacity, she broke her nose, earning a trip to the hospital). She studied French; for a while, she thought she’d teach it. She went to museums. And she attended plays.
After college (a semester of which was spent at Centre Sèvres, in Paris) she went to work as a communications specialist, serving as a liaison for General Motors’ Cadillac Division before working in sales for NCR Corporation and DENTSPLY International. Then life intervened. She had three children, two of them twins. “I had the privilege to stay home,” she said.
She stayed involved in the community, volunteering on the board of a non-profit dance organization and helping them raise funds. She wanted to contribute. And she wanted to see what opportunities were out there. “I knew that if I went back to work, it had to be for something I was passionate about.”
One day, in a yoga class, she mentioned to another woman that she was looking for work. That woman was married to Mike Lloyd, former editor of The Grand Rapids Press; a year before, he’d been named Executive Director of Broadway Grand Rapids, an organization with a lot of promise and in need of help.
When they met, Distel had been out of the workforce for nearly a decade. That can be a hurdle. “There’s a bias,” Lloyd said. “But just because a woman hasn’t worked in some time, because she’d left to be a mother, that doesn’t mean she’d left her brain at the door.”
There wasn’t one particular moment in the interview that convinced him (“You want this to be a movie?” he asked. “Like I saw a sparkle on her tooth and knew she’d succeed? No.”). But it was clear that she was professional, and passionate, and skilled. In the end, he offered her a part-time role on a six-month basis. Her main responsibility would be increasing the number of group tickets sold. This wasn’t the highest imaginable hurdle; the previous year, only one group had purchased tickets, and that only happened because the group reached out to Broadway Grand Rapids—not the other way around.
She made it over that hurdle, nose intact. “She was overwhelming,” Lloyd said. “A very bright, very disciplined woman.” When Broadway Grand Rapids’ marketing director left for another opportunity, the decision was clear. “I told her, look, you have the marketing skills, the sales skills. Let’s try this. We’ll make a flexible schedule. We’ll make this work for you.”
She got into the community. “We made lots of grass-roots efforts,” Distel said. “The Santa parade, early morning news. We wanted to show the community who we were and what was here for them to experience. You don’t have to travel. This is all right here in your backyard.” She was a frequent presence on radio and television.
At the same time, Lloyd succeeded in making Broadway Grand Rapids a primary arts tenant of DeVos Performance Hall. Previously, the organization had played second (fourth) fiddle to the Grand Rapids Symphony, Grand Rapids Ballet, and Opera Grand Rapids. After his advocacy, they were considered an equal, which had big benefits in terms of scheduling—which was key to securing popular touring productions.
The Phantom of the Opera was a turning point. The show had been touring for 25 years without ever playing Grand Rapids. It had played in Lansing more than once, and Kalamazoo more than once, but Grand Rapids was considered a lesser market, unable to guarantee the level of sales needed to justify the production.
In 2014, though, Phantom came. “There had to be some modifications done to the backstage area,” Distel said. “Set pieces, reinforcements to the ceiling and stage. We raised some of the money ourselves.” That work accomplished, Phantom came for two weeks. “We sold out every seat,” Distel said. Tickets were sold to residents of every county in Michigan, and from outside the state, too.
The success of that show led to others. In the fall of 2017, 55,000 people came to Wicked. That success meant Broadway Grand Rapids was able to book shows that would have been unthinkable in the past, among them The Lion King and Hamilton. Today, Broadway Grand Rapids is able to secure the most popular shows early in their runs.
That’s reflected in ticket sales. “At the point I came on,” Lloyd said, “we had 2,000 season subscribers.” That number increased to 4,800, then, 6,000, then 11,500, then 12,300: remarkable growth, and a tribute to the audience’s faith that the organization will continue to bring in shows worth seeing.
When Lloyd retired, he knew who he wanted to replace him: the woman who had met him through a chance encounter with his wife, and who had told him that, someday, she wanted his job. Distel accepted the role as Executive Director of Broadway Grand Rapids.
Today, Distel and team work to increase access, helping people attend who otherwise could not due to economic or physical barriers. And Distel is now a Tony voter, one of only 100 outside of New York; she sees that role as a responsibility as much as a privilege, as it allows West Michigan a voice. Broadway will produce at least forty new shows in the upcoming season. She hopes to see them all.
Jennifer Pascua, current Marketing Director, describes working with Distel as “an absolute privilege. This role was truly made for her. She leads with passion and heart.” That view is shared by others outside the organization. Noddea Skidmore, Director of Marketing and Communications at Grand Rapids Civic Theatre, said, “Meghan's impact on our arts community could be felt long before she stepped into the role of CEO because of her incredible efforts in marketing and community outreach.”
“It’s a joy to do this job,” Distel said. “I’m living my dream role professionally. This can change lives. I couldn’t have dreamed of this.”
Asked whether the rise of jukebox musicals and musicals based on pre-existing properties indicated artistic stagnation, she said no, pointing to several new shows that succeeded critically as well as popularly.
She also pointed to the strides Broadway’s made in terms of representation. “There’s still work to be done, but a lot of people can see themselves onstage now who couldn’t before.” And they can do so in Grand Rapids, thanks in large degree to an accomplished and passionate leader who was once a young girl, amazed to see boys and girls her own age singing and dancing onstage in Detroit.
Broadway Grand Rapids
broadwaygrandrapids.com
