Artistic director Esbjornson to leave Seattle Rep in '09

Seattle Repertory Theatre artistic director David Esbjornson announced Thursday he will not renew his contract when it expires in June 2009. He has headed the theater since 2005.

Though the timing of the announcement was a surprise to many, there had been rumors circulating through the Seattle theater community for months about Esbjornson's possible departure.

The director was not available for comment but stated in a news release, "I have been extremely grateful for the opportunity to work at the Seattle Repertory Theatre."

Esbjornson came to Seattle with a strong reputation as a freelance director in New York (Edward Albee's "The Goat" on Broadway) and in regional houses such as Minneapolis' Guthrie Theatre. During his first three seasons at the Rep he has made eclectic choices of material, including works by Shakespeare and Molière, contemporary plays by such noted authors as John Patrick Shanley, Jeffrey Hatcher and Eduardo Machado, and world premieres (including the Hurricane Katrina drama "The Breach").

Rep managing director Benjamin Moore said the 2007-08 season has been particularly challenging financially and artistically, and that erratic attendance probably will result in the Rep barely breaking even or finishing the season in the red.

"David has done a wonderful job here, but it's been quite difficult for him," said Moore. "He tends to be attracted to doing new work, edgier stuff with a darker equation. We've had some wonderful successes, but financial pressures have been great and doing a very complex production like 'The Breach' was difficult. We clearly were too ambitious, in that case."

Moore called Esbjornson, who was a virtual newcomer to Seattle when he moved here from New York, "a consummate practitioner of his art form. I was very excited about this partnership, and I'm very sad about [his departure]. It's getting harder for artists to shoulder the burden and weight of a large institution like this."

Marty Taucher, president of the Seattle Rep's board of trustees, said the board heard about Esbjornson's decision Wednesday night and isn't immediately prepared to launch a search for his replacement.

"We've got time," said Taucher. "[David's] putting together what promises to be a very exciting season for next year. ... We're very excited about it, and David is excited about it, too, so to a large extent it's business as usual."

Misha Berson: mberson@seattletimes.com. Marian Liu: 206-464-3825 or mliu@seattletimes.com