Theater Mu has chosen Fran de Leon to be its next artistic director, effective as of June 2 with a full transition into the role by the end of 2025. De Leon will become the fifth artistic director in the theater’s 33-year history of producing great performances born of arts, equity, and justice from the heart of the Asian American experience.

In a continuation of Mu’s co-leadership model, de Leon will lead the Midwest’s largest Asian American theater company with managing director Anh Thu T. Pham, who has been with Mu since 2020.

FRAN IN THE NEWS

“In my conversations with Fran, I was struck by our shared value of wanting to highlight the complexity of the Asian American experience,” says Mu managing director Anh Thu T. Pham. “Our own experiences are not only in the Filipino or Vietnamese communities, so why can’t our art contain the multitudes of all our communities? I’m excited for Mu to continue ‘widening circles’ in the stories that are told. In a country that feels very divided politically, theater can be a space of healing and a reflection of the world we want to build.”

A wealth of experience

As artistic director, de Leon will produce Theater Mu’s mainstage productions, as well as oversee artistic-related programming, including play-reading festivals, playwright cohorts, and the Mu Training Institute courses designed for Black, Native, Asian, and Latine artists. To these areas, she brings experience from her times as co-artistic director of the touring theater organization Will & Company, director of new talent for Playfair, an ensemble member of Critical Mass Performance Group, and an adjunct faculty at the University of Southern California’s School for Dramatic Arts.

De Leon started out producing at age 19 and has since worked with companies such as East West Players, Geffen Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Playmakers’ Rep, Artists at Play, Playwrights’ Arena, the Garry Marshall Theater, and Pasadena Playhouse, the latter of which she notably directed its 2023 Into the Woods, the opening production of its Regional Theatre Tony Award-winning season. Additional writer/director credits include commissioned work for Segerstrom Center’s Arts Teach, TreePeople, and Twelfth Night Rep, as well as short play and short documentary commissions by Center Theatre Group. TV credits include recurring roles on For All Mankind and For the People, as well as guest stars on Criminal Minds, Speechless, and the Michelle Yeoh-led Netflix series The Brothers Sun.

Recently, she has been named a 2025/26 Drama League FutureNow directing fellow as well as a finalist for the Barbara Whitman Award from Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation.

While de Leon has been based in Los Angeles for most of her life, she has toured her one-person show, Faces of America, to over 500 venues across 49 states, including keynote performances for the United Nations Associations, California, and New York.

L: Mariology production at Mixed Blood Theatre, created by Critical Mass Performance (2023). Actors Fran de Leon on the left and Valerie Spencer on the right. Photo by Rich Ryan.
Middle: Cast and (in foreground) playwright Nicholas Pilapil and director Fran de Leon during the world premiere of God Will Do the Rest at LA Theatre Center, produced by Artists at Play and Latino Theater Co. in 2024.
R: Drama League FutureNow directing fellow Fran De Leon (front row, third from the right) with other 2025/26 cohort members of the Drama League's directors project, which includes fellowships, residencies, assistantships, and exchange recipients. 91st Annual Drama League Awards on May 16, 2025. Photo by Catalin Media.

Intertwining art and activism

De Leon approaches her work with a mind toward social change. “At a time when the arts are in a most precarious position, I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and work even harder to ensure we retain the essential experience of humanity and community that theater provides,” she says. “I was schooled by the rebel nuns of Vatican II. Art and activism are in my DNA. My purpose in the theater world is to engage, enlighten, disrupt, and sometimes enrage—I’m okay with that, too.”

De Leon adds, “Coming from the West Coast, the majority of our AAPI demographics differ from that of the Midwest, which speaks to the richness of the umbrella term. I’m excited and honored to join the thriving Asian American community in the Twin Cities, and I’m coming with the humility to learn from the people of the Twin Cities how I can best serve the local community at large.”

Mu board chair, Ruthie Johnson, says, “We are thrilled to have Fran join our Mu community! Her deep experience in all aspects of theater, her commitment to storytelling from a place of justice, and her dedication to developing new Asian American narratives will build strongly on the ways Mu continues to explore the depths of Asian American identity.”

“After an extensive process, the search committee is excited to bring Fran on board,” add Elizabeth Hang and Nonoko Sato in a joint statement. Both are on Mu’s board of directors and led the search committee, which also included Mu artist Isabella Dawis, Asian American theater historian and community member Dr. Josephine Lee, associate artist and grant writer Sara Ochs, associate artist Katie Ka Vang, and managing director Pham. “Fran brings a great blend of experience, leadership, and vision, and we look forward to working together to continue Mu’s excellence in art and impact in the community.”

Fran de Leon and Anh Thu T. Pham — Mu artistic director Fran de Leon and managing director Anh Thu T. Pham. Photo by Rich Ryan.

This season and beyond

De Leon succeeds Lily Tung Crystal in the role of artistic director and co-executive leader. The national leadership search began in 2024 and was led by Evolution Management Consultants (EMC), with EMC co-founder and partner Al Heartley at the helm. Longtime Mu artist Katie Bradley came on as interim artistic director to co-lead with Pham from September 2024 through March 2025, which included programming the 2025/26 season, “Hand in Hand, Step by Step.” Bradley will continue to produce this summer’s Stop Kiss and produce the fall world premiere, Maybe You Could Love Me as de Leon moves to Minnesota and completes her transition to the artistic director role.

“I am so grateful to Katie for her service to Mu this past year,” managing director Pham says. “Katie is a shining example of Twin Cities theater and Mu’s training ground for Asian American theater artists.”

“Theater Mu is a beloved cultural cornerstone—not just in the Twin Cities, but across the nation,” EMC’s Heartley says. “Following a highly competitive and rigorous search process, I’m thrilled that Theater Mu and Fran have found one another. It’s a powerful match, and I look forward to seeing how they will shape a bold and inspiring new chapter for the organization.”