“A Word about the Musical” | Wojciech Kępczyński

The Theatre Institute invites you on March 11 at 6:00 PM to a conversation with Wojciech Kępczyński – laureate of the Maryna Miklaszewska Musical Award for outstanding contributions to the development of the Polish musical. Admission is free; reservations required at bilety@instytut-teatralny.pl.

The conversation will be led by Paweł Siwek.

Wojciech Kępczyński — director, choreographer and actor. He graduated from the Acting Department of the State Higher School of Theatre in Warsaw and the State Ballet School in Warsaw. Since 1998 he has been the director of the ROMA Musical Theatre; previously he served for seven years as director of the Jan Kochanowski Powszechny Theatre in Radom, where he conceived and directed three editions of the International Gombrowicz Festival.

He is co-author of the libretto and director of the musical “Akademia Pana Kleksa” and author of the libretto and director of the musical “Piloci”. In addition, at the ROMA Musical Theatre he directed, among others:

• “Akademia Pana Kleksa” (co-author of the libretto, director)
• “Piloci” (author of the libretto, director)
• “Wicked”
• “We Will Rock You”
• “Waitress”
• “Aida”
• “Mamma Mia!”
• “Singin’ in the Rain”
• “Aladyn Jr”
• “Les Misérables”
• “The Phantom of the Opera”
• “Dance of the Vampires”
• “Cats”
• “Miss Saigon”
• “Grease”
• “Crazy for You”
• “tick, tick… BOOM!”
• “Once”
• “Five Last Years”

Selected awards and distinctions:

• Scholarship holder of The United States Information Agency and the British Council ("Theatre management in market economy conditions")
• Aleksander Bardini Award for “masterful leadership of a musical theatre” (2002)
• Prometheus Award for “persistence and consistency in artistic activity” (2003)
• Arts & Business Awards for “masterful cultural management” (2005)
• Golden Cross of Merit for outstanding services to the development of culture and achievements in organizational work (2005)
• Asa Empiku and the Feliks special award for the musical “Akademia Pana Kleksa” (2007)
• Medal "Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis" (2009)
• Róża Gali for directing the musical “Les Misérables” (2010)
• Knight's Cross of the Order of Polonia Restituta (2013)
• Perła Tańca Award (2022)
• Gold Medal "Zasłużony Kulturze Gloria Artis" (2024)

“Słowem o musicalu” — a lecture series organized since 2023 on the theory, history and contemporary state of the musical in Poland and worldwide. We have invited experts in the field – artists, theatre scholars, literary scholars and musicologists.

Musical theatre in Poland enjoys enormous interest from hundreds of thousands of spectators. New premieres break attendance records, and “musical tourism” is developing. Creators do not limit themselves to well-known Broadway formats – they increasingly draw inspiration from the classics of Polish literature, contributing to the dissemination and popularization of Polish culture. Each year Polish theatres prepare some 20 premieres, which, given the enormous resources required to produce a musical, shows how intensively musical life in Poland is developing. At the same time, public knowledge about this theatrical field remains limited and fragmentary among Polish audiences.

The lectures are recorded and published on the Theatre Institute website and YouTube channel, creating a kind of compendium of knowledge about the musical for the future.