Harris Theater CEO Lori Dimun to exit and be replaced by interim chief Michael McStraw

Lori Dimun is stepping down from her role as president and CEO of the Harris Theater for Music and Dance after nearly six years.

Dimun, who’s worked at the Harris Theater for 15 years, will join the Richard H. Driehaus Foundation later this year, the theater announced Friday via press release.

Michael McStraw, current president and CEO of the Chicago Dance History Project and a longstanding trustee on the Harris Theater board, will lead the theater as interim CEO while the board searches for a permanent successor.

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Under Dimun’s leadership, the Millennium Park theater brought landmark performances to Chicago, including Akram Khan's “Jungle Book” and “Creature” with the English National Ballet. She also recruited the New York City Ballet to the Harris after a nearly two-decade absence from the city. Dimun could not be reached for comments by press time.

While McStraw is taking on a temporary role, he said his main goal is to continue helping audiences “find the gift that the arts bring.” He will be moving away from his role at the Chicago Dance History Project to focus on the Harris Theater “full-time.” Chicago Dance History Project is “looking at how the organization moves through this transition,” McStraw added.

Last weekend, the Harris Theater hosted its annual Icons and Innovators Gala, honoring co-founder Joan Harris. The event exceeded its fundraising goal with nearly $1.4 million raised.

Dimun and McStraw have worked together professionally for nearly 16 years.

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“[Dimun] knows the Harris Theater backward and forward,” McStraw said. She's done amazing things prior to and through and after the pandemic. She is to be celebrated, and I am so appreciative that she will be working with me throughout this transition, however long it takes.”

McStraw didn’t explicitly state whether dance would become more of a centerpiece to the theater, but he emphasized his support for all forms of performing arts, especially as an artist himself.

McStraw has a background as a professional dancer, arts educator, musician and non-profit executive in Chicago going back to 1984, when he moved to the city from Pennsylvania.

He became executive director of Giordano Dance Chicago in 2010, leading one of the Harris Theater's earliest resident companies, or local performing arts organizations that partner with the venue at a subsidized rental rate.

He said his interest in music and dance began at a young age. His fifth grade teacher also worked as a violinist with the Erie Philharmonic Orchestra and the youngster went to see them perform one night.

While McStack can’t remember quite exactly what he heard, it’ll stick with him for the rest of his life. “It was something lush and grand like [Johannes] Brahms. But I was transformed in that moment.”

Now, he regularly plays the trombone, sings with the Chicago Master Singers and is a self-proclaimed patron of the arts.

“I am an advocate for the performing arts in Chicago. I believe strongly in its value, its economic benefits to the city, to the state, to the country. I believe that the arts are often taken for granted,” McStraw said.