Douglas out, Sandys in as Remy Bumppo artistic director

• Reprints

Timothy Douglas

Updated: February 21, 2012 8:25AM

Timothy Douglas has resigned as artistic director of the Remy Bumppo Theatre Company after less than a year on the job.

Douglas, who succeeded James Bohnen, the theater’s founder and longtime artistic director, arrived in Chicago on a wave of high hopes and with the distinction of being the first African-American director to lead a non-black company here.

His resume included productions at dozens of the country’s most high-profile regional theaters. And after an extensive search by Remy Bummpo’s board and ensemble, he was declared an ideal choice to lead one of this city’s strongest midsize companies, one that has developed a reputation for its brainy, accomplished pool of actors and its sophisticated productions of contemporary (or modernized) classics ranging from Gore Vidal to Tom Stoppard.

But Douglas’ first two productions for Remy Bumppo — of Eugene O’Neill’s “Mourning Becomes Electra” and “Changes of Heart,” an updated take on a play by Marivaux — received mixed reviews and failed to ignite the box office.

In a letter addressed to Remy Bumppo’s board, Douglas noted: “As a result of my brief but ample tenure I came to understand that in spite of our genuine excitement for one another, I’m ultimately not a good match for the organization.”

Douglas added that he remained “grateful to all at Remy Bumppo, as well as the greater Chicago theater community, whose enthusiastic inclusion of me into its vibrant world will feed me for the rest of my creative days.”

Following deliberations throughout December, the board chose a new artistic director, Nick Sandys, from within its ranks. A leading actor, director, fight choreographer and educator, Sandys, whose appointment is effective as of Feb. 1, has appeared in 14 Remy Bumppo productions over a period of 10 years, earning three Joseph Jefferson nominations along the way. He has contributed to more than 200 productions nationwide.

Plans for the company’s 2012-13 season are now underway.