Kristen Gleason was, in many capacities, the public personality of The Paramount Theater, fielding everything from media requests to advertising queries. In fact, Gleason’s voice is the first thing you’ll hear if you dial up the venue’s administrative number, her cheery intonations bobbing along the lines: "Hello, and thank you for calling the administrative offices of The Paramount Theater…"
Well, every venue gets a facelift sooner or later: Following a few small changes—by which I mean the announcement of a 90-day interim consulting agreement with SMG management company, already a significant presence through the John Paul Jones Arena—Gleason announced today via e-mail that she will leave The Paramount Theater. When contacted about her reasons for leaving, Gleason declined to comment, but said that she hopes to stay in Charlottesville for the foreseeable future.
Theater of dissent? Marketing director Kristen Gleason leaves The Paramount.
At this time, The Paramount is under the watchful eye of acting general manager Larry Wilson, also the SMG-appointed general manager of John Paul Jones Arena; Wilson was not immediately available for comment.
But the question remains: Is Gleason’s departure an unintentional makeover for The Paramount’s marketing, or an SMG-related facelift?
