Director Troy Heard leaving the Onyx Theatre to create new theater group

After two years as the Onyx Theatre’s producing director, Troy Heard is departing the Commercial Center playhouse for the new Majestic Repertory Theatre.

Most of the Onyx’s previously announced 2016-17 season, themed “Bring on the Bad Guys,” will follow Heard to become Majestic Rep’s inaugural season.

Leading off Oct. 7: an environmental production of the musical “Little Shop of Horrors” to be staged in downtown’s Alios gallery, 1217 S. Main St., which will be transformed into the musical’s setting, Mushnik’s Skid Row Florists.

“We want to be downtown — absolutely and specifically the arts district,” Heard said.

“The biggest challenge I ran into with the Onyx was the location itself,” according to Heard. “Commercial Center didn’t lend itself to audience growth.”

Previously announced Onyx productions “The Bad Seed” (opening Nov. 25) and “Carrie the Musical” (opening May 4) will be staged by Majestic, along with the recent Broadway comedy “Hand to God” (opening March 23) and a revival of Heard’s spoofy, zombie-fied “Anton Chekhov’s ‘Cherry Orchard of the Living Dead,’ ” opening Jan. 19, which Heard first staged at the Onyx in early 2014.

Heard said he hopes Majestic Rep will “become an incubator of new works” after the troupe finds a permanent home.

Open auditions for the troupe’s season will take place from 7 to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday at Super Summer Theatre Studios, 4340 S. Valley View Blvd.

For more details on the new theater, visit www.facebook.com/majesticrep/ or www.majesticrepertory.com.

As for the Onyx, keeping the theater open was costing owner Randy Lange more than the operation was bringing in, according to Tom Conroy, Lange’s chief financial officer who responded to a request to discuss the situation. He described the Onyx as “in flux.”

Lange “wanted to go back to the basic idea of the Onyx as a community theater, where all groups would be welcome to do their thing,” according to Conroy. The Onyx owner is meeting with other local theater groups to discuss the theater’s future; in the meantime, the theater is featuring movies on weekends.

Both Heard and Lange had ideas regarding the Onyx’s future, but “the tracks weren’t parallel,” noted Conroy, who said Heard “did a great job” and “busted his butt” as the theater’s producing director, adding “we’re wishing Troy all the best.”

Read more stories from Carol Cling at reviewjournal.com. Contact her at ccling@reviewjournal.com and follow @CarolSCling on Twitter.