About Lauren
LAUREN KENNEDY BRADY
Lauren Kennedy Brady is a Tony-nominated producer and theatre visionary. She is the lead producer of Bull Durham, which premiered in Durham, North Carolina in 2024 in collaboration with the film's original writer/director Ron Shelton, before transferring to Paper Mill Playhouse in fall 2025 — and is now eyeing Broadway. She is also a co-producer of Titanique, which is now running on Broadway at the St. James Theatre after building a devoted following Off-Broadway and internationally.
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As an investor, Lauren has backed the Off-Broadway productions of The Baker's Wife starring Ariana DeBose, Rated P for Parenthood, and the Second Stage production of Vanities — the same musical in which Lauren herself originated the role of Mary. She has also produced two solo albums with PS Classics: Songs of Jason Robert Brown and Here and Now, developed new musicals including Drift (B.B. King's, NYC) and Peace of Clay (with North Carolina Theatre), and partnered with Purdie Entertainment to bring Amanda Kloots and The Sarafinas' dance-theatre concert My Way to Theatre Raleigh audiences.
As Founder and Executive Director of Theatre Raleigh, Lauren built the company from the ground up—transforming her family's Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy summer series into a year-round, professional nonprofit theatre. She leverages her Broadway relationships to bring top-tier talent to the company's productions and concerts, including Tony Award nominees and winners such as Norm Lewis, Stephanie J. Block, and Norbert Leo Butz, as well as Sutton Foster and Oscar winner, Ariana Debose.
In June 2020, she led the relocation of Theatre Raleigh, spearheading a successful million-dollar capital campaign to convert an industrial warehouse into the Theatre Raleigh Arts Center, anchored by the 3,600-square-foot De Ann S. Jones Theatre alongside rehearsal and cabaret spaces that opened in 2022. In December 2024, she oversaw the company's merger with an established educational program, forming Theatre Raleigh ACT , expanding youth education, and partnering with Inclusing Arts to develop accessibility programming. She also helped launch the Higher Ground Conversations series to foster dialogue about race and inclusion in the arts. Lauren was inducted into the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Hall of Fame in 2018 for her legacy in the Arts, and in recognition of her broader contributions to Raleigh's cultural life, she was named a 2026 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient — one of the city's highest honors in the arts.
A former Broadway performer trained at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Lauren appeared on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard , Side Show, as well as Fantine in Les Misérables, and the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot. She starred as Mary in Vanities, A New Musical at Pasadena Playhouse and Off-Broadway at Second Stage, played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific directed by Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre in London, and originated the role of Cathy in The Last Five Years at Northlight Theatre in 2001 — a role that remains a cornerstone of her performing legacy.
About Lauren
LAUREN KENNEDY BRADY
Lauren Kennedy Brady is a Tony-nominated producer and theatre visionary. She is the lead producer of Bull Durham, which premiered in Durham, North Carolina in 2024 in collaboration with the film's original writer/director Ron Shelton, before transferring to Paper Mill Playhouse in fall 2025 — and is now eyeing Broadway. She is also a co-producer of Titanique, which is now running on Broadway at the St. James Theatre after building a devoted following Off-Broadway and internationally.
​
As an investor, Lauren has backed the Off-Broadway productions of The Baker's Wife starring Ariana DeBose, Rated P for Parenthood, and the Second Stage production of Vanities — the same musical in which Lauren herself originated the role of Mary. She has also produced two solo albums with PS Classics: Songs of Jason Robert Brown and Here and Now, developed new musicals including Drift (B.B. King's, NYC) and Peace of Clay (with North Carolina Theatre), and partnered with Purdie Entertainment to bring Amanda Kloots and The Sarafinas' dance-theatre concert My Way to Theatre Raleigh audiences.
As Founder and Executive Director of Theatre Raleigh, Lauren built the company from the ground up—transforming her family's Hot Summer Nights at the Kennedy summer concert series into a year-round, professional nonprofit theatre. She leverages her Broadway relationships to bring top-tier talent to the company's productions and concerts, including Tony Award nominees and winners such as Norm Lewis, Stephanie J. Block, and Norbert Leo Butz, as well as Sutton Foster and Oscar winner, Ariana Debose.
In June 2020, she led the relocation of Theatre Raleigh, spearheading a successful million-dollar capital campaign to convert an industrial warehouse into the Theatre Raleigh Arts Center, anchored by the 3,600-square-foot De Ann S. Jones Theatre alongside rehearsal and cabaret spaces that opened in 2022. In December 2024, she oversaw the company's merger with an established educational program, forming Theatre Raleigh ACT , expanding youth education, and partnering with Inclusing Arts to develop accessibility programming. She also helped launch the Higher Ground Conversations series to foster dialogue about race and inclusion in the arts. Lauren was inducted into the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) Hall of Fame in 2018 for her legacy in the Arts, and in recognition of her broader contributions to Raleigh's cultural life, she was named a 2026 Raleigh Medal of Arts recipient — one of the city's highest honors in the arts.
A former Broadway performer trained at the University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Lauren appeared on Broadway in Sunset Boulevard , Side Show, as well as Fantine in Les Misérables, and the Lady of the Lake in Spamalot. She starred as Mary in Vanities, A New Musical at Pasadena Playhouse and Off-Broadway at Second Stage, played Nellie Forbush in South Pacific directed by Trevor Nunn at the National Theatre in London, and originated the role of Cathy in The Last Five Years at Northlight Theatre in 2001 — a role that remains a cornerstone of her performing legacy.
