McAnuff takes over at Stratford

The unusual leadership troika at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival in Ontario, Canada, has collapsed, leaving Des McAnuff, former artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse, as the last man standing, with sole creative authority over his homeland’s foremost theater.

The partnership between the Tony Award-winning Mc- Anuff (“Jersey Boys,” “The Who’s Tommy”) and two less widely known artistic directors, Marti Maraden and Don Shipley, was announced in 2006, as McAnuff’s La Jolla tenure was ending, and lasted just one season.

Maraden and Shipley apparently exited on a refrain akin to the “Tommy” finale, “We’re Not Gonna Take It”: Citing anonymous sources close to the festival, the Toronto Star reported that “there had been growing discontent from [Maraden and Shipley] about the preferential treatment allegedly being accorded McAnuff in artistic issues,” as well as budgets and scheduling.

Maraden is staying to direct this season’s productions of “The Trojan Women” and “All’s Well That Ends Well,” while Shipley will be replaced at the helm of “Krapp’s Last Tape,” starring Brian Dennehy.

-- Mike Boehm