American Musical Theatre of San Jose

The first production was The Mikado,[2] held at the Victory Theatre on North First Street near Santa Clara Avenue in downtown San Jose, where they would perform for several more years.

That same year, SJMT began to contract much more Equity talent, including stars like Michele Lee, Tommy Tune, JoAnne Worley, Theodore Bikel, and Tyne Daly.

The premiere of City of Broken Promises, based on the book of the same name by Austin Coates, ran so far over budget that SJMT faced bankruptcy.

[3] After the 1979/1980 season the board hired Stewart Slater as General Manager,[5] ushering in a new era and another new name: the San Jose Civic Light Opera (SJCLO).

In Slater, who had been general manager of American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, the board chose someone from outside the organization and a proven business leader.

Performances such as the critically acclaimed production of Jesus Christ Superstar in the 1989/1990 season and the widely successful restaging of Chess in 1991/1992 were considered notable achievements by Dianna Shuster, whom Slater had promoted to Artistic Director in 1985.

[13] Michael Miller, the new executive producer, blamed the downturn on the community disconnect caused when the Nederlander agreement displaced local talent and on the struggling Silicon Valley economy.

[14] Upon his arrival from Paper Mill Playhouse in New Jersey, the AMTSJ alumnus Miller launched a program to boost revenues with flexible ticket package offerings, extensive marketing, and aggressive fundraising.

[1] Executive producer Michael Miller announced that the sudden failure was due to a $1.7 million loss on an adaptation of Disney's musical Tarzan in partnership with Theater of the Stars in Atlanta.