[8] The company soon changed its name to the Missouri Repertory Theatre, achieved professional status as an Equity organization in 1966, and founded its own touring wing—Missouri Vanguard Theatre—in 1968.

[10] McIlrath's desire to establish both a training ground for professional theatre artists in Kansas City, and a venue in the city at which audiences could attend professional theatre rivaling the caliber of that produced in New York City, corresponded with the work of numerous other well-known members of the Regional Theatre Movement, such as Margo Jones, Zelda Fichandler, Michael Murray, and Tyrone Guthrie.

Prior to the founding of the Missouri Rep, the residents of Kansas City and the surrounding metropolitan area had been virtually devoid of any source of locally based professional theatre for several decades.

[11] The founding of the Missouri Rep served as the impetus which led to the revival of professional theatre in the area.

"[14] She died on March 4, 1999, at the age of 82, and is buried at Calvary Cemetery in Kansas City, Missouri.