Tino Jo Wallace was recently named Derby Dinner Playhouse’s new Producing Artistic Director, following Lee Buckholz’s retirement and is excited to take on the new role.
“Our space, it’s intimate, and I love that it’s in the round, which is different from other venues in town, and I can’t wait to play with that more.” Even more, she absolutely “loves the closeness with the audience.”
Wallace is Derby Dinner’s new Producing Artistic Director, following Lee Buckholz’s retirement. In this role, there’s no doubt she will help carry on the legacy of the theater’s longtime matriarch, Bekki Jo Schneider, who served as co-owner and producer from 1985 until she passed away in 2018.
Wallace grew up in Pennsylvania and graduated from Syracuse University where she studied acting and education. She came to Louisville in 2000, when she was cast as Juliet in Kentucky Shakespeare Festival’s Romeo and Juliet. At the time, Wallace was not aware of the rich theater scene in Kentuckiana.
She soon fell in love with the region and her castmate, Matt Wallace, the following summer at Kentucky Shakespeare. Matt is now Producing Artistic Director at Kentucky Shakespeare Festival.
In 2002, Tina Jo and Matt were hired as actors at Derby Dinner Playhouse. While Matt appeared in 1776, Tina Jo took on Piglet in Winnie The Pooh. Schneider knew she had found something special in the Wallaces and did anything she could to get them to stay.
“Bekki Jo just kind of sucked us in and said, ‘What can we have you do?’… She just kind of enveloped us,” said Tina Jo. Besides recruiting her as a pre-show performer, Schneider encouraged Tina Jo and Matt to start the theater’s Performing Arts Academy, which included classes for young actors as well as a musical theater camp.
“Over 11 years that I was the director of the children’s theater, my job grew… where I was doing lots of different things,” Wallace said, so it was only natural that when Buckholz announced his plans for retirement, she was considered for the job.
Wallace officially began her role in March. She is currently directing her first mainstage production, the classic Singin’ in the Rain, which runs from April 3 until May 18, ending Derby Dinner’s impressive 50th Anniversary season.
Wallace learned a lot of lessons from Schneider, and she plans to put many of those lessons into practice as she steps into her new lead role.
“There’s nothing that’s not my job,” said Wallace. “I am happy to wash off tables if I need to. And to jump in for a class, work in the box office and answer the phone. There’s nothing that’s not part of my job to help the theater to be successful. And I learned that from her.”
Wallace also understands the importance of keeping over 10,000 subscribers entertained, so she and the Derby Dinner team have an exciting new season planned. In fact, the theater is introducing a new ticketing system to provide a smoother buying experience for patrons just in time for the new season.
The 2025-26 season includes Half Baked, a silly, simple comedy; Matilda; Dial M for Murder; Elf; Bunco Squad, a sequel to the beloved play originated at Derby Dinner; 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee; and Hairspray. Most notably, Derby Dinner will put on a production Come from Away in September.
Wallace is looking forward to building a sense of community with her staff of theater artists and administrators at the leading dinner theater in Kentuckiana. The upcoming season will feature Jim Hesselman and Sally Scott as guest directors. She plans to include fight choreographers, intimacy coordinators, and a local call for actors to audition for the first time since 2020.
For Wallace, it all comes down to this — she wants Derby Dinner Playhouse to be a place where patrons can come together for a delicious meal and an entertaining show.
“We get to play for a living, and we get to share that with other people who want to watch it, and I hope to bring that joy and excitement about theater,” she said. “I want them to feel joy about being in that building.”
For more information about Derby Dinner Playhouse or to buy tickets to an upcoming performance, visit DerbyDinner.com
This article appears in Jun 20 – Jul 3, 2025.