When I heard that Alfred Preisser and Christopher McElroen were departing the Classical Theatre of Harlem—the company they founded 11 years ago and which I’ve frequently written about—my first thought was, Sad. Another troupe bites the dust. For much of their tenure, Preisser and McElroen were CTH. Not only did they literally run the show, as artistic director and executive director respectively, they helmed almost all of the productions, notably the Obie-winning The Blacks: A Clown Show, the Drama Desk–nominated revival of Melvin Van Peebles’s searing musical Ain’t Supposed to Die a Natural Death and their brilliant reinvention of Waiting for Godot, which set the (in)action on a flood-soaked New Orleans rooftop post-Katrina.

But CTH wasn’t just about theater; it was about community, too. Preisser and McElroen started the company at the Harlem School of the Arts (where they were both teachers at the time) and used actors from the neighborhood as well as students in their early productions. They met Harlem resident Ty Jones at an audition; the actor (who won a well-deserved Obie for his electrifying performance in The Blacks) went on to appear in a host of CTH shows, joined the board and even made his playwriting debut last year with Emancipation, about the infamous Nat Turner slave rebellion. Andre De Shields was a frequent collaborator (what other company would have given the flamboyant Tony nominated actor the chance to lay bare his soul—not to mention his frame—as King Lear?), as was Van Peebles and The Wire’s Wendell Pierce (who starred in Godot), and celebrity fans included Mary Alice and Phylicia Rashad.

Despite the accolades, awards and auspicious reviews, CTH, like any organization, had its problems. In 2006, CTH left its HSA home (acrimoniously, rumor had it) and became a roaming company. Although they soon won a space as part of Danforth Development Partners’ bid to transform Harlem’s landmarked Victoria Theater into a cultural destination/condo hybrid, that new theater wouldn’t be ready until 2012 (and as of now, the project’s entire future seems to be in limbo). And Preisser and McElroen’s ethnicity—both men are white—consistently rankled some folks who felt CTH should be run solely by African-Americans.

The last few years have clearly been difficult for the duo. I ran into mutual friends who confirmed that times were tough and though no details were shared, money seems to have been a factor (isn’t it always?). As for the circumstances surrounding their departure…who knows what really happened. Life, like art, is complicated and completely subjective. There are certainly multiple stories to be—or not to be—told.

After I got over my initial shock at the news, I actually became hopeful. CTH is not RIP. Although its future is unclear, change, even a major one like this, isn’t always bad. My hope is that what they built can continue to grow and thrive. The Public survived Papp. One artist (or in this case, two) does not constitute an entire company. Here’s hoping that CTH can tackle its greatest revival yet: of itself.