Diane Paulus
Encyclopedia
Diane Paulus is an American
director of theater and opera who became Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (ART) at Harvard University
in 2009. Paulus was nominated for the Best Director Tony Award
for her revival of Hair
. She has received the 2009 Harvard College Women’s Leadership Award and the Columbia University
IAL Diamond Award.
, studied dance at New York City Ballet
and trained in classical piano. In 1988, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
with a Bachelor's degree in Social Studies and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a Master's degree from the Columbia University School of the Arts
.
, along with a few other theater school graduates established a small theater troupe in New York City called Project 400 Theatre Group. With Project 400, Paulus and Weiner specialized in creating avante-garde musical productions which married classic theater and modern music. Paulus' first production with the group was a rock version of The Tempest
. Other productions included an R&B Phaedra
and a hip-hop Lohengrin
.
In collaboration with Weiner, Paulus co-created The Donkey Show
, a disco
adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which ran off-Broadway from 1999 to 2005. Critics cited the production as an exemplary of a trend in which edgy avante-garde theater had become fashionably mainstream
.
In May 2008, Paulus was named the artistic director for the Harvard University
American Repertory Theater. Harvard chose Paulus after a 16-month search to replace Robert Woodruff
in an effort to revitalize the program. Paulus' first production was a revival of The Donkey Show. Paulus previously taught courses at Columbia and Yale University
.
Paulus was selected by American Theatre magazine as one of the 25 theatre artists who were asked to share their vision of coming developments in the next 25 years in the theatre world. In her comments she talks about her goal to "revolutionize" the theatre experience by making it more interactive, letting the audience participate and making theatre content more "open source."
In 2010, Paulus directed Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon), an opera by Joseph Haydn, in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. A Gotham Chamber Opera, in partnership with the Museum and in association with American Repertory Theater, Paulus' production fused live opera and stargazing using the 180-degree dome with projections courtesy of NASA. Video of Il mondo della luna
Paulus was slated to direct Paul Simon
's The Capeman
at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park for the Public Theater in August 2010. In 2011, she staged a revisionist production of the opera Porgy and Bess
, which is due to transfer to Broadway in 2012. Cries of outrage appeared on blogs when it was learned exactly how much Ms. Paulus had decided to change the original, and a harshly critical letter from Stephen Sondheim
excoriated Ms. Paulus for tampering with (and even rewriting) what is mainly considered a stage masterpiece.
in 1966, the daughter of a New York television producer. On October 1, 1995, she married fellow Harvard graduate Randy Weiner
. They have two daughters.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
director of theater and opera who became Artistic Director of the American Repertory Theater (ART) at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
in 2009. Paulus was nominated for the Best Director Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for her revival of Hair
Hair (musical)
Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
. She has received the 2009 Harvard College Women’s Leadership Award and the Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
IAL Diamond Award.
Education
Paulus attended the Brearley SchoolBrearley School
The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, New York, United States. It is located on the Upper East Side of the Manhattan borough of New York City. The school is divided into the Lower School , Middle School and Upper School...
, studied dance at New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet
New York City Ballet is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Leon Barzin was the company's first music director. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company...
and trained in classical piano. In 1988, she graduated magna cum laude from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
with a Bachelor's degree in Social Studies and as a member of Phi Beta Kappa. She earned a Master's degree from the Columbia University School of the Arts
Columbia University School of the Arts
The Columbia University School of the Arts , also known simply as the School of the Arts or as SoA, is the division of the university that offers Master of Fine Arts degrees in Film, Visual Arts, Theatre Arts, and Writing, as well as a Master of Arts degree in Film Studies...
.
Career
Paulus and her husband, Randy WeinerRandy Weiner
Randy Weiner is an American playwright, producer and theater/nightclub owner. Weiner co-wrote the Off-Broadway musical The Donkey Show and, as one-third of EMURSIVE, produced the Drama Desk Award winning New York premiere of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More...
, along with a few other theater school graduates established a small theater troupe in New York City called Project 400 Theatre Group. With Project 400, Paulus and Weiner specialized in creating avante-garde musical productions which married classic theater and modern music. Paulus' first production with the group was a rock version of The Tempest
The Tempest
The Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
. Other productions included an R&B Phaedra
Phaedra (Seneca)
Phaedra, sometimes known as Hippolytus, is a play by Seneca the Younger, telling the story of Phaedra and her taboo love for her stepson Hippolytus...
and a hip-hop Lohengrin
Lohengrin (opera)
Lohengrin is a romantic opera in three acts composed and written by Richard Wagner, first performed in 1850. The story of the eponymous character is taken from medieval German romance, notably the Parzival of Wolfram von Eschenbach and its sequel, Lohengrin, written by a different author, itself...
.
In collaboration with Weiner, Paulus co-created The Donkey Show
The Donkey Show (musical)
The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night's Disco is a theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production, created in a disco-era style, was written by Diane Paulus and her husband Randy Weiner and first appeared Off-Broadway, opening August 18, 1999. The show subsequently...
, a disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which ran off-Broadway from 1999 to 2005. Critics cited the production as an exemplary of a trend in which edgy avante-garde theater had become fashionably mainstream
Mainstream
Mainstream is, generally, the common current thought of the majority. However, the mainstream is far from cohesive; rather the concept is often considered a cultural construct....
.
In May 2008, Paulus was named the artistic director for the Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
American Repertory Theater. Harvard chose Paulus after a 16-month search to replace Robert Woodruff
Robert Woodruff (director)
Robert Woodruff is an American theater director.-Early life:Woodruff graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Magna Cum Laude from the University at Buffalo in political science. He has a masters degree in theater arts from San Francisco State University...
in an effort to revitalize the program. Paulus' first production was a revival of The Donkey Show. Paulus previously taught courses at Columbia and Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
.
Paulus was selected by American Theatre magazine as one of the 25 theatre artists who were asked to share their vision of coming developments in the next 25 years in the theatre world. In her comments she talks about her goal to "revolutionize" the theatre experience by making it more interactive, letting the audience participate and making theatre content more "open source."
In 2010, Paulus directed Il mondo della luna (The World on the Moon), an opera by Joseph Haydn, in the Hayden Planetarium at the American Museum of Natural History. A Gotham Chamber Opera, in partnership with the Museum and in association with American Repertory Theater, Paulus' production fused live opera and stargazing using the 180-degree dome with projections courtesy of NASA. Video of Il mondo della luna
Paulus was slated to direct Paul Simon
Paul Simon
Paul Frederic Simon is an American singer-songwriter and guitarist.Simon is best known for his success, beginning in 1965, as part of the duo Simon & Garfunkel, with musical partner Art Garfunkel. Simon wrote most of the pair's songs, including three that reached number one on the US singles...
's The Capeman
The Capeman
The Capeman is a musical play written by Paul Simon and Derek Walcott based on the life of Salvador Agrón. The play opened at the Marquis Theatre in 1998 to poor reviews and had an initial run of only 68 performances....
at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park for the Public Theater in August 2010. In 2011, she staged a revisionist production of the opera Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess
Porgy and Bess is an opera, first performed in 1935, with music by George Gershwin, libretto by DuBose Heyward, and lyrics by Ira Gershwin and DuBose Heyward. It was based on DuBose Heyward's novel Porgy and subsequent play of the same title, which he co-wrote with his wife Dorothy Heyward...
, which is due to transfer to Broadway in 2012. Cries of outrage appeared on blogs when it was learned exactly how much Ms. Paulus had decided to change the original, and a harshly critical letter from Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
excoriated Ms. Paulus for tampering with (and even rewriting) what is mainly considered a stage masterpiece.
Personal
Paulus was born Diane Marie Paulus in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1966, the daughter of a New York television producer. On October 1, 1995, she married fellow Harvard graduate Randy Weiner
Randy Weiner
Randy Weiner is an American playwright, producer and theater/nightclub owner. Weiner co-wrote the Off-Broadway musical The Donkey Show and, as one-third of EMURSIVE, produced the Drama Desk Award winning New York premiere of Punchdrunk's Sleep No More...
. They have two daughters.
Selected works directed
- The Donkey ShowThe Donkey Show (musical)The Donkey Show: A Midsummer Night's Disco is a theatrical adaptation of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. The production, created in a disco-era style, was written by Diane Paulus and her husband Randy Weiner and first appeared Off-Broadway, opening August 18, 1999. The show subsequently...
, a discoDiscoDisco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
adaptation of A Midsummer Night’s Dream which ran off-Broadway from 1999 to 2005. It was revived in 2009 for Paulus' first production as director of the ART. - The 40th Anniversary Concert Production of HairHair (musical)Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical is a rock musical with a book and lyrics by James Rado and Gerome Ragni and music by Galt MacDermot. A product of the hippie counter-culture and sexual revolution of the 1960s, several of its songs became anthems of the anti-Vietnam War peace movement...
at the Delacorte Theatre in Central Park for the Public Theater as well as the subsequent production of Hair on Broadway which won a Tony AwardTony AwardThe Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
for Best Revival of a Musical and for which she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Director. - Another CountryAnother Country (novel)Another Country is a 1962 novel by James Baldwin. The novel tells of the bohemian lifestyle of musicians, writers and other artists living in Greenwich Village in the late 1950s. It portrayed many taboo themes such as bisexuality, interracial couples and extramarital affairs.-Plot summary:The first...
by James BaldwinJames Baldwin (writer)James Arthur Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic.Baldwin's essays, for instance "Notes of a Native Son" , explore palpable yet unspoken intricacies of racial, sexual, and class distinctions in Western societies, most notably in mid-20th century America,...
at Riverside Church - Turandot: Rumble for the Ring at the Bay Street Theatre.
- The Golden MickeysThe Golden MickeysThe Golden Mickeys is a musical revue-style stage show presented in the style of an awards ceremony with characters from Disney films being nominated for awards including heroism, symphony, villains, friendship, and romance. The show originated on the Disney Cruise Line as a replacement for Morty...
for Disney Creative Entertainment. - Best of Both WorldsThe Best of Both Worlds (musical)The Best of Both Worlds is a musical with book and lyrics by Randy Weiner, music by Diedre Murray, and additional scenes by Diane Paulus, loosely based on William Shakespeare's A Winter's Tale.- Productions :...
, a gospel/R&B adaptation of A Winter’s Tale produced by Music-Theatre Group and The Women’s Project. Co-written by Diedre MurrayDiedre MurrayDiedre Murray is an American cellist and composer specializing in jazz, improvised music, opera, and contemporary classical music. She is also active as a producer, and curator...
. It was revived in 2010 at the ART. - The Karaoke Show, an adaptation of Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of ErrorsThe Comedy of Errors is one of William Shakespeare's earliest plays. It is his shortest and one of his most farcical comedies, with a major part of the humour coming from slapstick and mistaken identity, in addition to puns and word play. The Comedy of Errors is one of only two of Shakespeare's...
set in a karaoke bar, produced by Jordan Roth Productions. - Running Man by jazz composer and frequent collaborator Diedre Murray and poet Cornelius EadyCornelius EadyCornelius Eady is an American poet focusing largely on matters of race and society, particularly the trials of the African-American race in the United States. His poetry often centers around jazz and blues, family life, violence, and societal problems stemming from questions of race and class...
. - Swimming with Watermelons, created in association with Project 400, the theater company she co-founded with her husband Randy Weiner.
- Brutal Imagination.
- The Obie-award winning Eli's Comin, featuring the music and lyrics of Laura NyroLaura NyroLaura Nyro was an American songwriter, singer, and pianist. She achieved considerable critical acclaim with her own recordings, particularly the albums Eli and the Thirteenth Confession and New York Tendaberry, and had commercial success with artists such as Barbra Streisand and The 5th...
. - At Chicago Opera TheaterChicago Opera TheaterThe Chicago Opera Theater is an opera company that was founded as the Chicago Opera Studio in 1974 by Alan Stone to give vocal students performance experience, although it has grown into a professional opera company...
: Le Nozze Di Figaro, Turn Of The Screw, Cosi Fan Tutte, and all three Monteverdi opera, Il Ritorno D’Ulisse In Patria, L’Incoronazione Di Poppea, and Orfeo. - Johnny BaseballJohnny Baseball (2010 play)Johnny Baseball: The New Red Sox Musical is a musical with a book by Richard Dresser and a score by brothers Robert Reale and Willie Reale. The story involves circumstances relating to the Curse of the Bambino. The musical had a preview run in Massachusetts that began on May 14, 2010...
2010 Play at the ART.