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Harold Scott (director)
Encyclopedia
Harold Russell Scott, Jr. (6 September 1935 – 16 July 2006) was an American stage director, actor
and educator, who broke racial barriers in American theatre. Scott first became known for his work as an electrifying stage actor with a piercing voice, and later as an innovative director of numerous productions throughout the country, from Broadway to the Tony Award-winning regional theatre, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
, where he was the first African-American artistic director in the history of American regional theatre.
. His mother was a housewife and his father, Harold Russell Scott, Sr., was a general practitioner
. Scott was educated at Philips Exeter Academy and Harvard. He had a career as a stage director on Broadway and Off Broadway, but began as an actor of note, performing in Jean Genet
's The Blacks and an acclaimed production of the premiere of The Death of Bessie Smith by Edward Albee. Winner of the Obie Award
for acting in Jean Genet
's Deathwatch in 1959, Scott also played on Broadway in The Cool World.
Scott was chosen by Elia Kazan
to be an original member of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, where he performed in Arthur Miller
's After the Fall and Incident at Vichy, and was cast by José Quintero
in Thomas Middleton's Changeling and in Eugene O'Neill
's Marco Millions. In 1984, Scott returned to Off Broadway to play Brutus in a modern dress production of Shakespeare's Caesar with the Riverside Shakespeare Company
at The Shakespeare Center
under the direction of W. Stuart McDowell.
Scott staged numerous innovative productions in New York and at regional theatres, including Morgan Freeman
in The Mighty Gents on Broadway in 1978, and Avery Brooks
in Paul Robeson on Broadway twice: in 1988 and again in 1995. Scott also directed the twenty-fifth anniversary production of A Raisin in the Sun, with Esther Rolle
. This production opened at the Roundabout Theatre in New York; it then broke box-office records at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Scott's production received nine National Theater Awards from the NAACP, including best director, and was filmed for public television's Great Performances.
Scott was head of the directing program the Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
In February 2006, Scott directed his final play, Yellowman, an examination of black-on-black prejudice, at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
where, in 1973 he began a two-year appointment as artistic director. He was the first African-American to have earned such in a major regional theatre.
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
and educator, who broke racial barriers in American theatre. Scott first became known for his work as an electrifying stage actor with a piercing voice, and later as an innovative director of numerous productions throughout the country, from Broadway to the Tony Award-winning regional theatre, the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
The was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that premiered at the Playhouse on October 10, 1960, was Meyer Levin's Compulsion...
, where he was the first African-American artistic director in the history of American regional theatre.
Life and career
Scott was born in Morristown, New JerseyMorristown, New Jersey
Morristown is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 18,411. It is the county seat of Morris County. Morristown became characterized as "the military capital of the American Revolution" because of its strategic role in the...
. His mother was a housewife and his father, Harold Russell Scott, Sr., was a general practitioner
General practitioner
A general practitioner is a medical practitioner who treats acute and chronic illnesses and provides preventive care and health education for all ages and both sexes. They have particular skills in treating people with multiple health issues and comorbidities...
. Scott was educated at Philips Exeter Academy and Harvard. He had a career as a stage director on Broadway and Off Broadway, but began as an actor of note, performing in Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
's The Blacks and an acclaimed production of the premiere of The Death of Bessie Smith by Edward Albee. Winner of the Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for acting in Jean Genet
Jean Genet
Jean Genet was a prominent and controversial French novelist, playwright, poet, essayist, and political activist. Early in his life he was a vagabond and petty criminal, but later took to writing...
's Deathwatch in 1959, Scott also played on Broadway in The Cool World.
Scott was chosen by Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan
Elia Kazan was an American director and actor, described by the New York Times as "one of the most honored and influential directors in Broadway and Hollywood history". Born in Istanbul, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, to Greek parents originally from Kayseri in Anatolia, the family emigrated...
to be an original member of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center, where he performed in Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's After the Fall and Incident at Vichy, and was cast by José Quintero
José Quintero
José Benjamin Quintero was a Panamanian theatre director, producer and pedagogue best known for his interpretations of the works of Eugene O'Neill.-Early years:...
in Thomas Middleton's Changeling and in Eugene O'Neill
Eugene O'Neill
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into American drama techniques of realism earlier associated with Russian playwright Anton Chekhov, Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen, and Swedish...
's Marco Millions. In 1984, Scott returned to Off Broadway to play Brutus in a modern dress production of Shakespeare's Caesar with the Riverside Shakespeare Company
Riverside Shakespeare Company
The Riverside Shakespeare Company of New York City was founded in 1977 as a professional theatre company on the Upper West Side of New York City, by W. Stuart McDowell and Gloria Skurski...
at The Shakespeare Center
The Shakespeare Center
The Shakespeare Center was the home of the Riverside Shakespeare Company, an Equity professional theatre company in New York City, beginning in 1982, when the then six-year-old theatre company established its center of theatre production and advanced actor training at the 90 year-old West Park...
under the direction of W. Stuart McDowell.
Scott staged numerous innovative productions in New York and at regional theatres, including Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman
Morgan Freeman is an American actor, film director, aviator and narrator. He is noted for his reserved demeanor and authoritative speaking voice. Freeman has received Academy Award nominations for his performances in Street Smart, Driving Miss Daisy, The Shawshank Redemption and Invictus and won...
in The Mighty Gents on Broadway in 1978, and Avery Brooks
Avery Brooks
Avery Franklin Brooks is an American actor, television director, jazz musician, opera singer and college professor. Brooks is perhaps best known for his television roles as Benjamin Sisko on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and as Hawk on Spenser: For Hire and its spinoff A Man Called Hawk, and in the...
in Paul Robeson on Broadway twice: in 1988 and again in 1995. Scott also directed the twenty-fifth anniversary production of A Raisin in the Sun, with Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle
Esther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...
. This production opened at the Roundabout Theatre in New York; it then broke box-office records at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. Scott's production received nine National Theater Awards from the NAACP, including best director, and was filmed for public television's Great Performances.
Scott was head of the directing program the Mason Gross School of the Arts, at Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey.
In February 2006, Scott directed his final play, Yellowman, an examination of black-on-black prejudice, at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
The was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that premiered at the Playhouse on October 10, 1960, was Meyer Levin's Compulsion...
where, in 1973 he began a two-year appointment as artistic director. He was the first African-American to have earned such in a major regional theatre.