Leonard Foglia
Encyclopedia
Leonard Foglia is an American
theatre director, librettist, and novelist.
Foglia made his Broadway
debut as the assistant director of The Heidi Chronicles
in 1989. He also directed revivals of Wait Until Dark
(1998) and On Golden Pond (2005).
Foglia has collaborated with playwright
Terrence McNally
on three projects, Master Class
(1995), By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea
(1996), and The Stendhal Syndrome (2004).
Foglia's off-Broadway
credits include A Backer's Audition (1992), Lonely Planet (1994), One Touch of Venus
(1996), and If Memory Serves (1999). His regional theatre
credits include The Subject Was Roses
, Thurgood, and The Secret Letters of Jackie & Marilyn. He wrote the libretto for Jake Heggie
's opera
The End of the Affair
and conceived and directed Dreamland, a revue
featuring the songs of Harold Arlen
. In 2008, Foglia directed the world premiere of Jake Heggie's opera Last Acts
at the Houston Grand Opera
.
With Washington Post cultural correspondent David Richards, Foglia co-authored the 1997 suspense novel 1 Ragged Ridge Road. (ISBN 978-0671003555)
Foglia directed the production of Thurgood, a one man show about the life and work of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
at Booth Theatre
. Thurgood, starring Laurence Fishburne
, opened officially on April 30, 2008.
In the fall of 2009, Foglia will be directing the world premiere musical "Laughing Matters" by Iris Rainer Dart
at the Pasadena Playhouse
in California.
In 2009, Folgia will be directing the production of LET ME DOWN EASY by Anna Deavere Smith; presented by Second Stage Theatre
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre director, librettist, and novelist.
Foglia made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut as the assistant director of The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Production history:A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan....
in 1989. He also directed revivals of Wait Until Dark
Wait Until Dark
Wait Until Dark is a play by Frederick Knott.-Synopsis:Susy Hendrix is a blind Greenwich Village housewife who becomes the target of three con-men searching for the heroin hidden in a doll, which her husband Sam innocently transported from Canada as a favor to a woman who has since been murdered...
(1998) and On Golden Pond (2005).
Foglia has collaborated with playwright
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally
Terrence McNally is an American playwright who has received four Tony Awards, an Emmy, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, the Lucille Lortel Award, the Hull-Warriner Award, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has been a member of the Council of the...
on three projects, Master Class
Master Class
Master Class is a play by Terrence McNally, with incidental music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giacomo Puccini, and Vincenzo Bellini.The play originally was staged by the Philadelphia Theatre Company and the Mark Taper Forum. After twelve previews, the Broadway production, directed by Leonard Foglia, opened...
(1995), By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea
By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea
By The Sea, By The Sea, By The Beautiful Sea is a play by Terrence McNally, Lanford Wilson, and Joe Pintauro in three acts. It was commissioned by the Bay Street Theatre where it premiered in 1995....
(1996), and The Stendhal Syndrome (2004).
Foglia's off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
credits include A Backer's Audition (1992), Lonely Planet (1994), One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus
One Touch of Venus is a musical with music written by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ogden Nash, and book by S. J. Perelman and Nash, based on the novella The Tinted Venus by Thomas Anstey Guthrie, and very loosely spoofing the Pygmalion myth. The show satirizes contemporary American suburban values,...
(1996), and If Memory Serves (1999). His regional theatre
Regional theatre in the United States
Regional theaters, or resident theaters, in the United States are professional or semi-professional, theater companies that produce their own seasons. The term regional theatre most often refers to professional theatres outside of New York City...
credits include The Subject Was Roses
The Subject Was Roses
The Subject Was Roses is a Pulitzer Prize-winning 1964 play written by Frank D. Gilroy, who also adapted the work in 1968 for film with the same title.- Background :...
, Thurgood, and The Secret Letters of Jackie & Marilyn. He wrote the libretto for Jake Heggie
Jake Heggie
Jake Heggie is an American composer and pianist.Jake Heggie is the composer of the operas Dead Man Walking , The End of the Affair , At The Statue of Venus , To Hell and Back , and Moby-Dick , as well as the stage work For a Look or a Touch...
's opera
Opera
Opera is an art form in which singers and musicians perform a dramatic work combining text and musical score, usually in a theatrical setting. Opera incorporates many of the elements of spoken theatre, such as acting, scenery, and costumes and sometimes includes dance...
The End of the Affair
The End of the Affair (opera)
The End of the Affair is a chamber opera with music by Jake Heggie and a libretto by Heggie and Leonard Foglia.Based on the Graham Greene novel of the same title, it is set in London in 1944 and 1946 and focuses on Maurice and Sarah, who vows to end their illicit affair if his life is spared in a...
and conceived and directed Dreamland, a revue
Revue
A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century American popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own during its golden years from 1916 to 1932...
featuring the songs of Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen was an American composer of popular music, having written over 500 songs, a number of which have become known the world over. In addition to composing the songs for The Wizard of Oz, including the classic 1938 song, "Over the Rainbow,” Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the...
. In 2008, Foglia directed the world premiere of Jake Heggie's opera Last Acts
Last Acts
Last Acts is a chamber opera in two acts by Jake Heggie to a libretto by Gene Scheerwhich is based on the unpublished play Some Christmas Letters by Terrence McNally...
at the Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera
Houston Grand Opera Houston Grand Opera was founded in 1955 through the joint efforts of Maestro Walter Herbert and cultural leaders Mrs. Louis G. Lobit, Edward Bing and Charles Cockrell...
.
With Washington Post cultural correspondent David Richards, Foglia co-authored the 1997 suspense novel 1 Ragged Ridge Road. (ISBN 978-0671003555)
Foglia directed the production of Thurgood, a one man show about the life and work of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall
Thurgood Marshall was an Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court, serving from October 1967 until October 1991...
at Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
. Thurgood, starring Laurence Fishburne
Laurence Fishburne
Laurence John Fishburne III is an American film and stage actor, playwright, director, and producer. He is perhaps best known for his roles as Morpheus in the Matrix science fiction film trilogy, as Cowboy Curtis on the 1980's television show Pee-wee's Playhouse, and as singer-musician Ike Turner...
, opened officially on April 30, 2008.
In the fall of 2009, Foglia will be directing the world premiere musical "Laughing Matters" by Iris Rainer Dart
Iris Rainer Dart
Iris Rainer Dart is an American author and playwright for television and the stage. Her most notable novel is Beaches, which was made into a 1988 film of the same name...
at the Pasadena Playhouse
Pasadena Playhouse
The Pasadena Playhouse is a historic performing arts venue located 39 S El Molino Avenue in Pasadena, California. The 686-seat auditorium produces a variety of cultural and artistic events, professional shows, and community engagements each year.-History:...
in California.
In 2009, Folgia will be directing the production of LET ME DOWN EASY by Anna Deavere Smith; presented by Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre
Second Stage Theatre is an award-winning contemporary Off-Broadway theater company.-Mission:The theatre's mission is to give new life to contemporary American plays and to produce the world premiers of new plays by both established and emerging playwrights...
.