Tina Landau
Encyclopedia
Tina Landau is an American
playwright
and theatre director.
Born in New York City to film and television producers Edie and Ely Landau
, Landau moved with her family to Beverly Hills, California, where she graduated from Beverly Hills High School
before attending Yale University
, where she directed fellow freshman Jodie Foster
in a play; Landau directed numerous student production plays while she was an undergraduate. She later attended the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University
.
Landau's early work included site specific productions with New York City's En Garde Arts, including Orestes and The Trojan Women: A Love Story, both by Charles L. Mee
, as well as her original play "Stonewall: Night Variations." Floyd Collins
, with a book by Landau and a score by Adam Guettel
, opened off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons
in 1996. Landau was nominated for the Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Book of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, and the production won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. A later version of the show played at San Diego's Old Globe Theater, The Goodman
Theater in Chicago, and The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia (where it was originally commissioned and produced.)
In 1997, she became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
, where she has directed numerous productions including Tarell Alvin McCraney
's The Brother/Sister Plays, The Tempest
, The Time of Your Life
(which later moved to Seattle Rep and A.C.T.), The Diary of Anne Frank
, The Cherry Orchard
, Theatrical Essays, Time to Burn, Berlin Circle, and The Ballad of Little Jo.
She made her Broadway
debut directing the 2001 revival of Bells Are Ringing
with Faith Prince
, and in 2009 she returned to Broadway with the Steppenwolf production of Tracy Letts
' Superior Donuts
. Other New York City directing credits include Charles L. Mee
’s Iphigenia 2.0 at the Signature Theater, Dream True, Mary Rose, Miracle Brothers and Wig Out!, all at the Vineyard Theater, as well as In the Red and Brown Water, Space, and Saturn Returns all at The Public Theater.
Landau's many other regional credits include Antony and Cleopatra
at Hartford Stage, A Midsummer Night's Dream
at the McCarter Theater and Papermill Playhouse, Of Thee I Sing
at Papermill, and The Cure at Troy
at Seattle Rep.
Landau's writing includes book and lyrics for Dream True and States of Independence, both with scores by Ricky Ian Gordon
, the plays Beauty at La Jolla Playhouse
(San Diego Critics Best Play), Space at Steppenwolf, the Public, and the Mark Taper Forum (TIME magazine Top Ten), Stonewall: Night Variations, and 1969 (or Howie Takes a Trip). She is currently at work on the book for a new musical version of her play Beauty with music by Regina Spektor
and lyrics by Michael Korie
. With Anne Bogart
, Landau has co-authored The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. She works with and teaches the Viewpoints
technique regularly at theaters and schools across the country.
Landau has shared in interviews that she is a lesbian
. She was named one of the "Out 100 of 2009" by OUT Magazine. Her long-time partner is Niki Cunningham, an Advising Dean at Columbia University.
Landau was named a 2007 USA Ford Fellow and granted $50,000 by United States Artists
, an arts advocacy foundation dedicated to the support and promotion of America's top living artists. She has taught at various schools, including Yale University and the Yale School of Drama
, and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and theatre director.
Born in New York City to film and television producers Edie and Ely Landau
Ely Landau
Ely Abraham Landau was an American producer and production executive best remembered for films of plays in the American Film Theatre series....
, Landau moved with her family to Beverly Hills, California, where she graduated from Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School
Beverly Hills High School is the only major public high school in Beverly Hills, California. Beverly is part of the Beverly Hills Unified School District and located on on the west side of Beverly Hills, at the...
before attending 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...
, where she directed fellow freshman Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
in a play; Landau directed numerous student production plays while she was an undergraduate. She later attended the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training 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...
.
Landau's early work included site specific productions with New York City's En Garde Arts, including Orestes and The Trojan Women: A Love Story, both by Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts.-Early Life and Early Career:...
, as well as her original play "Stonewall: Night Variations." Floyd Collins
Floyd Collins (musical)
Floyd Collins is a musical based on the death of Floyd Collins near Cave City, Kentucky in the winter of 1925. The book is by Tina Landau, with music and lyrics by Adam Guettel and additional lyrics by Landau.-Productions:...
, with a book by Landau and a score by Adam Guettel
Adam Guettel
Adam Guettel is an American composer-lyricist of musical theater and opera . He is best known for the musical The Light in the Piazza, for which he won two Tony Awards, for Best Score and Best Orchestrations, and two Drama Desk Awards, for Best Music and Best Orchestrations.-Early years:Guettel...
, opened off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
in 1996. Landau was nominated for the Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
for Outstanding Book of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, and the production won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. A later version of the show played at San Diego's Old Globe Theater, The Goodman
Goodman
Goodman may refer to:People* Goodman Places* Goodman, Missouri, a US city* Goodman, Wisconsin, a US town* Goodman , Wisconsin, an US unincorporated community* Goodman, Mississippi, a US townOther...
Theater in Chicago, and The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia (where it was originally commissioned and produced.)
In 1997, she became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Tony Award-winning Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Gary Sinise, Terry Kinney and Jeff Perry in the basement of a church in Highland Park, Illinois. It has since relocated to Chicago's Halsted Street, in the Lincoln Park neighborhood. Its name comes from...
, where she has directed numerous productions including Tarell Alvin McCraney
Tarell Alvin McCraney
Tarell Alvin McCraney is an award-winning American playwright and actor. He is a member of Teo Castellanos/ D Projects Theater Company in Miami and in 2008 became RSC/Warwick International Playwright in Residence at the Royal Shakespeare Company...
's The Brother/Sister Plays, 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,...
, The Time of Your Life
The Time of Your Life
The Time of Your Life is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened 25 October 1939 at the Booth Theatre in New York City...
(which later moved to Seattle Rep and A.C.T.), The Diary of Anne Frank
The Diary of Anne Frank (play)
The Diary of Anne Frank is a stage adaptation of the book The Diary of a Young Girl. The play is a dramatization by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. It opened at the Cort Theatre, Broadway, on October 5, 1955, in a production by Kermit Bloomgarden, directed by Garson Kanin and designed by Boris...
, The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard
The Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, Theatrical Essays, Time to Burn, Berlin Circle, and The Ballad of Little Jo.
She made her 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 directing the 2001 revival of Bells Are Ringing
Bells Are Ringing (musical)
Bells Are Ringing is a musical with a book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Jule Styne. The story revolves around Ella, who works at an answering service and the characters that she meets there. The main character was based on Mary Printz, who worked for Green's answering...
with Faith Prince
Faith Prince
Faith Prince is an American actress and singer known primarily for her work on Broadway. Prince has won the Tony Award as Best Actress in a Musical and received three Tony nominations.-Life and career:...
, and in 2009 she returned to Broadway with the Steppenwolf production of Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts
Tracy Letts is an American playwright and actor who received the 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play August: Osage County.-Biography:...
' Superior Donuts
Superior Donuts
Superior Donuts is a play by American playwright Tracy Letts. Its world premiere was staged by the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago in 2008, and it premiered on Broadway in 2009.-Synopsis:...
. Other New York City directing credits include Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee
Charles L. Mee is an American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting, which makes use of radical reconstructions of found texts.-Early Life and Early Career:...
’s Iphigenia 2.0 at the Signature Theater, Dream True, Mary Rose, Miracle Brothers and Wig Out!, all at the Vineyard Theater, as well as In the Red and Brown Water, Space, and Saturn Returns all at The Public Theater.
Landau's many other regional credits include Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra
Antony and Cleopatra is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written sometime between 1603 and 1607. It was first printed in the First Folio of 1623. The plot is based on Thomas North's translation of Plutarch's Lives and follows the relationship between Cleopatra and Mark Antony...
at Hartford Stage, A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
at the McCarter Theater and Papermill Playhouse, Of Thee I Sing
Of Thee I Sing
Of Thee I Sing is a musical with a score by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and a book by George S. Kaufman and Morrie Ryskind. The musical lampoons American politics; the story concerns John P. Wintergreen, who runs for President of the United States on the "love" platform...
at Papermill, and The Cure at Troy
The Cure at Troy
The Cure at Troy is an adaptation by Seamus Heaney of Sophocles' play Philoctetes. The adaption is well known for its lines "History says, Don't hope / On this side of the grave, / But then, once in a lifetime / The longed-for tidal wave / Of justice can rise up / And hope and history rhyme."...
at Seattle Rep.
Landau's writing includes book and lyrics for Dream True and States of Independence, both with scores by Ricky Ian Gordon
Ricky Ian Gordon
Ricky Ian Gordon is an American composer of songs, stage musicals and opera. The death of his lover from AIDS inspired Dream True and Orpheus and Euridice...
, the plays Beauty at La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
(San Diego Critics Best Play), Space at Steppenwolf, the Public, and the Mark Taper Forum (TIME magazine Top Ten), Stonewall: Night Variations, and 1969 (or Howie Takes a Trip). She is currently at work on the book for a new musical version of her play Beauty with music by Regina Spektor
Regina Spektor
Regina Ilyinichna Spektor is a Russian American singer-songwriter and pianist. Her music is associated with the anti-folk scene centered in New York City's East Village.-Early life:...
and lyrics by Michael Korie
Michael Korie
Michael Korie is an American librettist and lyricist. Korie's works include Grey Gardens , Harvey Milk and The Grapes of Wrath . He also wrote the lyrics to Doctor Zhivago Michael Korie (born Michael Cory Indick) is an American librettist and lyricist. Korie's works include Grey Gardens...
. With Anne Bogart
Anne Bogart
-Biography:She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bard College in 1974, followed by a Master of Arts degree from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1977. She served as Artistic Director of the Trinity Repertory Company for its 1989-90 season...
, Landau has co-authored The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. She works with and teaches the Viewpoints
Viewpoints
Viewpoints is a technique of composition that provides a vocabulary for thinking about and acting upon movement and gesture. Originally developed in the 1970s by choreographer Mary Overlie as a method of movement improvisation, The Viewpoints theory was adapted for stage acting by directors Anne...
technique regularly at theaters and schools across the country.
Landau has shared in interviews that she is a lesbian
Lesbian
Lesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
. She was named one of the "Out 100 of 2009" by OUT Magazine. Her long-time partner is Niki Cunningham, an Advising Dean at Columbia University.
Landau was named a 2007 USA Ford Fellow and granted $50,000 by United States Artists
United States Artists
United States Artists is an independent nonprofit and nongovernmental philanthropic organization based in Los Angeles, California and dedicated to supporting the work of living American artists by the granting of cash awards, called USA Fellowships...
, an arts advocacy foundation dedicated to the support and promotion of America's top living artists. She has taught at various schools, including Yale University and the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
, and Tisch School of the Arts at New York University.