Edwin Sherin
Encyclopedia
Edwin Sherin is an American
theatre and television director
and producer. He is the husband of actress Jane Alexander
. He has directed many episodes of the television drama Law & Order
, as well as directing for the stage, mainly on Broadway
, including The Great White Hope
.
, Sherin began his theatrical career as an actor, playing small roles on Broadway
in A Desert Incident, Face of a Hero, and Romulus.
He met Alexander while serving as the resident director at Washington, DC's Arena Stage
, where he cast her and James Earl Jones
in The Great White Hope. In 1968, he directed the play and its two stars on Broadway
, and the production marked the start not only of his Broadway directorial career, but a long professional and personal relationship with Alexander as well. He directed Alexander in, among other work, The First Monday in October on Broadway in 1978, Hedda Gabler at the Hartman Theatre (Connecticut) in 1981, in the American Playhouse television movie A Marriage: Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stiegglitz, in 1991.and in the Broadway revival of The Visit.
While working at the Arena Stage, Sherin directed many plays, including The Wall (1963-1964), Galileo (1964-1965), St. Joan (1965 - 1966), Macbeth (1966-1967), The Iceman Cometh (1967-1968), and King Lear (1968-1969).
Sherin won the 1969 Drama Desk Award
for Outstanding Director for The Great White Hope and was nominated for a 1974 Tony Award
for Best Direction of a Play (Find Your Way Home).
In 1974, Sherin directed a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire
at London
's Piccadilly Theatre
with Claire Bloom
, Martin Shaw
, Joss Ackland
, and Morag Hood
.
drama Law & Order
between 1993 and 2000. His television directing credits include all three editions of the current L&O
franchise
, Hill Street Blues
, L.A. Law
, Doogie Howser, M.D.
, Homicide: Life on the Street
,and Medium
.
Sherin and Alexander live in the suburbs north of New York City.
They have four children - Alexander's son Jace
, a television director who frequently worked for him during his time with L&O, and his three sons, Tony, Geoffrey, and Jon, from a previous marriage.
Broadway
Off-Broadway
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatre and television director
Television director
A television director directs the activities involved in making a television program and is part of a television crew.-Duties:The duties of a television director vary depending on whether the production is live or recorded to video tape or video server .In both types of productions, the...
and producer. He is the husband of actress Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed...
. He has directed many episodes of the television drama Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
, as well as directing for the stage, mainly on 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...
, including The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
.
Biography
Born in Harrisburg, PennsylvaniaHarrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
, Sherin began his theatrical career as an actor, playing small roles on 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...
in A Desert Incident, Face of a Hero, and Romulus.
He met Alexander while serving as the resident director at Washington, DC's Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
, where he cast her and James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
in The Great White Hope. In 1968, he directed the play and its two stars on 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...
, and the production marked the start not only of his Broadway directorial career, but a long professional and personal relationship with Alexander as well. He directed Alexander in, among other work, The First Monday in October on Broadway in 1978, Hedda Gabler at the Hartman Theatre (Connecticut) in 1981, in the American Playhouse television movie A Marriage: Georgia O'Keefe and Alfred Stiegglitz, in 1991.and in the Broadway revival of The Visit.
While working at the Arena Stage, Sherin directed many plays, including The Wall (1963-1964), Galileo (1964-1965), St. Joan (1965 - 1966), Macbeth (1966-1967), The Iceman Cometh (1967-1968), and King Lear (1968-1969).
Sherin won the 1969 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 Director for The Great White Hope and was nominated for a 1974 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 Best Direction of a Play (Find Your Way Home).
In 1974, Sherin directed a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
at London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
's Piccadilly Theatre
Piccadilly Theatre
The Piccadilly Theatre is a West End theatre located at 16 Denman Street, behind Piccadilly Circus and adjacent to the Regent Palace Hotel, in the City of Westminster, England.-Early years:Built by Bertie Crewe and Edward A...
with Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom
Claire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
, Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw
Martin Shaw is an English actor. He is best known for his roles in shows such as The Professionals, The Chief, Judge John Deed and Inspector George Gently.-Theatrical background:...
, Joss Ackland
Joss Ackland
Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland CBE , known as Joss Ackland, is an English actor who has appeared in more than 130 films and numerous television roles.-Early life:...
, and Morag Hood
Morag Hood
Morag Hood was a Scottish actress described by many commentators as "a celebrated beauty," who featured in numerous British programmes, stage productions, and audio presentations from the 1960s up to the late 1990s....
.
Television
Sherin executive-produced 163 episodes of the popular NBCNBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
drama Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
between 1993 and 2000. His television directing credits include all three editions of the current L&O
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
franchise
Media franchise
A media franchise is an intellectual property involving the characters, setting and trademarks of an original work of media , such as a film, a work of literature, a television program or a video game. Generally, a whole series is made in a particular medium, along with merchandising and endorsements...
, Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
, L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
, Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D.
Doogie Howser, M.D. is an American television comedy-drama starring Neil Patrick Harris as a 16-year-old doctor who also faces the problems of being a normal teenager. Created by Steven Bochco and David E. Kelley, ABC aired the show from 1989 to 1993 for four seasons totaling 97 episodes.-Plot:Dr....
, Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street
Homicide: Life on the Street is an American police procedural television series chronicling the work of a fictional version of the Baltimore Homicide Unit. It ran for seven seasons on NBC from 1993 to 1999, and was succeeded by a TV movie, which also acted as the de-facto series finale...
,and Medium
Medium (TV series)
Medium is an American television drama series that premiered on NBC on January 3, 2005, and ended on CBS on January 21, 2011. Themed on supernatural gifts, its lead character, Allison DuBois , is a medium employed as a consultant for the Phoenix, Arizona district attorney's office...
.
Personal
The couple were married in March 1975 in Massachusetts. "The two met at Washington's Arena Stage 10 years ago when he was a producer-director and she was in the troupe."Sherin and Alexander live in the suburbs north of New York City.
They have four children - Alexander's son Jace
Jace Alexander
Jace Alexander is an American television director and former actor.-Biography:Alexander was born Jason Alexander in New York City, the only son of actress Jane Alexander and her first husband Robert, founder and former director of The Living Stage...
, a television director who frequently worked for him during his time with L&O, and his three sons, Tony, Geoffrey, and Jon, from a previous marriage.
Director
Sources: Internet Broadway Database;Internet Off-Broadway DatabaseBroadway
- Prymate (2004)
- The VisitThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
(1992 revival) - Goodbye Fidel (1980)
- First Monday in OctoberFirst Monday in OctoberFirst Monday in October is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The title refers to the day on which the United States Supreme Court traditionally convenes following its summer recess....
(1978) - Do You Turn Somersaults? (1978) (Also The Kennedy Center)
- The Eccentricities of a NightingaleSummer and SmokeSummer and Smoke is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, originally titled Chart of Anatomy when Williams began work on it in 1945. In 1964, Williams revised the play as The Eccentricities of a Nightingale...
(1976) - RexRex (musical)Rex is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Sheldon Harnick and libretto by Sherman Yellen, based on the life of King Henry VIII.-Production history:...
(1976) - Sweet Bird of YouthSweet Bird of YouthSweet Bird of Youth is a 1959 play by Tennessee Williams which tells the story of a gigolo and drifter, Chance Wayne, who returns to his home town as the accompaniment of a faded movie star, Princess Kosmonopolis , whom he hopes to use to help him break into the movies...
(1975 revival) - Of Mice and MenOf Mice and MenOf Mice and Men is a novella written by Nobel Prize-winning author John Steinbeck. Published in 1937, it tells the tragic story of George Milton and Lennie Small, two displaced migrant ranch workers during the Great Depression in California, USA....
(1974 revival) - 6 Rms Riv Vu6 Rms Riv Vu6 Rms Riv Vu is a play by Bob Randall, who also wrote The Magic Show.6 Rms Riv Vu derives its title from shorthand used by realtors in classified advertising. In this case, a six-room apartment with a view of the Hudson River, located on Manhattan's Riverside Drive, serves as the comedy-drama's...
(1972) - An Evening With Richard Nixon and... by Gore VidalGore VidalGore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
(1972)
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...
- The White Rose and the Red (1964)