John Doyle (director)
Encyclopedia
John Doyle is a Tony Award
winning Scottish stage director for musicals and plays, as well as operas. He has served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom
, where he has staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning 30 years.
in the United States
. He was associate director of the Watermill Theatre
, a 216-seat performance space in the English countryside of Berkshire
until 2008. With his work there he has become known for his unusual approach to musical theatre
, often featuring casts who are both actors and musicians, accompanying one another on musical instruments while simultaneously playing roles.
His 2004 staging of Stephen Sondheim
's Sweeney Todd
moved from the Watermill to the West End of London
in 2005 (first to Trafalgar Studios
and then the Ambassadors Theatre). In November 2005 he re-mounted Sweeney on Broadway
, with Michael Cerveris
playing the "demon barber" and Patti LuPone
as Mrs. Lovett
. For this production, he received the 2006 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
.
For Doyle's next project, he moved to the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park
to reinvent Sondheim's Company
with a cast led by Raúl Esparza
, again with actors who sing, dance and provide their own musical accompaniment (known in England as actor/muso). This production was then produced on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
in 2006 and won the Tony Award
, Drama Desk Award
, Outer Critics Circle Award
and Drama League Award
for Best Revival of a Musical. Doyle also staged an actor/musician version of Mack and Mabel starring David Soul
and Janie Dee
in the West End. For his last production at Watermill, he directed Merrily We Roll Along
in March 2008. In the summer of 2009 he directed a production of Oklahoma!
at the Chichester Festival Theatre
, with fresh orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
. The piece was dark in its conception and was well received. Recently, Doyle directed Stephen Sondheim's Road Show at The Public Theatre in New York City.
Doyle directed a production of Kiss Me, Kate
at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for their 2010 season.
He also has ventured into the world of opera, directing a production of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
for Houston Grand Opera
in the 2010-11 season.
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...
winning Scottish stage director for musicals and plays, as well as operas. He has served as artistic director at several regional theatres in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, where he has staged more than 200 professional productions during his career spanning 30 years.
Biography
Doyle trained at the University of GeorgiaUniversity of Georgia
The University of Georgia is a public research university located in Athens, Georgia, United States. Founded in 1785, it is the oldest and largest of the state's institutions of higher learning and is one of multiple schools to claim the title of the oldest public university in the United States...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was associate director of the Watermill Theatre
Watermill Theatre
The Watermill Theatre is an award -winning, professional repertory theatre with charitable status. It is a converted watermill with gardens beside the River Lambourn, in Bagnor, near Newbury, Berkshire, England...
, a 216-seat performance space in the English countryside of Berkshire
Berkshire
Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...
until 2008. With his work there he has become known for his unusual approach to musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
, often featuring casts who are both actors and musicians, accompanying one another on musical instruments while simultaneously playing roles.
His 2004 staging of 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...
's Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd is a fictional character who first appeared as then antagonist of the Victorian penny dreadful The String of Pearls and he was later introduced as an antihero in the broadway musical Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street and its film adaptation...
moved from the Watermill to the West End of London
West End of London
The West End of London is an area of central London, containing many of the city's major tourist attractions, shops, businesses, government buildings, and entertainment . Use of the term began in the early 19th century to describe fashionable areas to the west of Charing Cross...
in 2005 (first to Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios, formerly The Whitehall Theatre until 2004, is a West End theatre in Whitehall, near Trafalgar Square, in the City of Westminster, London....
and then the Ambassadors Theatre). In November 2005 he re-mounted Sweeney on Broadway
Broadway (New York City)
Broadway is a prominent avenue in New York City, United States, which runs through the full length of the borough of Manhattan and continues northward through the Bronx borough before terminating in Westchester County, New York. It is the oldest north–south main thoroughfare in the city, dating to...
, with Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris
Michael Cerveris is an American singer, guitarist and actor. He has performed in many stage musicals and plays, including in several Stephen Sondheim musicals: Assassins, Sweeney Todd, Road Show, and Passion...
playing the "demon barber" and Patti LuPone
Patti LuPone
Patti Ann LuPone is an American singer and actress, known for her Tony Award-winning performances as Eva Perón in the 1979 stage musical Evita and as Madame Rose in the 2008 Broadway revival of Gypsy, and for her Olivier Award-winning performance as Fantine in the original London cast of Les...
as Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. She is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given. First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of...
. For this production, he received the 2006 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical
This is a list of winners and nominations for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical. Prior to 1960, category for direction included plays and musicals.-1950s:Note: this category was for both dramatic and musical productions...
.
For Doyle's next project, he moved to 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...
to reinvent Sondheim's Company
Company (musical)
Company is a musical with a book by George Furth and music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The original production was nominated for a record-setting fourteen Tony Awards and won six....
with a cast led by Raúl Esparza
Raúl Esparza
Raúl Eduardo Esparza is an American stage actor, singer, and voice artist noted for his award winning performances in Broadway shows...
, again with actors who sing, dance and provide their own musical accompaniment (known in England as actor/muso). This production was then produced on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre
Ethel Barrymore Theatre
The Ethel Barrymore Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 243 West 47th Street in midtown-Manhattan, named for actress Ethel Barrymore....
in 2006 and won the 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...
, 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...
, Outer Critics Circle Award
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
and Drama League Award
Drama League Award
The Drama League Awards, created in 1935, honor distinguished productions and performances both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, in addition to recognizing exemplary career achievements in theatre, musical theatre, and directing...
for Best Revival of a Musical. Doyle also staged an actor/musician version of Mack and Mabel starring David Soul
David Soul
David Soul is an American-British actor and singer, best known for his role as Detective Kenneth "Hutch" Hutchinson in the television programme Starsky and Hutch . He gained British citizenship in 2004.-Early life:...
and Janie Dee
Janie Dee
Janie Dee is an English actress and singer.She is married to the actor Rupert Wickham.-Theatre:Dee is presently part of the Globe Theatre 2011 season playing The Countess of Roussillion in Shakespeare's "All's Well that Ends Well" and in October she goes to Nottingham Playhouse to play Amanda in ...
in the West End. For his last production at Watermill, he directed Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along
Merrily We Roll Along is a play by George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart. It concerns a man who has lost the idealistic values of his youth. Its innovative structure presents the story in reverse order, with the character regressing from a mournful adult to a young man whose future is filled with...
in March 2008. In the summer of 2009 he directed a production of Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
at the Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre
Chichester Festival Theatre, located in Chichester, England, was designed by Philip Powell and Hidalgo Moya, and opened by its founder Leslie Evershed-Martin in 1962. Subsequently the smaller and more intimate Minerva Theatre was built nearby in 1989....
, with fresh orchestrations by Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick
Jonathan Tunick is an American orchestrator, musical director, and composer, one of twelve people to have won all four major American show business awards: the Tony, Oscar, Emmy and Grammy. He has also worked with all of the other eleven people. His principal instrument is the clarinet...
. The piece was dark in its conception and was well received. Recently, Doyle directed Stephen Sondheim's Road Show at The Public Theatre in New York City.
Doyle directed a production of Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival for their 2010 season.
He also has ventured into the world of opera, directing a production of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor
Lucia di Lammermoor is a dramma tragico in three acts by Gaetano Donizetti. Salvadore Cammarano wrote the Italian language libretto loosely based upon Sir Walter Scott's historical novel The Bride of Lammermoor....
for 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...
in the 2010-11 season.