Michael Greif
Encyclopedia
Michael Greif is a stage director and producer, born in Brooklyn
, New York. He has received three Tony Award
nominations and won the Obie Award
.
Greif attended Northwestern University
and graduated from the University of California-San Diego graduate directing program. He was the Artistic Director of the La Jolla Playhouse
, LaJolla, California from 1994 - 1999.
For Broadway he has most recently directed the musicals Next to Normal (also at Second Stage Theatre
and Arena Stage
) and Grey Gardens
(also at Playwrights Horizons
), receiving Tony Award nominations as director for each. He directed the original 1996 production of Rent
, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, the Drama Desk Award
nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical, and the Obie Award
.
He was an Artistic Associate at the New York Theatre Workshop
where he directed, among others, Bright Lights, Big City (1998–99) and the original production of Rent.
Among his many directing credits off-Broadway are John Guare
's Landscape of the Body and A Few Stout Individuals at the Signature Theater, Beauty of the Father for the Manhattan Theatre Club
, and Romeo and Juliet at the New York Shakespeare Festival
at the Delacorte Theater
(June 2007).
In 2009, Greif directed "Mrs. Sharp," music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver
, at Playwrights Horizons
starring Jane Krakowski
.
Broadway
Guthrie Theatre
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York. He has received three 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...
nominations and won 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...
.
Greif attended Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
and graduated from the University of California-San Diego graduate directing program. He was the Artistic Director of the 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:...
, LaJolla, California from 1994 - 1999.
For Broadway he has most recently directed the musicals Next to Normal (also at 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...
and 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...
) and Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens (musical)
Grey Gardens is an American musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were...
(also 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....
), receiving Tony Award nominations as director for each. He directed the original 1996 production of Rent
Rent (musical)
Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical, 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...
nomination for Outstanding Director of a Musical, and 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...
.
He was an Artistic Associate at the New York Theatre Workshop
New York Theatre Workshop
__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...
where he directed, among others, Bright Lights, Big City (1998–99) and the original production of Rent.
Among his many directing credits off-Broadway are John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
's Landscape of the Body and A Few Stout Individuals at the Signature Theater, Beauty of the Father for the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
, and Romeo and Juliet at the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
at the Delacorte Theater
Delacorte Theater
The Delacorte Theater, established in 1962, is an open-air theater located in Manhattan's Central Park and has a seating capacity of 1,800. The Delacorte is owned by the City of New York and operated by The Public Theater. It is an open-air amphitheater, with the Turtle Pond and Belvedere Castle...
(June 2007).
In 2009, Greif directed "Mrs. Sharp," music and lyrics by Ryan Scott Oliver
Ryan Scott Oliver
Ryan Scott Oliver is a musical theatre composer and lyricist. He is the recipient of both the 2009 Jonathan Larson Grant and the 2008 Richard Rodgers Award for Musical Theater. He received his B.A. in Music Composition from UCLA and his M.F.A. in Musical Theatre Writing from the Tisch School of...
, 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....
starring Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski
Jane Krakowski is an American actress and singer. She is most well known for her performance of Elaine Vassal on Ally McBeal, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and for her current role as Jenna Maroney on the NBC sitcom 30 Rock, for which she has been nominated for three Emmy...
.
Work (selected)
La Jolla Playhouse- The Three Cuckolds (1986)
- What The Butler Saw (Joe Orton) (1992)
- Thérèse Raquin (Neal Bell adaption of Zola) (1994)
- Slavs! (Tony Kushner) 1995)
- Faust (Randy Newman) (1995)
- Boy (Diana Son) (1996)
Broadway
- Next to Normal (2009)
- Grey GardensGrey Gardens (musical)Grey Gardens is an American musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were...
(2006) - Never Gonna DanceNever Gonna DanceNever Gonna Dance is a Broadway musical featuring the music of Jerome Kern. The musical was based on the 1936 Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers film Swing Time. Lyricists include Oscar Hammerstein, Ira Gershwin, P. G...
(2003) - RentRent (musical)Rent is a rock musical with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson based on Giacomo Puccini's opera La bohème...
(1996)
Guthrie Theatre
- The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the ScripturesThe Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the ScripturesThe Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures is a 2009 play by American playwright Tony Kushner. The world premiere was directed by Michael Greif at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, opening on May 15, 2009 in previews and running through June 28...
(Tony Kushner) (2009)