John Doyle is a Scottish stage director of 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 over 40 years. For his 2005 Broadway production of Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, he won a Tony Award and a Drama Desk Award. He also directed A Catered Affair, the Off-Broadway production of Road Show, Kiss Me, Kate, an opera production of Gaetano Donizetti's Lucia di Lammermoor, and The Visit. He received his third Tony nomination for his direction of the revival of The Color Purple starring Cynthia Erivo, Danielle Brooks and Jennifer Hudson. The Broadway production won the Tony awards for Best Revival of a Musical and Best Actress in a Musical for Erivo's performance as Celie. He recently became the Artistic Director of the off-Broadway theater Classic Stage Company, located in the East Village in New York City.
Listen to John talk about his new gig, as well as . . .
- How he “stumbled” into directing.
- Where the idea for Actors playing instruments in Sweeney Todd came from.
- The biggest difference between directing in New York and directing in London.
- Which Actors drive him crazy, and why that’s a good thing (and yes, he names names!).
- The one piece of advice he would give to every Broadway Producer in the business.
Enjoy this master class in directing from a man who has slayed dramaturgical dragons on both sides of the pond!
Keep up with me: @KenDavenportBway