Gordon Edelstein

Gordon Edelstein is the Long Wharf Theatre’s Artistic Director. In addition to his work on the world premiere of Athol Fugard’s Have You Seen Us?, Mr. Edelstein directed and adapted Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House in Long Wharf Theatre’s 2009-10 season. In addition, Edelstein directed Coming Home at Berkeley Rep and The Glass Menagerie starring Judith Ivey at Roundabout Theatre in New York City. His recent productions of Arthur Miller’s The Price and Anton Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya (which he also adapted) were on numerous best of 2007 lists including the Wall Street Journal. As a director, he has garnered three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards and during his tenure at Long Wharf Theatre, the theatre has produced world premieres by Paula Vogel, Athol Fugard, Craig Lucas, Julia Cho, Noah Haidle, Dael Orlandersmith, and Anna Deavere Smith. Over the course of his career, he has also directed and/or produced premieres by Philip Glass, Arthur Miller, Paula Vogel, Donald Margulies, James Lapine, Charles Mee, Mac Wellman, and Martin McDonagh, among many others, and has directed an extremely diverse body of work from Sophocles to Pinter, and from Shakespeare to Beckett. Under his artistic leadership, Long Wharf Theatre has received 14 additional Connecticut Critics Circle Awards, including six best actor or actress awards in plays that he directed. He was also given the organization’s Tom Killen Award, given annually to an individual who has made an indelible impact on the Connecticut theatrical landscape.^[1] Edelstein has directed countless plays and workshops for Long Wharf Theatre including the world premieres of BFE (transfer to Playwrights Horizons), The Day the Bronx Died (transfer to NY and London), A Dance Lesson, and The Times, as well as We Won’t Pay! We Won’t Pay!, A New War, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Anna Christie, The Front Page, and Mourning Becomes Electra, starring Jane Alexander. Prior to assuming artistic leadership of Long Wharf Theatre, Edelstein helmed Seattle’s ACT Theatre for five years.^[2]

Education

He received a Bachelor of Arts degree with honors in History and Religious Studies from Grinnell College in 1976 and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts from Grinnell College in 2003.^[3]

Directing Credits

• At the ACT, they "include the American premiere of Martin McDonagh's A Skull in Connemara (later presented off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre Company), the world premiere of Lisette Lecat Ross's Scent of the Roses with Julie Harris, and the world premiere adaptation of God of Vengeance by Donald Margulies. His inaugural ACT production of Death of a Salesman was named "One of the Best Dramas of 1998" by the Seattle Times." ^[4]
• At Long Wharf, they include the world premieres of Michael Henry Brown's The Day the Bronx Died, Joyce Carol Oates's How Do You Like Your Meat?, David Wiltse's A Dance Lesson, and the Joe Kennan/Brad Ross musical The Times; plus Joe Sutton's Voir Dire and Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie. His productions of Christopher Hampton's The Philanthropist and David Ives's All in the Timing both received awards from the Connecticut Critics Circle.^[5]

Awards

In 2008, he was awarded the Tom Killen Award by the Connecticut Critics Circle, their highest honor,^[1] because of "his contributions to theater arts in the state. Edelstein has directed more than 100 plays, musicals and operas across the U.S. and Europe."^[6]

References