Tuesday, June 27, 2006
New Harmony Theatre names Leibowitz new artistic director
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Dr. David Glassman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts and producer of The New Harmony Theatre, announced that Lenny Leibowitz will succeed Scott LaFeber as artistic director of The New Harmony Theatre. LaFeber will complete the 2006 season at The New Harmony Theatre, his tenth as artistic director. He has been appointed to the theatre faculty at Emerson College in Boston. Leibowitz will join the theatre faculty at USI in late August and begin work on New Harmony Theatre’s 2007 season at that time. Glassman said, “Scott has done a tremendous job of building the theatre’s professional reputation, attracting the best actors and theatre artists in the country, and creating a strong base of subscribers and donors. We wish him well. Emerson is a prestigious performing arts college, and they are very lucky to have Scott on their faculty.” Glassman selected Leibowitz after a year-long search that included over 40 candidates. “Lenny comes to us as a highly recommended professional theatre director with outstanding experience and credits. He will build on the tradition of excellence Scott has established during his tenure at New Harmony,” Glassman said. Leibowitz’s theatrical credits include directing the world premiere of Making Tracks, which workshopped at the Joseph Papp Public Theatre and ran Off-Broadway at Rockefeller Center. He has directed productions at some of the nation’s leading regional theatres, including the Tony Award-winning Intiman Theatre in Seattle, where he co-wrote and directed Before the Rain, a new gospel musical inspired by The Devil and Daniel Webster. Other regional theatre credits include Boston Playwrights Theatre, Huntington Theatre’s Breaking Ground Festival (Boston), and the Olney Theatre in Maryland. Recently, he directed several Shakespeare productions, including Romeo and Juliet, for the National Players, the country’s oldest classical theatre touring company. As artistic director of the Civic Theatre of Allentown, Leibowitz staged over twenty productions, including the Pennsylvania premiere of James Joyce’s The Dead. Most recently, he was a resident director for the Chamber Theatre Company in Boston. A Philadelphia native, Leibowitz made his professional debut as a piano soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. As a musical director, he has conducted the first European tours of On the Town and Grease. He received his B.A. from Columbia University and his M.F.A. from Boston University, where he was also a member of the conservatory faculty. He is a member of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers, the union of professional directors in the United States. Leibowitz said, “The New Harmony Theatre is indeed a treasure to the region—a true cultural landmark. After directing in New York, Europe, and in regional theatres all around the country, I was overjoyed to discover what an impressive facility you have here. And I was equally impressed by the organization’s high aspirations and profound dedication to a national standard of artistic and academic excellence. I look forward to building on Scott LaFeber’s remarkable legacy, cultivating new talent, augmenting the theatre’s external reputation, and ensuring its institutional health well into the future. With the help of a gifted and intrepid staff — and with the help of New Harmony’s devoted patrons — I look forward to crafting seasons filled with extraordinary artistic experiences, with productions that quicken the senses, refresh the spirit and astonish the heart.” According to Glassman, USI’s commitment to producing professional theatre featuring actors who are members of Actors Equity Association, the union for professional actors and stage managers in the United States, remains strong. “I have confidence that Lenny will continue The New Harmony Theatre’s legacy of high quality professional theatre well into the future,” he said. |
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