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Christopher McElroen

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BIO

Christopher McElroen is a New York based Producer and Director. He co-founded the Classical Theatre of Harlem and served as the organizations Executive Director from 1999 – 2009 where he produced forty-one productions yielding 18 AUDELCO Awards, 6 OBIE Awards, 2 Lucille Lortel Awards, a Drama Desk Award and CTH being named "1 of 8 theatres in America to Watch" by the Drama League. Christopher has directed over thirty professional productions including four world premieres, The Cherry Orchard with Wendell Pierce and Earle Hyman, an original adaptation of Richard Wright's novel Native Son, Marat/Sade with T. Ryder Smith and The Blacks: A Clown Show, which received four 2003 OBIE Awards and was named one of the ten best Off-Broadway productions of 2003 by The New York Times. Alongside visual artist Paul Chan and Creative Time, Christopher co-produced and directed Waiting for Godot in New Orleans, a community development through the arts initiative that staged Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot outdoors in the Lower Ninth Ward and Gentilly communities of post-Katrina New Orleans. The New York Times listed the project as one of the top ten national art events of 2007. The archives from the production have been acquired into the permanent collection of The Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) and will be on exhibit at MOMA through September 2011. He had the honor of directing the world-premiere of 51st (dream) State, the final work of poet, musician and activist Sekou Sundiata. 51st (dream) State was a multimedia exploration of American Empire that premiered in New York at The Brooklyn Academy of Music's Next Wave Festival before touring internationally. In addition, Christopher has directed or guest lectured at Stanford University, Duke University, Purdue University, New York University, Dartmouth College, The Contemporary Arts Center Boston, The Walker Arts Center and The Museum of Modern Art, among others. He is currently working with Oscar nominee Oren Jacoby and The Ralph Ellison Estate on the world premiere stage adaptation of Ellison's prolific novel Invisible Man.

Productions

 
[West End, 2023]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2010]
Producer
 
[Off-Broadway, 2009]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2007]
Executive Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2007]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2006]
Executive Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2006]
Director
Executive Director
Founder
 
[Off-Broadway, 2006]
Executive Director
Founder
 
[Off-Broadway, 2005]
Founder/Executive Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2005]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2003]
Director
Executive Director
Founder

Awards and Nominations


winner
Helen Hayes Awards - 2013 - Outstanding Director, Resident Play

Christopher McElroenInvisible Man

Videos

News


DEBATE: BALDWIN VS. BUCKLEY Comes to DePaul's Cortelyou Commons

Next winter, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of their legendary duel, TimeLine Theatre Company will present the Chicago premiere of the american vicarious’ Debate: Baldwin vs. Buckley.
Construction Begins on TimeLine Theatre Company's New Home in Uptown

TimeLine Theatre Company's capital campaign has raised nearly $40 million and its general contractor, Bulley & Andrews, has begun construction on the company’s future new home at 5035 N. Broadway, near the corner of Broadway and Argyle, in Chicago’s Uptown neighborhood.
TimeLine Theatre Announces FAREWELLINGTON Events On Path To New Home In Uptown

TimeLine Theatre has announced 'FareWellington' events to celebrate its history at 615 W. Wellington Avenue as it prepares to move to a new location in Uptown.
World Premiere Of OUR AMERICAN QUEEN to be Presented at The Flea Theater

The world premiere of OUR AMERICAN QUEEN, a new play by Thomas Klingenstein, directed by Christopher McElroen, will run at The Flea Theater in NY. Opening night is June 14.
TimeLine Theatre Closes 2024-25 Season With DHABA ON DEVON AVENUE

TimeLine Theatre Company has announced details for the world premiere of Dhaba on Devon Avenue by Madhuri Shekar, directed by Chay Yew and presented in a co-production with Writers Theatre.
Timeline Theatre Company Announces FALSETTOS And More For 2024-25 Season

TimeLine Theatre Company has announced a 28th season that offers a scope unprecedented in the company’s history.
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY Returns to the UK For Black History Month

DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY returns to the UK with performances at Bristol Old Vic and The Cambridge Union as part of Black History Month. Learn more about the upcoming performances here!
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY to Conclude Five-Borough NYC Tour in May

 Following a 5-week run at Stone Nest in London’s West End, the american vicarious's Five-Borough NYC Tour of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley will conclude with two performances on May 13 at the Bronx River Art Center.
Review: DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY, Stone Nest

Taut and razor-sharp verbatim adaptation of a famous debate from the 60s is entertaining and enlightening
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY to Have UK Premiere & Embark on 5-Borough New York Tour

the american vicarious will present the UK Premiere along with additional details for its Five-Borough NYC Tour of their production of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr.
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY Comes to Stone Nest

Christopher McElroen directs the UK premiere of the critically acclaimed off-Broadway show, Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley - a powerful and thought-provoking verbatim staging of the historic clash between author and activist James Baldwin and conservative, political commentator William F. Buckley Jr.
Harlem Stage Announces Spring 2023 Programming Featuring THE VICKSBURG PROJECT World Premiere & More

Harlem Stage has announced full programming for Spring 2023, continuing its Black Arts Movement: Examined series examining the 1960s/70s cultural movement led by Black artists, activists, and intellectuals.
Gene Gillette Performs in Greece in ARTAUD/VAN GOGH, Now Playing!

Broadway actor Gene Gillette is in Greece exclusively to perform the theatrical monologue 'Artaud/Van Gogh' under the direction of Ioli Andreadi in the Basement of the Art Theater “Karolos Koun” in Athens.
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY Starring Teagle F. Bougere & Eric T. Miller to be Presented at Queens Theatre

Queens Theater will present Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley from the american vicarious. Adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Christopher McElroen, this staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. will take place on November 11 at 8pm and 12 at 3pm & 8pm.
The American Vicarious' DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY to Tour All Five NYC Boroughs

the american vicarious will present a Five-Borough NYC Tour (5BT) of their critically acclaimed production of Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr.
Harlem Stage Presents Gerald Clayton's PIEDMONT BLUES: A SEARCH FOR SALVATION This Month

Harlem Stage will present six-time GRAMMY-nominated pianist, composer, and bandleader Gerald Clayton and his multidisciplinary project, Piedmont Blues: A Search for Salvation.
The American Vicarious to Present SHOOTING CELEBRITIES

the american vicarious will present the world premiere of Shooting Celebrities by John Ransom Phillips, a multidisciplinary artist equally celebrated for his painting and writing. The production stars Julia Watt as Mary Lincoln, wife of President Abraham Lincoln, and Gene Gillette as Mathew Brady, America’s first celebrity photographer. 
Sunday Morning Michael Dale: Baldwin Debates Buckley, The Brontës Rock Out and Billy Porter Revises The Life

Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley is an extraordinary recreation of A 1965 televised debate, Glass Town is a fun rock concert with a Bronte band, The Life gets reworked for Encores! and an O'Neill drama involving Andrew Jackson may be seen differently today.
DEBATE: BALDWIN VS BUCKLEY With Broadway's Teagle F. Bougere Comes to the A.R.T./New York South Oxford Space

the american vicarious will present Debate: Baldwin vs Buckley, a staging of the historic clash between James Baldwin and William F. Buckley Jr. Adapted and directed by Founding Artistic Director Christopher McElroen, the production stars Teagle F. Bougere (Broadway's The Tempest with Patrick Stewart, A Raisin In The Sun with Phylicia Rashad, and Ivo van Hove's The Crucible) as Baldwin and Eric T. Miller (Mope at the Ensemble Studio Theater) as Buckley with Spencer Hamp. Charlie O'Rourke, and Oliver Shirley.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What awards has Christopher McElroen been nominated for?

and Outstanding Director, Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Invisible Man.

What awards has Christopher McElroen won?

Outstanding Director, Resident Play (Helen Hayes Awards) for Invisible Man.

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