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Liesl Tommy

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BIO

Liesl Tommy is an award-winning stage director returning to the Huntington having previously directed Top Girls (2018), A Raisin in the Sun (2013), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012), and Ruined (2011). Her credits include productions of Danai Gurira’s Eclipsed (Broadway and The Public Theater) starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o (Tony Award nomination for Best Director), Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’s Appropriate (Signature Theatre), Tracey Scott Wilson’s The Good Negro, UNIVERSES’ Party People, and A. Zell Williams’s Urban Retreat (The Public Theater), Les Misérables (Dallas Theater Center), Hamlet (California Shakespeare Theater), The Piano Lesson (Yale Repertory Theatre), and John Kander/Greg Pierce’s musical Kid Victory. Ms. Tommy is the recipient of an Obie Award, Lucille Lortel Award, Pioneer of the Arts Award, Lillian Hellman Award, Lee Reynolds Award, Alan Schneider Award, NEA/TCG Directors Grant, New York Theatre Workshop Casting/Directing Fellowship, and the inaugural Susan Stroman Award from the Vineyard Theatre. Ms. Tommy facilitated the inaugural Sundance East Africa Theatre Director’s Lab and is a member of the board of the Sundance Institute. Ms. Tommy serves as a program associate at Sundance Institute Theatre Program.

Photos

STAGE CREDITS

[Washington, DC (Regional)]
Shakespeare Theatre Company Production, 2018
Vagonava

Productions

 
[Off-Broadway, 2019]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2018]
Director
 
[Williamstown, MA (Regional), 2017]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2017]
Director
 
[Broadway, 2016]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2015]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2015] [Replacement]
Director[Replacement]
 
[Off-Broadway, 2014]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2009]
Director
 
[Off-Broadway, 2004]
Director

Awards and Nominations


winner
The Lortels - 2016 - Outstanding Director

Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed

Tony Awards - 2016 - Best Direction of a Play

Liesl Tommy, Eclipsed


winner
Obie Awards - 2014 - Direction

Liesl Tommy, Appropriate

Videos

News


Vineyard Theatre Reveals Winners of the Emerging Artists Awards

Vineyard Theatre has revealed the recipients of the 2024-2025 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and Colman Domingo Award. Learn more about the award and the recipients!
PASSING STRANGE Revival to Complete A.R.T. 2024/25 Season

A.R.T. will produce Passing Strange to conclude its 2024/25 Season. Tony Award-nominated director Liesl Tommy will direct the A.R.T. production. Learn more about the production and see how to purchase tickets.
Video: & JULIET's Philippe Arroyo & Ben Jackson Walker Show Off Their Broadway Crib

In this video, watch as Ben Jackson Walker and Philippe Arroyo welcome us to their Broadway crib with a champagne toast and an inside look at their lucky Nicholas Cage pillow, bedazzled guitar, character bobbleheads, and of course, cherished gifts from fans.
Shaina Taub Will Host Broadway for Harris Community Launch

Shaina Taub, creator and star of Broadway’s Tony-winning Suffs, will host the Broadway for Harris Community Launch Call tonight, Monday, August 26 from 6:00-7:00pm ET. The call will take place over Zoom and is open to the public.
70+ Broadway Stars Unite in Support of Kamala Harris and Tim Walz

New York’s theater community is organizing to support Kamala Harris and Tim Walz in the 2024 presidential election. Broadway for Harris is a volunteer coalition of industry professionals and theater enthusiasts united to elect Kamala Harris, Tim Walz and down ballot Democratic candidates this November.
THE 24 HOUR PLAYS: NATIONALS 2024 Cohort Announced

THE 24 HOUR PLAYS has announced this year's cohort for The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, which will return this summer for their 13th year. A weeklong professional development initiative for early-career theater artists, The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals 2024 will take place July 15-22, 2024 at the Pace University Lower Manhattan campus. 
Interview: 'The Play Really Explores the Idea of Identity': Actor Giles Terera on Energy, Bravery and Music in PASSING STRANGE

Passing Strange, the Tony Award-winning rock musical by Stew, is making its European premiere at the Young Vic. The show tells the story of a young man in the 1980s who travels the world to find himself, going from his home of Los Angeles in the United States to the punk rock realms of Amsterdam and Berlin.
Photos: Inside Rehearsal For PASSING STRANGE at the Young Vic Theatre

The Young Vic Theatre has released all new rehearsal photos from the European premiere of the Broadway hit musical Passing Strange. Check out the photos here!
Video: & JULIET'S 'Romeo' Ben Walker Sings 'We Can't Be Friends'

Ben Walker, who currently stars as 'Romeo' in @AndJulietBway posted a stripped-down version of Ariana Grande's latest hit 'We Can't Be Friends' to his Instagram page. Watch in this video!
Photos: Go Inside NYTW's 2024 Gala Honoring Liesl Tommy

New York Theatre Workshop hosted its 2024 Gala, honoring theater and film visionary Liesl Tommy. The evening’s program was hosted by Nicole Ari Parker, directed by Kevin Cahoon, and feature musical direction by Rick Hip-Flores.
Cast Set For the European Premiere of PASSING STRANGE at the Young Vic

The Young Vic Theatre has announced casting for the European premiere of the electrifying Tony, Drama Desk and Critics Circle Award-winning rock musical Passing Strange.
Tickets Exclusively On Sale For Young Vic Theatre's New Season

Tickets are exclusively on sale for the Young Vic Theatre's new season! Learn more about the season lineup and find out how to get tickets here!
Liesl Tommy to be Honored at NYTW 2024 Gala; Shoshanna Bean, Brandon Victor Dixon & More to Appear

New York Theatre Workshop's 2024 Gala will honor theater and film visionary Liesl Tommy. Learn more about the gala and about Tommy!
Applications Now Open for the 13th Annual 24 HOUR PLAYS: NATIONALS

The 24 Hour Plays: Nationals, will return this summer for their 13th year. Learn how to apply!
Kwame Kwei-Armah Will Step Down From the Young Vic; Final Season Lineup Revealed!

Kwame Kwei-Armah has announced his final season at the Young Vic Theatre. His final production as Young Vic Artistic Director will be the world premiere of A Face in the Crowd, a new production based on the classic ‘50s Hollywood film, with music and lyrics by Elvis Costello and book by Sarah Ruhl. Learn more here!
Director Jon Royal Selected As The SDCF 2023 Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Artist At St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre

Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation (SDCF) announces that Jon Royal, a director, teaching artist, and facilitator from Nashville, TN, has been selected as the 2023 Lloyd Richards New Futures Resident Artist at St. Louis Black Repertory Theatre, where he will work with Founder and Producing Director Ron Himes.
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld January 5th, 2024

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is January 5, 2024 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours: 
Photos: The Hermitage Presents Two New Commissions from Madeleine George and Shariffa Ali in NYC

The Hermitage Artist Retreat has released photos from the premiere presentations of newly commissioned works by Madeleine George and Shariffa Ali. George and Ali, the first two recipients of the $35,000 Hermitage Major Theater Award (HMTA), had readings of their newly commissioned plays in New York at Off-Broadway’s MCC Theater just before Thanksgiving.
Vineyard Theatre Reveals 2023-24 Award Recipients

This year, the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, Susan Stroman Directing Award and Colman Domingo Award will be given during the company's annual Emerging Artists Celebration, to be held on Friday, December 1 at 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm at the National Arts Club.
The Hermitage Presents New Play Commissions From Hermitage Major Theater Award Winners

The Hermitage presents new play commissions by Madeleine George and Shariffa Ali, featuring a talented cast including Adam Chanler-Berat, Greg Hildreth, James Jackson Jr., and Allison Guinn.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What awards has Liesl Tommy been nominated for?

Outstanding Director (The Lortels) for Eclipsed, Best Direction of a Play (Tony Awards) for Eclipsed and Direction (Obie Awards) for Appropriate.

What awards has Liesl Tommy won?

Liesl Tommy has won the Outstanding Director award at The Lortels for Eclipsed and the Direction award at the Obie Awards for Appropriate.

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Videos