David Leveaux: Difference between revisions

'''David Leveaux''' (born 13 December 1957)<ref name=bio>this source shows 1958:[http://www.filmreference.com/film/67/David-Leveaux.html Biography] filmreference.com,. accessedRetrieved 9 May 9, 2009</ref> is a U.K.British theatre director who has been nominated for five [[Tony Awards]] as director of both plays and musicals.<ref>[http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search "Leveaux listing for Tony Awards"], {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160831204617/http://www.tonyawards.com/p/tonys_search |date=31 August 2016 }}, accessedtonyawards.com. MayRetrieved 9, May 2009</ref> He directs both in the UK, working at the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]], the [[Almeida Theatre]], and the [[Donmar Warehouse]], and on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]], and also in Tokyo.

Leveaux was born in Leicester and raised in [[Derby]] in the [[English Midlands|Midlands]], the son of a [[cardiologist]].<ref name=bio/> He read English language and literature at [[Manchester University]].<ref name=whatsonstage20030616>[http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821055523840 '20 Questions With...David Leveaux', ''WhatsOnStage.com'', 16 June 2003] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616061218/http://www.whatsonstage.com/index.php?pg=207&story=E8821055523840 |date=16 June 2011 }}</ref>

In his early 20s, Leveaux became assistant to [[Peter Gill (playwright)|Peter Gill]] at [[Riverside Studios]].<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 /> When the Studios became bankrupt he was one of a group who occupied the building illegally to keep it running until it was reestablished legitimately.<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 /> While taking a break in [[New York City]], he discovered [[Eugene O'Neill]]'s play, ''[[A Moon for the Misbegotten]]'', and revived it at Riverside, starring [[Frances de la Tour]] and [[Ian Bannen]]. The production transferred to the West End and Broadway (1984).<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 /> Bannen again starred, opposite Kate Nelligan in the Broadway version.

Subsequently he directed ''[[Therese Raquin]]'' at [[Chichester]], ''[[Anna Christie]]'' in London and on Broadway, and ''[[Romeo and Juliet]]'' for the [[Royal Shakespeare Company]]. At the [[Almeida Theatre]] he directed [[Harold Pinter]]'s ''[[No Man's Land (play)|No Man's Land]]'', ''[[Moonlight (play)|Moonlight]]'', ''[[Betrayal (play)|Betrayal]]'' and [[Neil LaBute]]'s ''[[The Distance From Here]]'' (2002).<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 /><ref>[http://www.haroldpinter.org/plays/index.shtml Listing of Pinter plays, with production details] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613203248/http://www.haroldpinter.org,/plays/index.shtml accessed|date=13 MayJune 2011 }} haroldpinter.org. Retrieved 10, May 2009</ref>

He was Artistic Director of Theatre Project Tokyo, directing productions in Tokyo, including ''Electra'' (1995), ''Lulu'' (1999), ''Modern Noh Plays'', ''The Changeling'', ''Hedda Gabler'', and ''Two Headed Eagle''.<ref name=bio/><ref>[http://www.ntny.org/productions/jumpers/credits.htm Leveaux credits] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110727133223/http://www.ntny.org/productions/jumpers/credits.htm |date=27 July 2011 }}''National Theatre New York'',. accessed MayRetrieved 9, May 2009</ref>

He was associate director of the [[Donmar Warehouse]], under [[Sam Mendes]]' artistic directorship. His revival of the musical ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' at Donmar in 1996 transferred to Broadway in 2003 with [[Antonio Banderas]], where he received a nomination for the Tony Award, Best Direction of a Musical and the musical itself won the Tony Award as Best Revival of a Musical. He directed ''[[Electra (Sophocles play)|Electra]]'' (1997), for which [[Zoë Wanamaker]] received an [[Olivier Award]].<ref>[http://www.albemarle-london.com/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=1998 Olivier Awards, 1998] albemarle-london.com,. accessedRetrieved 9 May 9, 2009</ref> He received the Olivier Award nomination for Best Director for his 1999 revival of Tom Stoppard's [[The Real Thing (play)|The Real Thing]]''.<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 /><ref>[http://www.albemarle-london.com/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=2000 Olivier Awards, 2000] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110928103733/http://www.albemarle-london.com,/awards/AwardWinners.php?Award_Type=Laurence%20Olivier%20Awards&Year=2000 accessed|date=28 MaySeptember 2011 }} albemarle-london.com. Retrieved 9, May 2009</ref>

In 2003 he revived [[Tom Stoppard]]'s ''[[Jumpers (play)|Jumpers]]'' for the [[Royal National Theatre]] in London. This then toured the UK regions before eventually transferring to Broadway in 2004.<ref name=whatsonstage20030616 />

He recently directed ''[[Cyrano de Bergerac (play)|Cyrano de Bergerac]]'' (2007) on Broadway, starring [[Kevin Kline]], with [[Ben Brantley]] writing in ''[[The New York Times]]'':

<blockquote>"Mr. Leveaux, the British director of the exquisite-looking Broadway productions of “Nine”"Nine" and “Jumpers"Jumpers,”" does pretty better than most of his peers, which is his blessing and his curse. (Even “Fiddler"Fiddler on the Roof,”" in his hands, suggested a Vogue layout on Shtetl Chic.) He also has a strong sentimental streak, tempered by his aesthetic sense. He is the perfect man to bring “Cyrano”"Cyrano" into the 21st century, presenting the play’splay's flowery sensibility without making audiences feel they’ve been doused in perfume."<ref>Brantley, Ben.[http://theater2.nytimes.com/2007/11/02/theater/reviews/02cyra.html?scp=2&sq=%22David%20Leveaux%22&st=cse Rapier Wit and a Nose for Poetry",],''[[The New York Times]]''November 2, 2007</ref></blockquote>

He is directingdirected the first West End revival of Tom Stoppard's play ''[[Arcadia (play)|Arcadia]]'', openingwhich opened in May 2009.<ref>Lipton, Brian S.[http://www.theatermania.com/london/news/04-2009/david-leveaux-to-direct-west-end-revival-of-tom-st_18104.html "David Leveaux to Direct West End Revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia"], theatermania.com, 20 April 20, 2009</ref>

*''Cyrano[[Arcadia de Bergerac(play)|Arcadia]]'' (20072011)

*''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' (2005)

*''[[Jumpers (play)|Jumpers]]'' (2004) – Tony Award nomination, Best Direction of a Play

*''[[Fiddler on the Roof]]'' (2004)

*''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (2003) – Tony Award nomination, Best Direction of a Musical and [[Drama Desk Award]] nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical

*''[[Betrayal (play)|Betrayal]]'' (2000)

*''[[The Real Thing (play)|The Real Thing]]'' (2000) – Tony Award nomination, Best Direction of a Play

*''A[[Anna Moon for the MisbegottenChristie]]'' (19841993) – Tony Award nomination, Best Direction of a Play

;[[Donmar Warehouse]]

*''[[Backbeat (film)|Backbeat]]'' (2011).<ref>[http://www.atgtickets.com/2871/669/London/Duke-Of-Yorks/Backbeat-Tickets "Official Duke of York's Theatre Website"], ''Ambassador Theatre Group'',. accessed AugustRetrieved 22, August 2011.</ref>.

*[https://web.archive.org/web/20081203173951/http://www.americantheatrewing.org/biography/detail/david_leveaux Biography as of November 2007 at American Theatre Wing]