American stage director
Jerry Zaks
Born (1946-09-07 ) September 7, 1946 (age 77) Occupation(s) Theatre, film director Spouse Jill Rose (2 children)
Jerry Zaks (born September 7, 1946) is an American
stage and
television director , and
actor . He won the
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play and
Drama Desk Award for directing
The House of Blue Leaves ,
Lend Me a Tenor , and
Six Degrees of Separation and the
Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical and Drama Desk Award for
Guys and Dolls .
Early life
Zaks was born in
Stuttgart, Germany , the son of
Holocaust survivors , Lily (Gliksman) and Sy Zaks, a butcher.
[1] His family immigrated to the United States in 1948, finally settling in
Paterson ,
New Jersey , where he graduated from
Eastside High School in 1963.
[2]
[3] He graduated from
Dartmouth College and received a
Master of Fine Arts from
Smith College .
[4]
Career
Stage
He made his
Broadway acting debut in the original production of
Grease as "Kenickie" and appeared in
Tintypes in 1980. He made his directing debut in 1981 with the
off-Broadway production of
Christopher Durang 's
Beyond Therapy , which co-starred
Sigourney Weaver .
[5] He has directed many Broadway productions, both musicals and dramas.
He has also directed many
Off-Broadway productions, several at
Playwrights Horizons and the
Public Theater . He directed the
City Center
Encores! productions of
Girl Crazy (November 2009),
[6] Stairway to Paradise (May 2007), and
[7]
Bye Bye Birdie (May 2004).
[8]
He was the director of the new musical
101 Dalmatians Musical , which toured the United States from October 2009 through April 2010.
[9] Zaks was named "creative consultant" for the new musical
The Addams Family , which opened on Broadway in April 2010.
[10]
He directed the
Broadway production of
Sister Act , which opened in Spring 2011.
[11]
Lincoln Center
Zaks served as Resident Director at
Lincoln Center from 1986 to 1990 and is a founding member of the
Ensemble Studio Theatre .
[12]
Television and film
As an actor, Zaks' screen credits include
Outrageous Fortune ,
Crimes and Misdemeanors , and
Husbands and Wives . On television he has appeared in
M*A*S*H and
The Edge of Night and directed episodes of
Everybody Loves Raymond ,
Frasier ,
Hope and Faith , and
Two and a Half Men , among others. He also directed the feature films
Marvin's Room and
Who Do You Love?
[13] Marvin's Room won the Golden St. George at the
20th Moscow International Film Festival .
[14]
Honors
Zaks received the
George Abbott Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theater in 1994 and an honorary
Doctorate of Fine Arts from Dartmouth College in 1999. He was inducted into the
American Theater Hall of Fame in 2013.
[15]
Personal life
Zaks married Jill Rose, an actress, on January 14, 1979; they have two children, Emma and Hannah Zaks.
[1]
Broadway stage productions
The House of Blue Leaves , 1986
The Front Page , revival, 1986
Anything Goes , revival, 1987
Lend Me a Tenor , 1989
Six Degrees of Separation , 1990
Guys and Dolls , revival, 1992
Face Value , 1993
Laughter on the 23rd Floor , 1993
Smokey Joe's Cafe , 1995
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , revival, 1996
The Civil War , 1999
Epic Proportions , 1999
Swing! , 1999
The Man Who Came to Dinner , revival, 2000
45 Seconds from Broadway , 2001
Little Shop of Horrors , 2003
La Cage aux Folles , revival, 2004
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial , revival, 2006
Losing Louie , 2006
A Bronx Tale , 2007
Sister Act , 2011
A Bronx Tale , 2016
Hello, Dolly! , revival, 2017
Meteor Shower , 2017
Mrs. Doubtfire , 2020
The Music Man , revival, 2021
Awards and nominations
Tony Awards
Other awards
1985
Obie - The Marriage of Bette and Boo
1985 Obie - The Foreigner
1986
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play - The Marriage of Bette & Boo and The House of Blue Leaves
1988
Outer Critics Circle Awards - Wenceslas Square
1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play - Lend Me a Tenor
1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play - Six Degrees of Separation
1992 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Guys and Dolls
Other nominations
1980 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical - Tintypes
1988 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Anything Goes
1991 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical - Assassins
2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Play - The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial
NAACP Image Award nomination for the national tour of
The Tap Dance Kid
2022 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Direction of a Musical - Mrs. Doubtfire
2022 Drama League Award for Best Direction of a Musical - The Music Man
References
^
a
b
Filmreference.com
^ Beckerman, Jim.
"Tony-award winning director Jerry Zaks goes home to Paterson" ,
The Record , March 27, 2016. Accessed October 18, 2021. "As if he was – at heart — just another student at Paterson's Eastside High School, which he graduated from 53 years ago.... Though Zaks, a New York resident since the late 1960s, hadn't been back to Eastside since 1963, when he graduated, Eastside came back to him – through his work."
^ Shapiro, Danielle.
"Celebrating 80 years of Eastside High" ,
The Record , December 1, 2006. Accessed October 18, 2021, via
Newspapers.com . "Jerry Joseph Zaks Class of 1963, Broadway theater director, who directed more than 30 productions on the Great White Way including, The Front Page, Anything Goes and Smokey Joe's Cafe. "
^ Rothstein, Mervyn.
"Stage Struck"
Archived 2007-02-03 at the
Wayback Machine Cigaraficionado.com, March/April 1998
^ Gussow, Mel (January 6, 1981).
"Stage:'Beyond Therapy by Durang at Phoenix" .
The New York Times . p. C11. Retrieved August 4, 2017 .
^ Hernandez, Ernio and Hetrick, Adam.
"They've Got Rhythm: Gasteyer, Knight, Kudisch Lead Gershwin's Girl Crazy for Encores! Nov. 19-22"
Archived 2011-06-04 at the
Wayback Machine playbill.com, Nov 19, 2009
^ Gans, Andrew.
"Casting Complete for Encores! Stairway to Paradise"
Archived 2011-06-04 at the
Wayback Machine playbill.com, April 19, 2007
^ Brantley, Ben.
"Review The New York Times , May 8, 2004
^ Hetrick, Adam and Jones, Kenneth.
"101 Dalmatians: The Musical Tour to Launch in Minneapolis; Will Play NYC"
Archived 2011-06-04 at the
Wayback Machine Playbill.com, July 9, 2009
^ Jones, Kenneth.
"Zaks Is New Patriarch of Addams Family; Previews Will Now Begin March 8"
Archived 2011-06-04 at the
Wayback Machine Playbill.com, December 29, 2009
^
SISTER ACT Confirms Broadway for Spring 2011; Zaks to Direct . Broadwayworld.com
^
Biography
Archived 2011-06-04 at the
Wayback Machine Playbill.com, accessed January 30, 2010
^
Holden, Stephen (April 8, 2010).
"Fictional History: What It Was Like to Start Rock 'n' Roll, Sort Of" .
The New York Times .
^
"20th Moscow International Film Festival (1997)" . MIFF . Archived from
the original on 2013-03-22. Retrieved 2013-03-22 .
^
"Cherry Jones, Ellen Burstyn, Cameron Mackintosh and More Inducted Into Broadway's Theater Hall of Fame" . Theatermania.com. 27 January 2014. Retrieved March 23, 2014 .
External links
Awards for Jerry Zaks
1960–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
1960–1975 1976–2000 2001–present
International National Other