American theatre director
Lileana Blain-Cruz is an American
theatre director who currently works as the Resident Director of
Lincoln Center Theater .
Early life and education
Blain-Cruz grew up primarily in
New York City and
Miami .
[1] She earned her BA in English with certificates in Theater and Spanish from
Princeton University in 2006.
[2] She earned an MFA in Directing from the
David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University in 2012.
[3]
Early career
In her last year as an undergraduate at Princeton, Blain-Cruz directed
Ntozake Shange ’s
For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow Is Enuf for her senior thesis.
[4] She directed
Suzan-Lori Parks ’ 365 Days 365 Plays at GALA Hispanic Theater.
[5] She continued to direct for Princeton for their Summer Theater from 2007 to 2009.
In 2009, Blain-Cruz co-founded Overhead Projector, a devised theater company, and continues to serve as curator.
[6]
Blain-Cruz directed plays at Yale School of Drama and Yale Cabaret from 2009 to 2011, including devised pieces by Overhead Projector such as Cavity and SALOME .
[7] Blain-Cruz was co-Artistic Director at
Yale Cabaret in 2011–12. In 2011, she also directed
Gertrude Stein ’s Doctor Faustus Lights the Lights at Yale School of Drama.
[8] She directed Buffalo Maine by
Martyna Majok in 2012 as part of the Carlotta Festival of New Plays.
[9]
Her 2011 production of
The Taming of the Shrew starred
Lupita Nyong’o , then a graduate student in acting, as Kate.
[10] Her interpretation ended with Kate poisoning the other characters, and the production is known for “it’s freshness and power” according to
James Bundy .
[11]
In 2013, she directed The Bakkhai (translated by Ned Moore) at
Bard College ,
[12] and Hollow Roots by
Christina Anderson for the Under the Radar Festival at
The Public Theater .
[13] In 2015, she directed Salome at JACK in Brooklyn,
[14] and in 2016, Red Speedo by
Lucas Hnath at
New York Theatre Workshop
[15] and
Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again. by Alice Birch at
Soho Repertory Theatre .
[16]
Her 2016 direction of
The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World by
Suzan-Lori Parks at
Signature Theatre
[17] was lauded by critic
Ben Brantley , who called it “a hypnotic staging” by Blain-Cruz.
[18]
Later direction
In 2017, she directed War by
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins , at
Yale Repertory Theater ,
[19] The Bluest Eye by
Toni Morrison and
Lydia Diamond , based on Morrison's novel, at
The Guthrie Theater ,
[20]
Henry IV, Part I
[21] and
Much Ado About Nothing , casting a woman as Dogberry, both at
Oregon Shakespeare Festival ,
[22] and
Pipeline (play) at
Lincoln Center Theater .
[23]
In 2018, Blain-Cruz directed Thunderbodies by Kate Tarker at Soho Rep,
[24] The House That Will Not Stand by
Marcus Gardley at New York Theatre Workshop,
[25] and Fabulation, Or the Reeducation of Undine at Signature Theatre, which was directed with “screwball precision” by Blain-Cruz.
[26] Her 2018 production of
Water by the Spoonful at the
Mark Taper Forum
[27] was part of a Los Angeles-wide production of
Quiara Alegría Hudes ’ trilogy with the other plays staged at the
Kirk Douglas Theatre and the
Los Angeles Theatre Center .
In 2019, she directed Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ play Girls , a riff on
The Bacchae , for Yale Rep,
[28]
Maria Irene Fornes ’ play,
Fefu and Her Friends , at TFANA,
[29] and in 2020,
Anatomy of a Suicide by
Alice Birch at
Atlantic Theater Company .
[30]
In 2022, Blain-Cruz directed Dreaming Zenzile by Somi Kakoma for a rolling world premiere production that “brought together seven producers” including New York Theatre Workshop, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and The National Black Theatre.
[31] In 2023, she directed
White Girl in Danger at Second Stage / Vineyard Theatre.
[32]
Lincoln Center Theater
Blain-Cruz became the Resident Director of
Lincoln Center Theater in 2020.
[33]
Blain-Cruz had directed War by Jacobs-Jenkins at Lincoln Center Theater in 2016.
[34] She directed Marys Seacole by
Jackie Sibblies Drury in 2019, for which she and Drury received a Special Citation Obie Award.
[35]
She directed
The Skin of Our Teeth by
Thornton Wilder which included additional material by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins in 2022.
[36] This was her Broadway debut as a director, and she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play.
[37]
Opera and music
In 2019, Blain-Cruz directed
Charles Gounod ’s Faust at
Opera Omaha .
[38] In 2021, she directed an opera film of Hansel & Gretel with music by
Engelbert Humperdinck , for
Houston Grand Opera
[39] and she directed the premiere of Wayne Shorter and esperanza spalding's opera Iphigenia at
ArtsEmerson in Boston, with set design by
Frank Gehry .
[40]
In 2022, she directed The Listeners by
Missy Mazzoli at
The Norwegian National Opera ,
[41] in 2023 Stranger Love at the
Los Angeles Philharmonic ,
[42] and in 2024, she will direct John Adams's oratorio
El Niño at
Metropolitan Opera .
[43]
Arts development and writing
She wrote for the television series,
Dead Ringers , in 2023. She wrote the play Create Dangerously , based on Edwidge Danticat's book of essays, and directed it at
Miami New Drama in 2023.
[44]
In January 2024, it was announced that a new musical about
Prince called Purple Rain was in the works, with book by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and directed by Blain-Cruz.
[45] Blain-Cruz and Jacobs-Jenkins met as undergraduates at Princeton, and they have collaborated many times.
[46]
Teaching and honors
Blain-Cruz was the Allen Lee Hughes Directing Fellow at Arena Stage from 2006 to 2007. She held a fellowship at the Goodman Theater in 2008. She was Artistic Associate at The Orchard Project & The Exchange from 2007 to 2009,
[47] and in the Director's Lab at Lincoln Center Theater in 2008.
[48]
In both 2017 and 2018, she was a United States Artists Fellow,[
citation needed ] and a former New York Theatre Workshop 2050 Fellowship awardee.[
citation needed ]
She was a Presidential Visiting Fellow at Yale in 2020-21 and teaches at the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale.
[49]
Awards
2006: Alan Downer Thesis Prize, Princeton University
[50]
2009, 2010, 2011: Edgar Cullman Scholar, Yale School of Drama
[51]
2011: Julian Milton Kaufman Memorial Prize, Yale University
[52]
2011: Pierre-Andre Salim Prize, Yale University
[53]
2017: Obie Award for Best Direction for The Death of the Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World
[54]
2018: Josephine Abady Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women
[55]
2019: Obie Award for Special Citations
[56]
2020: Lincoln Center Emerging Artist
[57]
2021: Doris Duke Artist
[58]
2022: Founders Award for Excellence in Directing, Drama League
[59]
References
^ McElroy, Steven.
"For Director Lileana Blain-Cruz Things Are Going Swimmingly" . The New York Times . Retrieved 17 February 2016 .
^
"Theater Alumna Lileana Blain-Cruz named Resident director at Lincoln Center Theater" . Lewis Center for the Arts . Retrieved 1 September 2020 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz" . David Geffen School of Drama at Yale . Retrieved 25 February 2024 .
^ Beebe, Jeanette.
"Theater Director Lileana Blain-Cruz '06 Brings Branden Jacobs-Jenkins '06's 'War' to Lincoln Center" . Princeton Alumni Weekly . Retrieved 11 May 2016 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz" . Yale Drama . Retrieved 25 February 2024 .
^
"Gurls by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins '06" . Lewis Center for the Arts . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz" . Lewis Center for the Arts . Retrieved 25 February 2024 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz by Brandon Jacob-Jenkins" . BOMB Magazine . Retrieved 21 September 2021 .
^
"Graduating playwrights will showcase their work at annual Carlotta Festival" . Yale News . Retrieved 23 April 2012 .
^ Altmann, Jennifer.
"The Play's the Thing" . Princeton Alumni Weekly . Retrieved 5 December 2018 .
^ Altmann, Jennifer.
"The Play's the Thing" . Princeton Alumni Weekly . Retrieved 5 December 2018 .
^
"The Bakkhai (The Bacchae)" . Fisher Center . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Under the Radar: Hollow Roots" . Broadway Black . Retrieved 21 January 2013 .
^
"Salome" . JACK . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Simpson, Janice C.
"Lileana Blain-Cruz's Fearless Dives Into the Deep End" . American Theatre . Retrieved 1 June 2016 .
^ Clement, Olivia.
"The Verdict: What Critics Think of Soho Rep's Revolt. She Said. Revolt Again" . Playbill . Retrieved 20 April 2016 .
^ Myers, Victoria.
"An Interview with Suzan-Lori Parks" . The Interval . Retrieved 25 October 2016 .
^ Brantley, Ben.
"Review: 'The Death of the Last Black Man,' a Nightmare Hypnotically Retold" . The New York Times . Retrieved 13 November 2016 .
^ Blain-Cruz, Lileana.
"Two Worlds in 'War' " . American Theatre . Retrieved 11 April 2017 .
^
"The Bluest Eye" . Guthrie Theater . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Popp, Olivia.
"OSF pt. 1: Shaking up Shakespeare with 'Henry IV, Part 1' and 'Julius Caesar' " . The Stanford Daily . Retrieved 10 August 2017 .
^ Stabler, David.
"Oregon Shakespeare Festival 2015 opens: Wit and bitterness spark 'Much Ado About Nothing' (review)" . Oregon Live . Retrieved 3 March 2015 .
^ Als, Hilton.
"Lileana Blain-Cruz's Director's Cut" . The New Yorker . Retrieved 17 July 2017 .
^ Holdren, Sara.
"Theater Review: Thunderbodies Is the Latest Political-Catastrophe Dramatic Farce" . Vulture . Retrieved 28 October 2018 .
^ Kortava, David.
"The House That Will Not Stand" . The New Yorker . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Romig, Rollo.
"Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine" . The New Yorker . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ McNulty, Charles.
"Review: 'Water by the Spoonful' at the Taper: Broken souls, and a cast, in search of connection" . Los Angeles Times . Retrieved 12 February 2018 .
^
"Girls" . Yale Repertory Theatre . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Stillwell, Jadie.
"In a New Production of an Old Play, Fefu and Her Friends Go Beneath the Surface" . Interview Magazine . Retrieved 26 November 2019 .
^
"Anatomy of a Suicide" . Atlantic Theater Company . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Dreaming Zenzile" . New York Theatre Workshop . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Green, Jesse.
"Review: 'White Girl in Danger' Flips the Script on Soap Operas" . The New York Times . Retrieved 10 April 2023 .
^
"Lincoln Center Theater Names Lileana Blain-Cruz Resident Director" . American Theatre . Retrieved 1 September 2020 .
^
"War" . Lincoln Center Theater . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"2019 Obie Award Winners" . Obie Awards . Retrieved 21 May 2019 .
^ Appel, Liz.
"Lileana Blain-Cruz on Her Vital New Staging of The Skin of Our Teeth" . Vogue . Retrieved 28 April 2022 .
^ Rosky, Nicole.
"Meet the 2022 Tony Nominees: THE SKIN OF OUR TEETH's Lileana Blain-Cruz" . Broadway World . Retrieved 20 May 2022 .
^ Neneman, Drew.
"Opera Omaha gives restored version of 'Faust' a heavenly debut: Omaha World-Herald Review" . Opera Omaha . Retrieved 13 April 2019 .
^ Gray, Chris.
"Houston Grand Opera takes 'Hansel & Gretel' out of Europe and into East Texas" . Houston Chronicle . Retrieved 25 May 2021 .
^
"Iphigenia" (PDF) . ArtsEmerson . Retrieved 20 October 2021 .
^
"The Listeners" . Opera Vision . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Frankel, Tony.
"Opera Review: STRANGER LOVE (LA Phil Commission at Walt Disney Concert Hall)" . Stage and Cinema . Retrieved 30 May 2023 .
^
"El Niño" . The Metropolitan Opera . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Create Dangerously" . Miami New Drama . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Lang, Brent.
"Prince Movie Classic 'Purple Rain' Becoming a Stage Musical" . Variety . Retrieved 8 January 2024 .
^ Beebe, Jeanette.
"Theater Director Lileana Blain-Cruz '06 Brings Branden Jacobs-Jenkins '06's 'War' to Lincoln Center" . Princeton Alumni Weekly . Retrieved 11 May 2016 .
^
"Gurls by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins '06" . Lewis Center for the Arts . Retrieved 6 October 2017 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz" . Yale Drama . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Presidential Visiting Fellows for 2020-21" . Yale University . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz" . Yale Drama . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Graduation Prizes" . YSD Annual Magazine 2012 . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Lileana Blain-Cruz: Tony Award for Best Director of a Play" . Repeating Islands . Retrieved 13 June 2022 .
^
"Iphigenia" . Octopus Theatricals . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"2017" . Obie Awards . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^ Meyer, Dan.
"Lileana Blain-Cruz Joins Lincoln Center Theater as Resident Director" . Playbill . Retrieved 31 August 2020 .
^
"2019 Obie Award Winners" . Obie Awards . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Lincoln Center Awards for Emerging Artists" . PBS . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .
^
"Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Announces 2021 Doris Duke Artists" . Doris Duke Foundation . Retrieved 21 October 2021 .
^
"The Drama League Awards 2022" . Drama League . Retrieved 26 February 2024 .