Desmond Steven McAnuff (born June 19, 1952) is the American-Canadian former artistic director of Canada's

Stratford Festival The Stratford Festival is a repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shak ...

and director of such Broadway

musical theatre Musical theatre is a form of theatre, theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, ...

productions as '' Big River'', '' The Who's Tommy'' and ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with a book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and breakup of the 1960s rock 'n' roll group The Four Seasons. The mus ...

''.

Biography

Born in

Princeton, Illinois Princeton is a city in and the county seat of Bureau County, Illinois, United States. The population was 7,832 at the 2020 census. Princeton is part of the Ottawa, Illinois, Ottawa Ottawa, IL Micropolitan Statistical Area, Micropolitan Statistic ...

to John Nelson and Ellen Boyd, McAnuff is a citizen of the United States and Canada. He lived briefly in

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as The Royal City, it is roughly east of Kitchener, Ontario, Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Ontario Highway 6, ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, attending grade 4 at St. George's Public School. His family then moved to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

, at the time a suburb of

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, and attended high school at Woburn Collegiate Institute where he made his first theatrical appearance in the school's production of ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'', playing the role of Kurt. Later, with the help of two friends, he wrote the music and lyrics to a

rock musical A rock musical is a musical theatre work with rock music. The genre of rock musical may overlap somewhat with album musicals, concept albums and song cycles, as they sometimes tell a story through the rock music, and some album musicals and concep ...

called ''Urbania'', which was performed by the high school drama club. He attended

Ryerson Polytechnical Institute Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU, or Toronto Met), formerly Ryerson University, is a Public university, public research university located in Toronto, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Gar ...

, but never completed his degree. In June 2011, he was awarded an honorary degree by the Ryerson Theatre School. McAnuff worked with the Toronto Free Theatre as a director, and after several plays that had limited success, he left the Canadian scene for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where he co-founded the Dodger Theatre Company in 1978, where he also directed the first production, entitled '' Gimme Shelter''. He is a former faculty member of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

. McAnuff was

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre company or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogu ...

of the La Jolla Playhouse, which he revived in 1983, during which time the theatre won more than 200 awards. For the Playhouse, he directed ''

Romeo and Juliet ''The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet'', often shortened to ''Romeo and Juliet'', is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare about the romance between two young Italians from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's ...

'', '' A Mad World, My Masters'', '' Big River'',''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'', '' The Sea Gull'', '' The Matchmaker'', '' A Walk in the Woods'', ''Two Rooms'', ''80 Days'', ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'', ''

A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...

'', ''

Twelfth Night ''Twelfth Night, or What You Will'' is a romantic comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written around 1601–1602 as a Twelfth Night entertainment for the close of the Christmas season. The play centres on the twins Viola an ...

'', '' Three Sisters'', '' Elmer Gantry'', ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' (W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. ...

'', '' The Who's Tommy'' and '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''. He turned over his leadership of the playhouse in 2005 to Michael Greif in order to take a position of leadership at Canada's

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a Repertory theatre, repertory theatre organization that operates from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson (theatre producer), Tom Patterson in 1952, th ...

. In 2008, after a year sharing power with Don Shipley and Marti Maraden, McAnuff became the sole artistic director at Stratford. McAnuff has directed two motion pictures, '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' (2000) and '' Cousin Bette'' (1998), both of which failed critically and at the box-office. However, the animated version of ''

The Iron Giant ''The Iron Giant'' is a 1999 American animated science fiction film directed by Brad Bird and produced by Warner Bros. Feature Animation. It is loosely based on the 1968 novel '' The Iron Man'' by Ted Hughes (which was published in the United ...

'', which he served as producer, earned several awards. In 2010 McAnuff was the subject of a documentary special entitled ''Des McAnuff: A Life In Stages'' which was a part of the broadcast schedule on Bravo! in Canada for February 7, 2010. During the 2011-12 Season at the

Metropolitan Opera The Metropolitan Opera is an American opera company based in New York City, currently resident at the Metropolitan Opera House (Lincoln Center), Metropolitan Opera House at Lincoln Center, situated on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. Referred ...

he directed a new production of

Charles Gounod Charles-François Gounod (; ; 17 June 181818 October 1893), usually known as Charles Gounod, was a French composer. He wrote twelve operas, of which the most popular has always been ''Faust (opera), Faust'' (1859); his ''Roméo et Juliette'' (18 ...

's ''

Faust Faust ( , ) is the protagonist of a classic German folklore, German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust (). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a deal with the Devil at a ...

'' starring soprano Marina Poplavskaya and tenor Jonas Kaufmann. On Sunday, October 23, 2011, a tribute for McAnuff was given by staff and students from Ryerson's Theatre School.

Personal life

McAnuff married actress Susan Berman in 1984; the couple has one daughter, Julia McAnuff, who played a young Karen Sympathy in '' The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle''. The couple divorced in 2009. In 2012, McAnuff married Bryna McCann.

Stage productions

* '' Big River'' (1985) * '' A Walk in the Woods'' (1988) * ''Dangerous Games'' (1989) * '' The Who's Tommy'' (1993) * '' How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying'' (1995) * ''Tartuffe'' (2002) * ''

Dracula, the Musical ''Dracula, the Musical'' is a musical based on the original 1897 Victorian novel by Bram Stoker. The score is by Frank Wildhorn, with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton. The show had its regional premiere at the La Jolla ...

'' (2004) * '' 700 Sundays'' (2004) * ''

'' (2005) * ''

'' (2008) * '' Caesar and Cleopatra'' (2008) *''

Guys and Dolls ''Guys and Dolls'' is a musical theater, musical with music and lyrics by Frank Loesser and book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows. It is based on "The Idyll of Miss Sarah Brown" (1933) and "Blood Pressure", which are two short stories by Damon Run ...

'' (2009) * ''

A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum ''A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart. Inspired by the farces of the ancient Roman playwright Plautus (254–184 BC), specif ...

'' (2009) * ''

'' (2010) * ''

The Tempest ''The Tempest'' is a Shakespeare's plays, play by William Shakespeare, probably written in 1610–1611, and thought to be one of the last plays that he wrote alone. After the first scene, which takes place on a ship at sea during a tempest, th ...

'' (2010) * ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Life of Jesus in the New Testament, Gospels' accounts of Passion of Jesus, the Passion, the work interprets ...

'' (2011) * ''

'' (2011) * ''A Word or Two'' (2012) * ''

Henry V Henry V may refer to: People * Henry V, Duke of Bavaria (died 1026) * Henry V, Holy Roman Emperor (1081/86–1125) * Henry V, Duke of Carinthia (died 1161) * Henry V, Count Palatine of the Rhine (–1227) * Henry V, Count of Luxembourg (1216–1281 ...

'' (2012) * ''

Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots ''Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots'' is the tenth studio album by American rock band the Flaming Lips, released on July 16, 2002, by Warner Bros. Records. The album saw the band pursue a more electronic direction than previous efforts, incorporati ...

'' (2012) * ''The Who's Tommy'' (2013) * ''700 Sundays'' (2014) * '' Summer: The Donna Summer Musical'' (2017) (book writer and director) *'' Ain't Too Proud'' (2017) * '' The Who's Tommy'' (2024 Revival)

Awards and nominations

McAnuff has won two Tony Awards: as Best Director (Musical) in 1985 for ''Big River'' and again in 1993 for ''The Who's Tommy''. He was nominated in 1993 for Best Book (Musical), with

Pete Townshend Peter Dennis Blandford Townshend (; born 19 May 1945) is an English musician. He is the co-founder, guitarist, keyboardist, second lead vocalist, principal songwriter and leader of the Who, one of the most influential rock bands of the 1960s an ...

on ''The Who's Tommy'', and in 1995 as Best Director (Musical) for ''How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying''. He was nominated again in 2006 for Best Direction of a Musical, for ''Jersey Boys'', based on the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. Although he did not win, the production won Best Musical that year. In 2019 he received another Tony nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for ''Ain't Too Proud''. He was awarded the Laurence Olivier Theatre Award for Best Director of 1996 for ''The Who's Tommy'' at the Shaftesbury Theatre. In May 2012, McAnuff received the

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) () is a Arts centre, performing arts organization in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre (building), National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one ...

Award, a companion award of the Governor General's Performing Arts Awards, Canada's highest honour in the performing arts. He was invested as a

Member of the Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

(CM) in 2013.

References

External links

* *
Des McAnuff ''Downstage Center'' interview at AmericanTheatreWing.org

''Mise en Scène''
a short film tribute for McNuff's National Arts Centre Award,

National Film Board of Canada The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; ) is a Canadian public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary films, animation, web documentaries, and altern ...