Kevin Bellie (born May 8, 1971) is an American director and choreographer based in the

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

, Illinois area. Bellie has been nominated for 20

Joseph Jefferson Awards The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for Theater in Chicago, theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century ...

and is a five-time award winner. Bellie was artistic director for

Circle Theatre Chicago Circle Theatre Chicago founded in 1985 by Wayne Buidens, Joe Bass, and Karen Skinner is a theatre company in Oak Park and Chicago, Illinois. They chose the name "Circle Theatre" to represent both Circle Avenue (Forest Park's main thoroughfare) ...

Forest Park A forest park is a park whose main theme is its forest of trees. Forest parks are found both in the mountains and in the urban environment. Examples Chile * Forest Park, Santiago China * Gongqing Forest Park, Shanghai * Mufushan National Fore ...

from 2003–2012 before stepping down to pursue freelance work.

Biography

Besides working as a freelance director/choreographer, Bellie is a teacher of the fine arts and the registrar for St. Ignatius College Preparatory High School in Chicago. Bellie had been a company member for 16 years at Circle Theatre before becoming artistic director for nine years (2003-2012). During his tenure as artistic director, Circle Theatre hosted visits from many notable entertainers (including

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), mounted world and Chicago premieres and built a thriving subscriber base. Bellie's direction and choreography credits at Circle Theatre included ''The Baker’s Wife,

Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bur ...

'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Can-Can'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Mack & Mabel'' (JEFF nominated), ''Sweet Smell of Success'' (JEFF Nominated), ''The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Hello Again'' (JEFF Recommended), ''Nine'' (JEFF Award Recipient), ''Triumph of Love'' (JEFF Nominated), ''The Life'' (JEFF Award Recipient), and ''Grand Hotel'' (JEFF Award Recipient). Also at Circle Theatre, Bellie choreographed ''Tommy'' (JEFF Nominated), ''Meet Me in St. Louis'' (JEFF nominated), ''She Loves Me,'' and ''The Secret Garden'' (JEFF Award Recipient). Bellie has designed projections/visuals for ''Tommy'' (JEFF Nominated) and ''When the Rain Stops Falling'' (JEFF Award Recipient). Other theatrical credits include direction and choreography for

Light Opera Works Music Theater Works (formerly Light Opera Works) is a resident professional not-for-profit musical theatre company in Illinois founded in 1980 by Philip Kraus, Bridget McDonough, and Ellen Dubinsky. The company presented over 75 productions of op ...

in Evanston, Illinois ''(Damn Yankees)'' and for Fox Valley Repertory (formerly Noble Fool Theatricals) at the Pheasant Run Resort (''Let’s Misbehave, Breaking Up is Hard To Do, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Mystery of Edwin Drood'' and ''The Taffetas''); McLeod Summer Playhouse's ''A Chorus Line''; choreography for Porchlight's ''Gypsy,'' and McLeod Summer Playhouse's ''The Producers.'' In January 2013, Bellie was nominated for an equity Joseph Jefferson Award for Outstanding Director-Revue for his production of ''A Grand Night for Singing'' at The Mercury Theatre Chicago

Other awards

Bellie has also won Joseph Jefferson Awards for Costume Design and for Projection Design.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bellie, Kevin 1971 births Living people American theatre directors American LGBTQ directors American choreographers Artists from Chicago American gay artists LGBTQ people from Illinois LGBTQ theatre directors