Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Legendary Broadway director Des McAnuff stopped by HollywoodLife’s New York City studios to discuss his latest hit, ‘Ain’t Too Proud.’ The American-Candadian director co-founded the Dodger Theatre Company in 1978 in NYC, where he also directed the first production, entitled ‘Gimme Shelter.’ From there, he became the artistic director of La Jolla Playhouse, which he revived in 1983. There, he directed he directed ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ ‘A Mad World,’ ‘My Masters,’ ‘Big River,’ ‘As You Like It,’ ‘The Sea Gull,’ ‘The Matchmaker,’ ‘A Walk in the Woods,’ ‘Two Rooms,’ ’80 Days,’ ‘Macbeth,’ ‘A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum’, ‘Twelfth Night,’ ‘Three Sisters,’ ‘Elmer Gantry,’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing,’ ‘The Who’s Tommy’ and ‘How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.’ In ’07, he left to take over leadership at Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival. While he was there, Des also returned to NYC to work on the long-running Broadway hit, ‘Jersey Boys,’ the ’09 revival of ‘Guys and Doll,’ and the ’12 Broadway revival of ‘Jesus Christ Superstar.’ He has since added ‘Summer: The Donna Summer Musical’ and ‘Ain’t Too Proud’ to his impressive resume.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
In 2017, Des’s own work, ‘Summer: The Donna Summer Musical’ went to Broadway from the La Jolla Playhouse and is now expected to embark on a North American tour.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Des was approached by Otis Williams to work on ‘Ain’t Too Proud,’ the story of the original Temptations.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Des has won two Tony Awards as Best Director (Musical) in 1985 for ‘Big River’ and again in 1993 for ‘The Who’s Tommy.’
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
In the 2019 Tony season, Des was nominated for Best Director for ‘Ain’t Too Proud,’ which has also received 11 other nominations.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Des McAnuff is a 6-time Tony Nominee. 5 times for Best Director of a Musical and once for Best Book of A Musical.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Des McAnuff has gotten a name for crafting ‘jukebox musicals,’ which is a musical film or stage production that features the songs of popular music acts.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
“think you mature as a director. When you’re first directing, it’s probably natural to try to prove yourself. You need to learn that directing is really a series of partnerships, and maybe the most important partnership is the one with the performer,” Des said of his tenure as a director.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
“One of the first anecdotes that Otis shared with me the very first time I met him — he described walking into a room and seeing all of his fellow Temptations gathered around a pipe freebasing and asking him to participate, and I realized at that moment that this was a man that wasn’t going to mess around or hold back,” Des revealed to HollywoodLife.com of the first time he met with Otis Williams.
Des McAnuff — Exclusive Portraits
Des McAnuff stops by HollywoodLife’s New York City studios for a photoshoot ahead of the 2019 Tony Awards.
