Falls, Robert 1954-

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Falls, Robert 1954-

PERSONAL

Full name, Robert Arthur Falls; born March 2, 1954, in Springfield, IL; son of Arthur Joseph and Nancy (maiden name, Stribling) Falls; married; children: three. Education: University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, B.F. A., 1976.

Addresses:

Office—Goodman Theatre, 170 North Dearborn St., Chicago, IL 60601-3205. Agent—Creative Artists Agency, 162 Fifth Ave., Sixth Floor, New York, NY 10010.

Career:

Director. Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Chicago, IL, artistic director, 1977-86; Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, artistic director, 1987—; also worked with the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA).

Member:

Theatre Communications Group (president, 1988-91).

Awards, Honors:

Antoinette Perry Regional Theatre Award (with the Goodman Theatre), 1992; Obie Award, best direction, Village Voice, 1995, for SubUrbia; Antoinette Perry Award nomination (with others), best play, 1997, for The Young Man from Atlanta; Antoinette Perry Award, best direction of a play, Drama Desk Award nomination, outstanding director of a play, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations, outstanding director of a play and (with others), outstanding revival of a play, all 1999, for Death of a Salesman; Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best revival of a play, and Drama Desk Award nomination, outstanding revival of a play, both with others, 2000, for A Moon for the Misbegotten; Drama Desk Award, outstanding director of a play, and Antoinette Perry Award nomination, best direction of a play, both 2003, for Long Day's Journey into Night.

CREDITS

Stage Director:

Moonchildren, Apollo Productions, St. Nicholas Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1976.

The Wax Museum, Direct Theatre, NY, 1976.

Ladyhouse Blues, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1977.

Of Mice and Men, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1977.

The Tempest, Court Theatre, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1977.

Fits and Starts, Northlight Theatre, Evanston, IL, 1978.

Happy End, SCT Productions, Athenaeum Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1978.

The Idiots Karamazov, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1978.

Othello, Oak Park Shakespeare Festival, Oak Park, IL, 1978.

The Runner Stumbles, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1978.

Bagtime, Wisdom Bridge Theatre and Drury Lane Theatre Water Tower Place, Chicago, IL, 1979.

Curse of the Starving Class, Goodman Theatre, Stage 2, Chicago, IL, 1979.

(With Michael Maggio) Tartuffe, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1979.

Wings, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1979.

Getting Out, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1980.

The Importance of Being Earnest, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1980.

Yentl, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1980.

Bent, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1981.

Mother Courage and Her Children, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1981.

A Sorrow beyond Dreams, St. Nicholas Theatre, 1981.

Standing on My Knees, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1981, and Manhattan Theatre Club, Stage 73, New York City, 1982.

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You [and] The Actor's Nightmare, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1982.

A Streetcar Named Desire, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1982.

We Won't Pay, We Won't Pay, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1982.

Losing It, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1983.

In the Belly of the Beast: Letters from Prison, adapted by the Wisdom Bridge Theatre, produced at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1983, the Mayfest, Glasgow, Scotland, the Lyric Hammersmith Studio, London, and the Ivanhoe Theatre, Chicago, IL, all 1985.

Careless Love, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1984.

Life and Limb, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1984.

Terra Nova, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1984.

Hamlet, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, 1985.

Orchards: Seven American Playwrights Present Stories by Chekhov (also known as Orchards), The Acting Company, Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York City, 1986.

Galileo, Goodman Theatre, 1987.

Road, Remains Theatre, Chicago, IL, 1987.

The Tempest, Goodman Theatre, 1987.

Landscape of the Body, Goodman Theatre, 1988.

Pal Joey (musical), Goodman Theatre, 1988.

The Misanthrope, La Jolla Playhouse, Mandell Weiss Theatre, La Jolla, CA, and Goodman Theatre, both 1989.

Pravda (also known as Pravda: A Fleet Street Comedy), Tyrone Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis, MN, 1989.

The Speed of Darkness, Goodman Theatre, 1989, and Belasco Theatre, New York City, 1991.

The Iceman Cometh, Goodman Theatre, beginning 1990, and Abbey Theatre, Dublin, Ireland, 1992.

Book of the Night, Goodman Theatre, 1991.

Riverview: A Melodrama with Music (also known as Riverview), Goodman Theatre, 1992.

On the Open Road, Goodman Theatre, 1992, and New York Shakespeare Festival, Joseph Papp Public Theater, Martinson Hall, New York City, 1993.

Susannah (opera; also known as Floyd: Susannah), Lyric Opera of Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1993.

SubUrbia (also known as Suburbia), Lincoln Center, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, New York City, 1994.

The Night of the Iguana, Goodman Theatre, 1994, and Roundabout Theatre, Criterion Center Stage Right, New York City, 1996.

The Rose Tattoo, Circle in the Square, New York City, 1995.

The Three Sisters, Goodman Theatre, 1995.

The Food Chain, Westside Theatre, New York City, 1995-96.

A Touch of the Poet, Goodman Theatre, 1996.

The Consul (opera), Lyric Opera of Chicago, 1997.

Griller, Goodman Theatre, 1997.

The Young Man from Atlanta, Goodman Theatre, also produced at the Longacre Theatre, New York City, both 1997.

Death of a Salesman, Goodman Theatre, 1998, Eugene O'Neill Theatre, New York City, 1999, and Lyric Theatre, London, 2005.

Susannah (opera; also known as Floyd: Susannah), Metropolitan Opera, New York City, 1999.

Aida (musical), Goodman Theatre, 1999-2000, and Palace Theatre, New York City, beginning 2000, produced on tour and in various countries, beginning 2001, originally produced as Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida (musical), Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA, beginning 1998.

House/Garden (also known as House and Garden), Goodman Theatre, 2001.

King Hedley II, Virginia Theatre, New York City, 2001.

Blue Surge, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, Chicago, IL, 2001, and New York Shakespeare Festival, Joseph Papp Public Theater, Anspacher Theater, New York City, 2002.

The Guys, Goodman Theatre, Owen Theatre, Chicago, IL, and Northlight Theatre, both 2002.

Lobby Hero, Goodman Theatre, Owen Theatre, 2002.

Long Day's Journey into Night, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2002, and Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (formerly the Plymouth Theatre), New York City, 2003.

Hollywood Arms, Cort Theatre, New York City, 2002-2003.

The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2003.

Drowning Crow, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 2004.

Finishing the Picture, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2004.

Hughie, Goodman Theatre, Owen Theatre, 2004.

Dollhouse, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2005.

The Light in the Piazza (musical), Lincoln Center, Vivian Beaumont Theater, New York City, 2005-2006.

King Lear, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2006.

A Life in the Theatre, Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2006.

Frank's Home, Goodman Theatre, Owen Theatre, 2006, and Playwrights Horizons, New York City, 2007.

Shining City, Manhattan Theatre Club, Biltmore Theatre, New York City, 2006, and Goodman Theatre, Albert Theatre, 2008.

Beyond Glory, Roundabout Theatre Company, Laura Pels Theatre (Current), New York City, 2007.

Talk Radio, Longacre Theatre, 2007.

Also the director of other productions, including productions at the Houston Grand Opera and the Grand Theatre de Geneve.

Stage Artistic Director:

A Moon for the Misbegotten, Walter Kerr Theatre, New York City, 2000.

Artistic director of various productions.

Major Tours; Director:

Orchards: Seven American Playwrights Present Stories by Chekhov (also known as Orchards), The Acting Company, c. 1986.

Film Work:

Director of original stage production, SubUrbia (also known as subUrbi@), 1996, Sony Pictures Classics, 1997.

Television Work; Specials:

Director of stage production, Death of a Salesman, Showtime, 2000.

Television Appearances; Specials:

Broadway '99: Launching the Tony Awards, PBS, 1999.

WRITINGS

Writings for the Stage; Books for Musicals:

(With others) Aida (musical; based on the opera by Giuseppe Verdi), Goodman Theatre, 1999-2000, and Palace Theatre, New York City, beginning 2000, produced on tour and in various countries, beginning 2001, originally produced as Elaborate Lives: The Legend of Aida (musical), Walt Disney Theatrical Productions, Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, GA, beginning 1998.

OTHER SOURCES

Periodicals:

American Theatre, July/August, 1999, p. 16; July, 2001, p. 32.

Chicago Tribune, September 21, 2006.

USA Today, December 13, 2006, p. 5D.

Variety, December 4, 2006, p. 78.

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