Directors Daniel Sullivan and Pam MacKinnon Join Primary Stages Season
Directors Daniel Sullivan and Pam MacKinnon have signed on for Primary Stages’ previously announced 2009-2010 season, which marks the off-Broadway company's 25th anniversary. MacKinnon will helm the world premiere of Cusi Cram’s A Lifetime Burning, while Tony Award winner Sullivan will stage the New York premiere of Tony nominee Charlayne Woodard’s The Night Watcher. The directing pair joins previously announced helmer Liz Diamond, who heads up Luncinda Coxon’s Happy Now? Casting for all three pieces, which will be presented at Primary’s 59E59 theater space, will be announced at a later date.
MacKinnon is a frequent interpreter of the plays of Edward Albee, with the world premieres of Peter and Jerry (Second Stage) and Occupant (Signature), as well as A Delicate Balance (Arena Stage) on her lengthy resume. Additional credits includeThe Four of Us (MTC), Our Mother’s Brief Affair (South Coast Repertory), Good Boys and True (Steppenwolf), Bach at Leizig (NYTW) and All The King’s Men (Intiman).
Sullivan’s recent Broadway credits include Accent on Youth, The Homecoming, Prelude to a Kiss, Rabbit Hole, After the Night and the Music, Julius Caesar, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, The Heidi Chronicles and Proof, the latter of which earned him a Tony Award. Off-Broadway, the director has helmed Stuff Happens, Third, Intimate Apparel, In Real Life, Ten Unknowns, Spinning Into Butter, Dinner with Friends and Far East, among others. From 1981 to 1997, Sullivan served as Artistic Director for Seattle Repertory Theatre, where he directed more than 60 productions, and was the Acting Artistic Director at Manhattan Theatre Club for its 2007-2008 season. His revival of Twelfth Night, starring Anne Hathaway, is currently running at The Public’s Shakespeare in the Park.
The anniversary season kicks off with Cram’s A Lifetime Burning, beginning previews July 28 with opening night set for August 11. In this world premiere play, trust fund darling Emma imagines what her life would have been like had she come from a less privileged background in a tell-all “memoir” sold for a hefty advance. When Emma is exposed, will her sister stand by her? Or will Emma’s deceit destroy their already fractured relationship? A dark comedy, A Lifetime Burning raises questions of legacy, loyalty and what it means to belong. The production runs through September 5.
