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Julie Taymor

Julie Taymor (born December 15, 1952) is an American director and writer of theater, opera, and film. Her stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Award nominations, with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for her direction and costume design. Her film Frida, about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including a Best Original Song nomination for Taymor's composition "Burn It Blue". She also directed the 2007 jukebox musical film Across the Universe, based on the music of the Beatles.

Julie Taymor
Taymor, 2007 Toronto International Film Festival
Born (1952-12-15) December 15, 1952 (age 71)
EducationL'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq
Oberlin College (BA)
Occupation(s)Film and stage director, screenwriter
PartnerElliot Goldenthal (1980–present)

Early life edit

Taymor was born in Newton, Massachusetts, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Bernstein), a political science professor and Democratic activist, and Melvin Lester Taymor, a gynecologist.[1][2] Taymor's interest in theatre took root early in her life. By age ten, she had joined the Boston Children's Theatre and starred in a number of productions. Being the youngest member of theatre groups became common. By 13, she was taking trips to Boston by herself every weekend, where she discovered Julie Portman's Theatre Workshop. At the age of 15, her parents sent her to both Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living.[3] After graduating High School at 16, Taymor went to Paris to study with L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. Her studies there exposed her to mime, which helped develop her physical sensibilities. While in Paris, Taymor worked with masks for the first time and immersed herself in film, especially the work of Fellini and Kurosawa.[3]

In 1970 Taymor was enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio. During her second year, she interned with Joseph Chaikin's Open Theatre and other companies in New York City. Hearing that director Herbert Blau was moving to Oberlin, she returned there and auditioned successfully, becoming, once again, the youngest member of a troupe. In 1973, Taymor attended a summer program of the American Society for Eastern Arts in Seattle. The instructors were masters of Indonesian topeng masked dance-drama and wayang kulit shadow puppetry. This would prove to have a great effect on Taymor in later years. Taymor graduated from Oberlin College with a major in mythology and folklore and with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1974. She spent a summer with Bread and Puppet Theater.[4]

As a college senior, Taymor won a year long Thomas J. Watson Fellowship that began after graduation. The Watson allowed her to travel to Japan and Indonesia which she continued independently from 1975 until 1979. In Indonesia, she developed a mask/dance company, Teatr Loh, consisting of Japanese, Balinese, Sundanese, French, German and American actors, musicians, dancers and puppeteers. The company toured throughout Indonesia with two original productions, Way of Snow and Tirai, which were subsequently performed in the United States. She met her long-time collaborator, Elliot Goldenthal, in 1980.

Taymor was the 2010 commencement speaker for her alma mater, Oberlin College in Oberlin, Ohio.

Career edit

Theatre edit

Back in New York from Indonesia, Taymor remounted Tirai at La MaMa in 1980. Her next project, The Haggadah, came from the desire of The Public Theater director Joseph Papp to create an annual Passover pageant that would be culturally inclusive. In 1984, Taymor worked in collaboration with Theatre for a New Audience on a 60-minute version of A Midsummer Night's Dream presented at The Public Theater. Two years later, she directed her first Shakespeare play, The Tempest, for Theatre for a New Audience. She went on to direct three other productions at that theatre, including The Taming of the Shrew, Titus Andronicus and The Green Bird by Carlo Gozzi. She later adapted Tempest and Titus into major motion pictures.

Taymor is known for a distinct visual style, with extensive use of puppets and masks, developed largely from her time in Indonesia working with Teatr Loh.[5]

Taymor is most widely recognized for her production of The Lion King, which opened on Broadway in 1997. The Lion King's worldwide gross exceeds that of any entertainment title in box office history, and has been presented in over 100 cities in over 20 countries, having been seen by more than 100 million people worldwide.[6][7]

Taymor has the distinction of being the first woman to receive the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical, which she won for The Lion King.[6] She also received a Tony Award for her original costume designs for the production. Taymor co-designed the masks and puppets, and wrote additional lyrics for the show.[8] In 2007, The Lion King was performed in Johannesburg, and had its first French language production in Paris. In 2008, Le Roi Lion was awarded Best Costume Design, Best Lighting Design, and Best Musical at the Molière Awards, the national theatre awards of France.[9]

In 2000, Taymor directed Carlo Gozzi's The Green Bird on Broadway. The work was first produced in 1996 by Theatre for a New Audience at the New Victory Theater and presented at the La Jolla Playhouse.[10] Taymor's stage production of Shakespeare's Titus Andronicus was produced off-Broadway by Theatre for a New Audience in 1994. Other directing credits include The Tempest, The Taming of the Shrew, The Transposed Heads, based on the novella by Thomas Mann, co-produced by the American Musical Theater Festival and the Lincoln Center; and Liberty's Taken, an original musical co-created with David Suehsdorf and Elliot Goldenthal.

Her original music-theatre work, Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass, presented at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1996, received five Tony Award nominations including Best Director. Originally produced by Music Theater Group in 1988, Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass was directed by Taymor, and co-written with Elliot Goldenthal. The recipient of two Obies and numerous other awards, the piece was performed at The Edinburgh International Festival, as well as festivals in France, Jerusalem and Montreal, and had an extended run in San Francisco.[11]

In April 2007, it was announced that a musical adaptation of Spider-Man was being prepared for Broadway. Taymor was selected to direct the show and write the book with Glen Berger. The production features music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge. The musical, Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, was scheduled to begin previews on November 28, 2010, at the Foxwoods Theatre. The play was delayed for several months due to numerous injuries, and Taymor was fired and replaced by Philip William McKinley. The play officially opened on June 14, 2011, having set the record for the longest preview period in the history of Broadway at 182 performances. The production also set the record for most expensive Broadway production at an estimated $75 million.[12] In November 2011, Taymor sued the show's producers, Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris, claiming that they were profiting from her creative contributions without compensating her.[13] Taymor and the producers reached a settlement in August 2012.[14]

Taymor was a 2015 inductee into the American Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement.[15]

Taymor directed a Broadway revival of David Henry Hwang's M. Butterfly, starring Clive Owen, which opened on October 26, 2017, at the Cort Theatre, with previews beginning on October 7. David Henry Hwang made changes to the original text for the revival, mostly centering on the issue of intersectional identities.

Stage production history edit

  • Way of Snow (1974–75, 1980) – writer, director, and designer in Java and Bali and The Ark Theater, New York City
  • Tirai (1978–79, 1981) – writer, director, and designer in Java and Bali and La MaMa, New York City
  • The Haggadah (1980) – sets, costumes, masks, and puppetry produced for the New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, New York City
  • Black Elk Lives (1981) – sets, masks, and puppetry produced at Intermedia Theater, New York City
  • The King Stag (1984) – costumes, masks, puppetry and choreography produced at ART, Cambridge, Massachusetts
  • Liberty's Taken (1985) – director, masks, and puppetry produced at the Castle Hill Festival, Massachusetts
  • The Transposed Heads (1984, 1986) – director, masks, and puppetry produced at The Ark Theater, New York City and Lincoln Center
  • The Tempest (1986, by Shakespeare, abridged) – director, puppetry. produced for Theatre for a New Audience (TFANA) at Classic Stage Company (New York City)
  • The Taming of the Shrew (1988, by Shakespeare) – director, produced by Theatre For a New Audience
  • Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass (1988, 1990, 1996) – director, co-bookwriter, co-scenic designer, co-costume designer, mask designer, puppet designer
    Tony Award co-nomination for Best Scenic Design, Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical
  • Oedipus rex (1992, by Igor Stravinsky) – director, puppetry. at Sito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto (taped for TV, released 1993 / released DVD)
  • The Magic Flute (1993, by Mozart – director, costume designer, masks and puppetry designer by Taymor and Michael Curry
  • Titus Andronicus (1994, by Shakespeare) – director, produced by Theatre For a New Audience
  • The Flying Dutchman (1996, by Richard Wagner) – director
  • Salome (1995 premiere at Passionstheater, Oberammergau, Germany) directed and choreographed by Taymor and Andreas Liyepa
  • The Lion King (1997) – director, lyricist for the song "Endless Night", costume designer, co-mask designer, co-puppet designer
    – Tony Award winner for Best Direction of a Musical, Tony Award co-nomination for Best Original Score, Tony Award winner for Best Costume Design
  • The Green Bird (1996, 2000) – director, mask designer, puppet designer produced by Theatre for a New Audience at the New Victory Theater (1996), La Jolla, and on Broadway at the Cort Theatre (2000)
  • The Magic Flute (premiered 2005, opera by Mozart) – director, Metropolitan Opera, New York, live broadcast
  • The Magic Flute (2006), newly translated and abridged version, Metropolitan Opera, Opera Australia (2012)
  • Grendel (2007, opera by Elliot Goldenthal) – librettist, director, co-commissioned and performed at the Los Angeles Opera and the Lincoln Center Festival
  • Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark (2010, musical adaptation of Spider-Man) – director, co-author, mask designer, Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre
  • A Midsummer Night's Dream (2013) – director, Theatre for a New Audience, Polonsky Shakespeare Center
  • Grounded (2015) – director, The Public Theater
  • M. Butterfly (2017) – director, Broadway at the Cort Theatre

Film edit

Taymor's first film, Fool's Fire, which she co-directed and adapted from Edgar Allan Poe's short story, Hop-Frog, was produced by American Playhouse.[16] The hour-long film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on PBS in March 1992.[17] In the film, all characters except the titular character Hop-Frog are either elaborate puppets or masks, not unlike Taymor's stage work.[18] The film won the Best Drama award at the Tokyo International Electronic Cinema Festival.[19]

Taymor also directed a film adaptation of opera Oedipus rex after directing a stage production of the same opera. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Jury Award at the Montreal Festival of Film on Art. Broadcast internationally in 1993, the film garnered an Emmy Award and the 1994 International Classical Music Award for Best Opera Production.[1]

Taymor's feature film debut, Titus (1999), starring Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Alan Cumming and Jonathan Rhys Meyers, was an adaptation of Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus.[20] Taymor adapted the screenplay and produced the film, which received an Academy Award nomination for costume design.

Taymor received critical acclaim for her direction of Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina in Frida (2002), the true story of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. Frida garnered six Academy Award nominations, including a Best Actress nomination for Hayek, and won two Academy Awards for make-up and original score.[21] Frida was honored with four BAFTA nominations and one win, including nominations for Hayek and Molina, as well as two Golden Globe nominations, winning the Golden Globe for Best Original Score.[22] In addition, the film received two Screen Actors Guild nominations. The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the festival's Mimmo Rotella Foundation Award.[23]

Her next film was the jukebox musical Across the Universe (2008), which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical/Comedy as well as an Academy Award for Costume Design.[24] With a collection of 33 Beatles songs, the film stars Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess in a 1960s love story set to the music of The Beatles, and featured performances by Bono, Joe Cocker, Eddie Izzard and Salma Hayek. Taymor both directed and co-wrote the story for the film.[25]

In November 2008, Taymor directed a film version of Shakespeare's The Tempest,[26] released in December 2010 starring Helen Mirren, Alfred Molina, Djimon Hounsou and Ben Whishaw. Working behind the camera with Taymor on The Tempest were the Academy Award winners Elliot Goldenthal for music, Sandy Powell for costumes, and Françoise Bonnot. Taymor produced the feature and adapted the screenplay based on Shakespeare's play.[27][28]

She also completed a cinematic version of William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, starring David Harewood, Max Casella and Kathryn Hunter, and filmed during her critically acclaimed, sold-out stage production that ran at Theatre for a New Audience's new home in Downtown Brooklyn. The film was shown at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Mavericks in Film Programme.

Taymor directed and co-wrote The Glorias, a biopic of feminist icon Gloria Steinem, based on her novel My Life on the Road, starring Julianne Moore, Alicia Vikander, Bette Midler, and Janelle Monae.[29] The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Amazon Prime on September 30, 2020.

Filmography edit

Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes
1992 Fool's Fire Yes Yes Yes TV movie;
Also costume designer
1999 Titus Yes Yes Yes
2002 Frida Yes No No Also Tango choreographer (credited as Taymor) and lyricist for the song "Burn it Blue"
2007 Across the Universe Yes Story No
2010 The Tempest Yes Yes Yes
2020 The Glorias Yes Yes Yes Also uncredited cameo

Executive producer

Recorded plays/opera edit

Year Title Director Writer Producer Puppets Masks Notes
1986 The Tempest Yes No No Yes No
1990 Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass Yes Yes No Yes Yes Also co-scenic designer and co-costume designer
1993 Oedipus rex Yes No No No Yes Also sculpture designer and editor;
released as an episode of Great Performances
1995 Salome Yes No No No No Also co-choreographer;
Co-directed and co-choreographed with Andreas Liyepa
1997 The Lion King Yes No Yes Yes Yes Also lyricst for the song "Endless Night" and costume designer
2014 A Midsummer Night's Dream Yes No No No No

Opera edit

 
Taymor, Metropolitan Opera 2009

Taymor's first opera direction was of Stravinsky's Oedipus rex, for the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Japan, under the baton of Seiji Ozawa in 1992.[30] The opera featured Philip Langridge as Oedipus and Jessye Norman as Jocasta. Taymor went on to direct the film adaptation of the opera Oedipus Rex.[1]

She went on to direct Wagner's The Flying Dutchman for the Los Angeles Opera in a co-production with the Houston Grand Opera.[31]

She directed Richard Strauss' Salome for the Kirov Opera in Russia, Germany, and Israel, conducted by Valery Gergiev.[1] Taymor's first direction of The Magic Flute (Die Zauberflöte), was for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence, with Zubin Mehta conducting in 1993. Over a decade later, Taymor premiered The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004. The show is now in repertoire there. A newly translated and abridged English version of the opera premiered at the Met in December 2006, and inaugurated a new series on PBS in 2010 entitled, Great Performances at the Met as well as launched the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series of movie-theater transmissions.[32]

In June 2006, Taymor directed the premiere of Elliot Goldenthal's opera Grendel for the Los Angeles Opera, starring Eric Owens, which was also presented as part of the Summer 2006 Lincoln Center Festival in New York City.[33] A darkly comic retelling of the Beowulf tale based on the novel by John Gardner, the opera was co-commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera and the Lincoln Center Festival. The opera was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2007.[34]

For the Metropolitan Opera 2005/06 season, Taymor directed a successful production of The Magic Flute. It was revised for the 2006/07 season and, in addition to full-length performances, was adapted for a 100-minute version over the holiday season to appeal to children. That version of the opera was the first of a series of NCM Fathom Live on the Big Screen presentations of MET operas downloaded via satellite to movie theaters across North America and parts of Europe for the 2006/07 season.[35] In 2012, Opera Australia produced this version with locally built scenery and props at the Sydney Opera House, the Arts Centre Melbourne, and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane.[36]

Books edit

  • The Lion King: Pride Rock on Broadway, Hyperion Books, 1998, ISBN 9780786863426
  • Titus: The Illustrated Screenplay, Newmarket Press, 2000, ISBN 9781557044365
  • (with Eileen Blumenthal and Antonio Monda) Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire, Harry N. Abrams, Inc., 2007, ISBN 9780810935174
  • (with Salma Hayek) Frida: Bringing Frida Kahlo's Life and Art to Film, Newmarket Press, 2009, ISBN 9781557045409
  • The Tempest (screenplay adapted from the play by William Shakespeare), Abrams Books, 2010, ISBN 9780810996557

Exhibition edit

A major retrospective of 25 years of Taymor's work, titled 'Playing With Fire' opened in the fall of 1999 at the Wexner Center for the Arts[37] and toured the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington D.C.) in 2000 [38] and the Field Museum of Natural History[39] (Chicago) in 2001, and was extended due to popular demand in each venue.

In September 2009, costumes from The Lion King were requested and presented to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History[40] and they are now part of the Smithsonian collection as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.[41]

Awards and nominations edit

In 1991, Taymor won the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship. In addition, Taymor has received a Guggenheim Fellowship,[1] two Obie Awards,[42] the first Annual Dorothy B. Chandler Award in Theater, the Brandeis Creative Arts Award,[42] and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement.[43][44]

Theatre edit

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
1996 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Set Design The Green Bird Nominated [45]
Outstanding Costume Design Nominated
1997 Outstanding Set Design Juan Darién: A Carnival Mass Nominated
Outstanding Costume Design Nominated
Tony Awards Best Direction of a Musical Nominated
Best Scenic Design Nominated
1998 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical The Lion King Won
Outstanding Puppet Design Won
Outstanding Costume Design Won
Tony Awards Direction of a Musical Won
Best Original Score Nominated
Best Costume Design Won
2014 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Play A Midsummer Night's Dream Nominated

Television edit

Film edit

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2003 Academy Awards Best Original Song "Burn It Blue" from Frida Nominated [47]

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e Blumenthal, Eileen. "Julie Taymor". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  2. ^ "Julie Taymor Biography", Film Reference.com, accessed August 28, 2011
  3. ^ a b Munro, Eleanor (2000). Originals: American Women Artists. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 509. ISBN 0-306-80955-9.
  4. ^ Richard Schechner (Fall 1999). "Julie Taymor: From Jacques Lecoq to The Lion King". TDR: The Drama Review. 43 (3): 35–55. Retrieved 2022-12-08 – via Project MUSE.
  5. ^ "Julie Taymor: Director of Theatre & Film". makers. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  6. ^ a b "Oprah Interviews Julie Taymor". O, The Oprah Magazine. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
  7. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (2018-04-06). "The Top 10 Highest-Grossing Broadway Shows of All Time". Playbill. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  8. ^ "Disney Musical Theatre". Disney. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
  9. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Le Roi Lion (The Lion King) Wins Molière Award for Best Musical". Playbill. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  10. ^ "Talkin' Broadway Review: The Green Bird". talkinbroadway.com. Retrieved 2012-03-20.
  11. ^ Brantley, Ben (1996-11-25). "Child With Inner Jaguar In a 60's Dreamscape". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  12. ^ Pennacchio, George. "Spider-Man musical opens: What critics said" 2012-05-11 at the Wayback Machine. ABClocal-KABC, June 14, 2011
  13. ^ Patrick Healy (November 8, 2011). "Julie Taymor Sues Spider-Man Team Over Royalties". The New York Times.
  14. ^ Dave Itzkoff (August 30, 2012). "Taymor, Spider-Man Producers Reach Undisclosed Settlement on Dueling Lawsuits".
  15. ^ "Presenters Announced for Starry Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony", Playbill, November 11, 2015
  16. ^ Fool's Fire (TV 1992) at IMDb
  17. ^ "Fool's Fire". Sundance Institute Archives. 1992. Retrieved February 15, 2012.
  18. ^ "Fool's Fire: the Genius of Julie Taymor" (PDF). exhibition at the Center for Puppetry Arts. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  19. ^ "Julie Taymor". FilmBug.com. Retrieved 2012-01-20.
  20. ^ Titus (1999) at IMDb
  21. ^ Awards for Frida (2002) at IMDb
  22. ^ "Elliot Goldenthal Composer of Music for the Movies". dhwaldron.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  23. ^ "2002 Venice Film Festival – Opening Night – Frida Premiere". LIFE.com. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  24. ^ Across the Universe (2007) at IMDb
  25. ^ Holden, Stephen (September 14, 2007). "Across the Universe review". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-22.
  26. ^ The Tempest (2010) at IMDb
  27. ^ Shmith, Michael (July 5, 2008). "The woman with the magic touch". The Age. Melbourne. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  28. ^ Breznican, Anthony (2010-05-09). "First look: Helen Mirren in lead role in Julie Taymor's Tempest". USA Today. Retrieved 2011-03-09.
  29. ^ The Glorias: A Life on the Road at IMDb
  30. ^ . AmericanTheatreWing.org. July 2007. Archived from the original on 2013-05-12. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  31. ^ Swed, Mark (1995-03-09). "Fly, 'Dutchman,' Fly : Not content to just accept the classic story as it stands, director Julie Taymor has reworked Wagner's Romantic epic, adding new interests and personalities to the players". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  32. ^ Zuckerman, Alicia (2005-05-21). "The Circle of Life: The Lion King's Julie Taymor returns to opera, reimagining The Magic Flute for the Met". New York. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  33. ^ Lunden, Jeff (2006-07-21). "Grendel: An Operatic Monster's Tale". NPR Books. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  34. ^ "365 Film Festival: Conversation with Julie Taymor". 360 365 Film Festival. Retrieved 2012-02-14.
  35. ^ Mattison, Ben (2004-10-08). "Julie Taymor's The Magic Flute Opens at Met Opera, Oct. 8". Playbill. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  36. ^ . Opera Australia. Archived from the original on 2011-12-03.
  37. ^ "Indepth Art News: "Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire"". AbsoluteArts.com. 1999-09-18. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  38. ^ . National Museum of Women in the Arts. 2000-11-16. Archived from the original on 2012-03-01. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  39. ^ Taubenek, Anne (2001-06-19). "The vivid world of Julie Taymor". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  40. ^ Ng, David (2009-09-24). "Julie Taymor's Lion King costumes join Smithsonian collection". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  41. ^ "Lion King pride at V&A exhibition". OfficialLondonTheatre.com. 2010-06-11. Retrieved 2017-10-31.
  42. ^ a b Gabrielli, Betty. "Julie Taymor Continues the Artistic Journey, Begun at Oberlin, with The Lion King". Oberlin Alumni News & Notes. Retrieved 2011-12-27.
  43. ^ "Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement". www.achievement.org. American Academy of Achievement.
  44. ^ "2006 Summit Highlights Photo: Awards Council member Arthur Golden, the author of Memoirs of a Geisha, presenting the Golden Plate Award to Julie Taymor, the award-winning Broadway director of The Lion King, at the International Achievement Summit". American Academy of Achievement.
  45. ^ "Julie Taymor – Broadway Cast & Staff". ibdb.com. The Broadway League.
  46. ^ "Outstanding Costumes For A Variety Program Or A Special Nominees / Winners 1993". Emmys.com. Retrieved 2022-07-30.
  47. ^ "The 76th Academy Awards | 2004". Oscars.org.

Further reading edit

  • Blumenthal, Eileen, and Taymor, Julie. Julie Taymor, Playing with Fire : Theater, Opera, Film, New York: H. N. Abrams, 1995

External links edit

julie, taymor, born, december, 1952, american, director, writer, theater, opera, film, stage, adaptation, lion, king, debuted, 1997, received, eleven, tony, award, nominations, with, taymor, receiving, tony, awards, direction, costume, design, film, frida, abo. Julie Taymor born December 15 1952 is an American director and writer of theater opera and film Her stage adaptation of The Lion King debuted in 1997 and received eleven Tony Award nominations with Taymor receiving Tony Awards for her direction and costume design Her film Frida about Mexican artist Frida Kahlo was nominated for five Academy Awards including a Best Original Song nomination for Taymor s composition Burn It Blue She also directed the 2007 jukebox musical film Across the Universe based on the music of the Beatles Julie TaymorTaymor 2007 Toronto International Film FestivalBorn 1952 12 15 December 15 1952 age 71 Newton Massachusetts U S EducationL Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques LecoqOberlin College BA Occupation s Film and stage director screenwriterPartnerElliot Goldenthal 1980 present Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Theatre 2 2 Stage production history 2 3 Film 2 4 Filmography 2 5 Recorded plays opera 2 6 Opera 2 7 Books 2 8 Exhibition 3 Awards and nominations 3 1 Theatre 3 2 Television 3 3 Film 4 References 5 Further reading 6 External linksEarly life editThis section of a biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Julie Taymor news newspapers books scholar JSTOR November 2022 Learn how and when to remove this template message Taymor was born in Newton Massachusetts the daughter of Elizabeth nee Bernstein a political science professor and Democratic activist and Melvin Lester Taymor a gynecologist 1 2 Taymor s interest in theatre took root early in her life By age ten she had joined the Boston Children s Theatre and starred in a number of productions Being the youngest member of theatre groups became common By 13 she was taking trips to Boston by herself every weekend where she discovered Julie Portman s Theatre Workshop At the age of 15 her parents sent her to both Sri Lanka and India with the Experiment in International Living 3 After graduating High School at 16 Taymor went to Paris to study with L Ecole Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq Her studies there exposed her to mime which helped develop her physical sensibilities While in Paris Taymor worked with masks for the first time and immersed herself in film especially the work of Fellini and Kurosawa 3 In 1970 Taymor was enrolled in Oberlin College in Ohio During her second year she interned with Joseph Chaikin s Open Theatre and other companies in New York City Hearing that director Herbert Blau was moving to Oberlin she returned there and auditioned successfully becoming once again the youngest member of a troupe In 1973 Taymor attended a summer program of the American Society for Eastern Arts in Seattle The instructors were masters of Indonesian topeng masked dance drama and wayang kulit shadow puppetry This would prove to have a great effect on Taymor in later years Taymor graduated from Oberlin College with a major in mythology and folklore and with Phi Beta Kappa honors in 1974 She spent a summer with Bread and Puppet Theater 4 As a college senior Taymor won a year long Thomas J Watson Fellowship that began after graduation The Watson allowed her to travel to Japan and Indonesia which she continued independently from 1975 until 1979 In Indonesia she developed a mask dance company Teatr Loh consisting of Japanese Balinese Sundanese French German and American actors musicians dancers and puppeteers The company toured throughout Indonesia with two original productions Way of Snow and Tirai which were subsequently performed in the United States She met her long time collaborator Elliot Goldenthal in 1980 Taymor was the 2010 commencement speaker for her alma mater Oberlin College in Oberlin Ohio Career editTheatre edit Back in New York from Indonesia Taymor remounted Tirai at La MaMa in 1980 Her next project The Haggadah came from the desire of The Public Theater director Joseph Papp to create an annual Passover pageant that would be culturally inclusive In 1984 Taymor worked in collaboration with Theatre for a New Audience on a 60 minute version of A Midsummer Night s Dream presented at The Public Theater Two years later she directed her first Shakespeare play The Tempest for Theatre for a New Audience She went on to direct three other productions at that theatre including The Taming of the Shrew Titus Andronicus and The Green Bird by Carlo Gozzi She later adapted Tempest and Titus into major motion pictures Taymor is known for a distinct visual style with extensive use of puppets and masks developed largely from her time in Indonesia working with Teatr Loh 5 Taymor is most widely recognized for her production of The Lion King which opened on Broadway in 1997 The Lion King s worldwide gross exceeds that of any entertainment title in box office history and has been presented in over 100 cities in over 20 countries having been seen by more than 100 million people worldwide 6 7 Taymor has the distinction of being the first woman to receive the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical which she won for The Lion King 6 She also received a Tony Award for her original costume designs for the production Taymor co designed the masks and puppets and wrote additional lyrics for the show 8 In 2007 The Lion King was performed in Johannesburg and had its first French language production in Paris In 2008 Le Roi Lion was awarded Best Costume Design Best Lighting Design and Best Musical at the Moliere Awards the national theatre awards of France 9 In 2000 Taymor directed Carlo Gozzi s The Green Bird on Broadway The work was first produced in 1996 by Theatre for a New Audience at the New Victory Theater and presented at the La Jolla Playhouse 10 Taymor s stage production of Shakespeare s Titus Andronicus was produced off Broadway by Theatre for a New Audience in 1994 Other directing credits include The Tempest The Taming of the Shrew The Transposed Heads based on the novella by Thomas Mann co produced by the American Musical Theater Festival and the Lincoln Center and Liberty s Taken an original musical co created with David Suehsdorf and Elliot Goldenthal Her original music theatre work Juan Darien A Carnival Mass presented at Lincoln Center s Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1996 received five Tony Award nominations including Best Director Originally produced by Music Theater Group in 1988 Juan Darien A Carnival Mass was directed by Taymor and co written with Elliot Goldenthal The recipient of two Obies and numerous other awards the piece was performed at The Edinburgh International Festival as well as festivals in France Jerusalem and Montreal and had an extended run in San Francisco 11 In April 2007 it was announced that a musical adaptation of Spider Man was being prepared for Broadway Taymor was selected to direct the show and write the book with Glen Berger The production features music and lyrics by Bono and The Edge The musical Spider Man Turn Off the Dark was scheduled to begin previews on November 28 2010 at the Foxwoods Theatre The play was delayed for several months due to numerous injuries and Taymor was fired and replaced by Philip William McKinley The play officially opened on June 14 2011 having set the record for the longest preview period in the history of Broadway at 182 performances The production also set the record for most expensive Broadway production at an estimated 75 million 12 In November 2011 Taymor sued the show s producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J Harris claiming that they were profiting from her creative contributions without compensating her 13 Taymor and the producers reached a settlement in August 2012 14 Taymor was a 2015 inductee into the American Theater Hall of Fame for Lifetime Achievement 15 Taymor directed a Broadway revival of David Henry Hwang s M Butterfly starring Clive Owen which opened on October 26 2017 at the Cort Theatre with previews beginning on October 7 David Henry Hwang made changes to the original text for the revival mostly centering on the issue of intersectional identities Stage production history edit Way of Snow 1974 75 1980 writer director and designer in Java and Bali and The Ark Theater New York City Tirai 1978 79 1981 writer director and designer in Java and Bali and La MaMa New York City The Haggadah 1980 sets costumes masks and puppetry produced for the New York Shakespeare Festival Public Theater New York City Black Elk Lives 1981 sets masks and puppetry produced at Intermedia Theater New York City The King Stag 1984 costumes masks puppetry and choreography produced at ART Cambridge Massachusetts Liberty s Taken 1985 director masks and puppetry produced at the Castle Hill Festival Massachusetts The Transposed Heads 1984 1986 director masks and puppetry produced at The Ark Theater New York City and Lincoln Center The Tempest 1986 by Shakespeare abridged director puppetry produced for Theatre for a New Audience TFANA at Classic Stage Company New York City The Taming of the Shrew 1988 by Shakespeare director produced by Theatre For a New Audience Juan Darien A Carnival Mass 1988 1990 1996 director co bookwriter co scenic designer co costume designer mask designer puppet designer Tony Award co nomination for Best Scenic Design Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical Oedipus rex 1992 by Igor Stravinsky director puppetry at Sito Kinen Festival in Matsumoto taped for TV released 1993 released DVD The Magic Flute 1993 by Mozart director costume designer masks and puppetry designer by Taymor and Michael Curry Titus Andronicus 1994 by Shakespeare director produced by Theatre For a New Audience The Flying Dutchman 1996 by Richard Wagner director Salome 1995 premiere at Passionstheater Oberammergau Germany directed and choreographed by Taymor and Andreas Liyepa The Lion King 1997 director lyricist for the song Endless Night costume designer co mask designer co puppet designer Tony Award winner for Best Direction of a Musical Tony Award co nomination for Best Original Score Tony Award winner for Best Costume Design The Green Bird 1996 2000 director mask designer puppet designer produced by Theatre for a New Audience at the New Victory Theater 1996 La Jolla and on Broadway at the Cort Theatre 2000 The Magic Flute premiered 2005 opera by Mozart director Metropolitan Opera New York live broadcast The Magic Flute 2006 newly translated and abridged version Metropolitan Opera Opera Australia 2012 Grendel 2007 opera by Elliot Goldenthal librettist director co commissioned and performed at the Los Angeles Opera and the Lincoln Center Festival Spider Man Turn Off the Dark 2010 musical adaptation of Spider Man director co author mask designer Broadway at the Foxwoods Theatre A Midsummer Night s Dream 2013 director Theatre for a New Audience Polonsky Shakespeare Center Grounded 2015 director The Public Theater M Butterfly 2017 director Broadway at the Cort TheatreFilm edit Taymor s first film Fool s Fire which she co directed and adapted from Edgar Allan Poe s short story Hop Frog was produced by American Playhouse 16 The hour long film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and aired on PBS in March 1992 17 In the film all characters except the titular character Hop Frog are either elaborate puppets or masks not unlike Taymor s stage work 18 The film won the Best Drama award at the Tokyo International Electronic Cinema Festival 19 Taymor also directed a film adaptation of opera Oedipus rex after directing a stage production of the same opera The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and won the Jury Award at the Montreal Festival of Film on Art Broadcast internationally in 1993 the film garnered an Emmy Award and the 1994 International Classical Music Award for Best Opera Production 1 Taymor s feature film debut Titus 1999 starring Anthony Hopkins Jessica Lange Alan Cumming and Jonathan Rhys Meyers was an adaptation of Shakespeare s play Titus Andronicus 20 Taymor adapted the screenplay and produced the film which received an Academy Award nomination for costume design Taymor received critical acclaim for her direction of Salma Hayek and Alfred Molina in Frida 2002 the true story of the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo Frida garnered six Academy Award nominations including a Best Actress nomination for Hayek and won two Academy Awards for make up and original score 21 Frida was honored with four BAFTA nominations and one win including nominations for Hayek and Molina as well as two Golden Globe nominations winning the Golden Globe for Best Original Score 22 In addition the film received two Screen Actors Guild nominations The film premiered at the Venice Film Festival where it won the festival s Mimmo Rotella Foundation Award 23 Her next film was the jukebox musical Across the Universe 2008 which received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Musical Comedy as well as an Academy Award for Costume Design 24 With a collection of 33 Beatles songs the film stars Evan Rachel Wood and Jim Sturgess in a 1960s love story set to the music of The Beatles and featured performances by Bono Joe Cocker Eddie Izzard and Salma Hayek Taymor both directed and co wrote the story for the film 25 In November 2008 Taymor directed a film version of Shakespeare s The Tempest 26 released in December 2010 starring Helen Mirren Alfred Molina Djimon Hounsou and Ben Whishaw Working behind the camera with Taymor on The Tempest were the Academy Award winners Elliot Goldenthal for music Sandy Powell for costumes and Francoise Bonnot Taymor produced the feature and adapted the screenplay based on Shakespeare s play 27 28 She also completed a cinematic version of William Shakespeare s A Midsummer Night s Dream starring David Harewood Max Casella and Kathryn Hunter and filmed during her critically acclaimed sold out stage production that ran at Theatre for a New Audience s new home in Downtown Brooklyn The film was shown at the 2014 Toronto International Film Festival as part of the Mavericks in Film Programme Taymor directed and co wrote The Glorias a biopic of feminist icon Gloria Steinem based on her novel My Life on the Road starring Julianne Moore Alicia Vikander Bette Midler and Janelle Monae 29 The movie premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was released by Amazon Prime on September 30 2020 Filmography edit Year Title Director Writer Producer Notes1992 Fool s Fire Yes Yes Yes TV movie Also costume designer1999 Titus Yes Yes Yes2002 Frida Yes No No Also Tango choreographer credited as Taymor and lyricist for the song Burn it Blue 2007 Across the Universe Yes Story No2010 The Tempest Yes Yes Yes2020 The Glorias Yes Yes Yes Also uncredited cameoExecutive producer The Lion King 2019 Recorded plays opera edit Year Title Director Writer Producer Puppets Masks Notes1986 The Tempest Yes No No Yes No1990 Juan Darien A Carnival Mass Yes Yes No Yes Yes Also co scenic designer and co costume designer1993 Oedipus rex Yes No No No Yes Also sculpture designer and editor released as an episode of Great Performances1995 Salome Yes No No No No Also co choreographer Co directed and co choreographed with Andreas Liyepa1997 The Lion King Yes No Yes Yes Yes Also lyricst for the song Endless Night and costume designer2014 A Midsummer Night s Dream Yes No No No NoOpera edit nbsp Taymor Metropolitan Opera 2009Taymor s first opera direction was of Stravinsky s Oedipus rex for the Saito Kinen Orchestra in Japan under the baton of Seiji Ozawa in 1992 30 The opera featured Philip Langridge as Oedipus and Jessye Norman as Jocasta Taymor went on to direct the film adaptation of the opera Oedipus Rex 1 She went on to direct Wagner s The Flying Dutchman for the Los Angeles Opera in a co production with the Houston Grand Opera 31 She directed Richard Strauss Salome for the Kirov Opera in Russia Germany and Israel conducted by Valery Gergiev 1 Taymor s first direction of The Magic Flute Die Zauberflote was for the Maggio Musicale Fiorentino in Florence with Zubin Mehta conducting in 1993 Over a decade later Taymor premiered The Magic Flute at the Metropolitan Opera in 2004 The show is now in repertoire there A newly translated and abridged English version of the opera premiered at the Met in December 2006 and inaugurated a new series on PBS in 2010 entitled Great Performances at the Met as well as launched the Metropolitan Opera Live in HD series of movie theater transmissions 32 In June 2006 Taymor directed the premiere of Elliot Goldenthal s opera Grendel for the Los Angeles Opera starring Eric Owens which was also presented as part of the Summer 2006 Lincoln Center Festival in New York City 33 A darkly comic retelling of the Beowulf tale based on the novel by John Gardner the opera was co commissioned by the Los Angeles Opera and the Lincoln Center Festival The opera was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Music in 2007 34 For the Metropolitan Opera 2005 06 season Taymor directed a successful production of The Magic Flute It was revised for the 2006 07 season and in addition to full length performances was adapted for a 100 minute version over the holiday season to appeal to children That version of the opera was the first of a series of NCM Fathom Live on the Big Screen presentations of MET operas downloaded via satellite to movie theaters across North America and parts of Europe for the 2006 07 season 35 In 2012 Opera Australia produced this version with locally built scenery and props at the Sydney Opera House the Arts Centre Melbourne and the Queensland Performing Arts Centre in Brisbane 36 Books edit The Lion King Pride Rock on Broadway Hyperion Books 1998 ISBN 9780786863426 Titus The Illustrated Screenplay Newmarket Press 2000 ISBN 9781557044365 with Eileen Blumenthal and Antonio Monda Julie Taymor Playing with Fire Harry N Abrams Inc 2007 ISBN 9780810935174 with Salma Hayek Frida Bringing Frida Kahlo s Life and Art to Film Newmarket Press 2009 ISBN 9781557045409 The Tempest screenplay adapted from the play by William Shakespeare Abrams Books 2010 ISBN 9780810996557Exhibition edit A major retrospective of 25 years of Taymor s work titled Playing With Fire opened in the fall of 1999 at the Wexner Center for the Arts 37 and toured the National Museum of Women in the Arts Washington D C in 2000 38 and the Field Museum of Natural History 39 Chicago in 2001 and was extended due to popular demand in each venue In September 2009 costumes from The Lion King were requested and presented to the Smithsonian National Museum of American History 40 and they are now part of the Smithsonian collection as well as the Victoria and Albert Museum in London 41 Awards and nominations editIn 1991 Taymor won the prestigious MacArthur Fellowship In addition Taymor has received a Guggenheim Fellowship 1 two Obie Awards 42 the first Annual Dorothy B Chandler Award in Theater the Brandeis Creative Arts Award 42 and the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement 43 44 Theatre edit Year Award Category Work Result Ref 1996 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Set Design The Green Bird Nominated 45 Outstanding Costume Design Nominated1997 Outstanding Set Design Juan Darien A Carnival Mass NominatedOutstanding Costume Design NominatedTony Awards Best Direction of a Musical NominatedBest Scenic Design Nominated1998 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical The Lion King WonOutstanding Puppet Design WonOutstanding Costume Design WonTony Awards Direction of a Musical WonBest Original Score NominatedBest Costume Design Won2014 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Play A Midsummer Night s Dream NominatedTelevision edit Year Award Category Work Result Ref 1993 Primetime Emmy Awards Outstanding Costumes for a Variety Program or a Special Oedipus Rex Won 46 Film edit Year Award Category Work Result Ref 2003 Academy Awards Best Original Song Burn It Blue from Frida Nominated 47 References edit a b c d e Blumenthal Eileen Julie Taymor Jewish Women s Archive Retrieved 2011 03 09 Julie Taymor Biography Film Reference com accessed August 28 2011 a b Munro Eleanor 2000 Originals American Women Artists New York Simon amp Schuster p 509 ISBN 0 306 80955 9 Richard Schechner Fall 1999 Julie Taymor From Jacques Lecoq to The Lion King TDR The Drama Review 43 3 35 55 Retrieved 2022 12 08 via Project MUSE Julie Taymor Director of Theatre amp Film makers Retrieved 2018 11 16 a b Oprah Interviews Julie Taymor O The Oprah Magazine Retrieved 2012 03 20 Culwell Block Logan 2018 04 06 The Top 10 Highest Grossing Broadway Shows of All Time Playbill Retrieved 2018 11 16 Disney Musical Theatre Disney Retrieved 2012 03 20 Gans Andrew Le Roi Lion The Lion King Wins Moliere Award for Best Musical Playbill Retrieved 2022 07 30 Talkin Broadway Review The Green Bird talkinbroadway com Retrieved 2012 03 20 Brantley Ben 1996 11 25 Child With Inner Jaguar In a 60 s Dreamscape The New York Times Retrieved 2022 07 30 Pennacchio George Spider Man musical opens What critics said Archived 2012 05 11 at the Wayback Machine ABClocal KABC June 14 2011 Patrick Healy November 8 2011 Julie Taymor Sues Spider Man Team Over Royalties The New York Times Dave Itzkoff August 30 2012 Taymor Spider Man Producers Reach Undisclosed Settlement on Dueling Lawsuits Presenters Announced for Starry Theater Hall of Fame Ceremony Playbill November 11 2015 Fool s Fire TV 1992 at IMDb Fool s Fire Sundance Institute Archives 1992 Retrieved February 15 2012 Fool s Fire the Genius of Julie Taymor PDF exhibition at the Center for Puppetry Arts Retrieved 2018 11 16 Julie Taymor FilmBug com Retrieved 2012 01 20 Titus 1999 at IMDb Awards for Frida 2002 at IMDb Elliot Goldenthal Composer of Music for the Movies dhwaldron com Retrieved 2012 01 22 2002 Venice Film Festival Opening Night Frida Premiere LIFE com Retrieved 2012 01 22 Across the Universe 2007 at IMDb Holden Stephen September 14 2007 Across the Universe review The New York Times Retrieved 2012 01 22 The Tempest 2010 at IMDb Shmith Michael July 5 2008 The woman with the magic touch The Age Melbourne Retrieved 2011 03 09 Breznican Anthony 2010 05 09 First look Helen Mirren in lead role in Julie Taymor s Tempest USA Today Retrieved 2011 03 09 The Glorias A Life on the Road at IMDb American Theatre Wing Biography Julie Taymor AmericanTheatreWing org July 2007 Archived from the original on 2013 05 12 Retrieved 2012 02 14 Swed Mark 1995 03 09 Fly Dutchman Fly Not content to just accept the classic story as it stands director Julie Taymor has reworked Wagner s Romantic epic adding new interests and personalities to the players Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2012 02 14 Zuckerman Alicia 2005 05 21 The Circle of Life The Lion King s Julie Taymor returns to opera reimagining The Magic Flute for the Met New York Retrieved 2012 02 14 Lunden Jeff 2006 07 21 Grendel An Operatic Monster s Tale NPR Books Retrieved 2012 02 14 365 Film Festival Conversation with Julie Taymor 360 365 Film Festival Retrieved 2012 02 14 Mattison Ben 2004 10 08 Julie Taymor s The Magic Flute Opens at Met Opera Oct 8 Playbill Retrieved 2022 07 30 This Flute s a hoot Opera Australia Archived from the original on 2011 12 03 Indepth Art News Julie Taymor Playing with Fire AbsoluteArts com 1999 09 18 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Visionary designer and director Julie Taymor s large scale installations from key productions at National Museum of Women in the Arts November 16 2000 February 4 2001 National Museum of Women in the Arts 2000 11 16 Archived from the original on 2012 03 01 Retrieved 2011 12 27 Taubenek Anne 2001 06 19 The vivid world of Julie Taymor Chicago Tribune Retrieved 2011 12 27 Ng David 2009 09 24 Julie Taymor s Lion King costumes join Smithsonian collection Los Angeles Times Retrieved 2011 12 27 Lion King pride at V amp A exhibition OfficialLondonTheatre com 2010 06 11 Retrieved 2017 10 31 a b Gabrielli Betty Julie Taymor Continues the Artistic Journey Begun at Oberlin with The Lion King Oberlin Alumni News amp Notes Retrieved 2011 12 27 Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement www achievement org American Academy of Achievement 2006 Summit Highlights Photo Awards Council member Arthur Golden the author of Memoirs of a Geisha presenting the Golden Plate Award to Julie Taymor the award winning Broadway director of The Lion King at the International Achievement Summit American Academy of Achievement Julie Taymor Broadway Cast amp Staff ibdb com The Broadway League Outstanding Costumes For A Variety Program Or A Special Nominees Winners 1993 Emmys com Retrieved 2022 07 30 The 76th Academy Awards 2004 Oscars org Further reading editBlumenthal Eileen and Taymor Julie Julie Taymor Playing with Fire Theater Opera Film New York H N Abrams 1995External links edit nbsp Wikimedia Commons has media related to Julie Taymor nbsp Wikiquote has quotations related to Julie Taymor Julie Taymor at the Internet Broadway Database nbsp Julie Taymor at the Internet Off Broadway Database Julie Taymor at IMDb Julie Taymor on Charlie Rose Interview with Julie Taymor Subtitles to Cinema Julie Taymor profile at PBS website Julie Taymor on THIRTEEN S NYC ARTS talking about her first Shakespeare production with Theatre for a New Audience Appearances on C SPAN Portals nbsp Biography nbsp Theatre nbsp Opera nbsp Film Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Julie Taymor amp oldid 1176186480, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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