FREEDMAN--Gerald. 92, stage director, former artistic director of The New York Shakespeare Festival/ Public Theater, and longtime Dean of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, passed away peacefully of natural causes at his home in Winston Salem, NC on March 17, 2020. Gerald, 92, stage director, former artistic director of The New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theater, and longtime Dean of Drama at the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, passed away peacefully of natural causes at his home in Winston Salem, NC on March 17, 2020. Born June 25, 1927 in Lorain, OH, he earned his BS and MA degrees from Northwestern University under the tutelage of Alvina Krause. In 1952, a Hollywood talent scout saw his production of "As You Like It" at Equity Library Theatre and offered him a contract with Columbia Pictures. He struck up a friendship with Judy Holliday while assisting George Cukor on "It Should Happen to You," and, at her urging, returned to New York to assist Jerome Robbins on "Bells are Ringing." He then assisted Robbins on the original productions of "West Side Story" and "Gypsy." He directed the 1964 New York City Center revival of "West Side Story" at City, and co-directed with Robbins the 1980 Broadway revival. In 1960, Freedman began a partnership with Joseph Papp and Bernard Gersten at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Among his productions there were "The Taming of the Shrew" (for which he won a 1960 Obie Award); "Electra" with Lee Grant and Olympia Dukakis; "Peer Gynt" with Stacy Keach, Judy Collins, Estelle Parsons and Olympia Dukakis; "Hamlet" with Stacy Keach, James Earl Jones, Colleen Dewhurst, and Sam Waterston; and "Much Ado About Nothing" with Kevin Kline and Blythe Danner. His world premiere of the rock musical "Hair" officially opened the Public Theater in 1967, where he was Artistic Director from 1967 to 1971. During Papp's regime at Lincoln Center, Freedman directed Julie Harris and Charles Durning in "The Au Pair Man," and Ruth Gordon and Lynn Redgrave in "Mrs. Warren's Profession." He directed 26 productions for Papp between 1960 and 1989. Freedman's 15 Broadway directorial credits include Dietz and Schwartz's "The Gay Life" starring Barbara Cook; Lee J. Cobb as "King Lear" for Lincoln Center; "A Time for Singing," which he co-wrote with John Morris; Arthur Miller's "The Creation of the World and Other Business" with Zoe Caldwell; Uhry and Waldman's "The Robber Bridegroom" (first with The Acting Company starring Patti LuPone and Kevin Kline, and a year later with Barry Bostwick in the title role); and Jerry Herman's "The Grand Tour" with Joel Grey. Off Broadway productions include the first revival of "On the Town;" Molly Kazan's "Rosemary and The Alligators;" Arthur Kopit's "The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis' and 'Sing To Me Through Open Windows;" "Macbird!;" Elinor Jones' "Colette" with Zoe Caldwell and Mildred Dunnock, with songs by Tom Jones and Harvey Schmidt, produced by Cheryl Crawford; and "The Crucible" and "King Lear" with Hal Holbrook at Roundabout. Freedman directed at regional theaters across the country, including San Diego's Old Globe, Hartford Stage, Westport Country Playhouse, Yale Rep, Shakespeare Theatre of DC, and Williamstown Theatre Festival, where he directed former student Mandy Patinkin in "An Enemy of the People." He was Co-Artistic Director of The Acting Company with John Houseman from 1974 to 1977, and Artistic Director of Stratford, Connecticut's American Shakespeare Theatre from 1978 to 1979. Freedman directed numerous international productions; in 2000 he became the first American to direct at Shakespeare's Globe in London. A noted opera director, his 1971 world premiere of Alberto Ginastera's Beatrix Cenci was part of the opening of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He directed many productions at the New York City and San Francisco Operas. In 2005, he directed former student Patti LuPone in Marc Blitzstein's "Regina" at The Kennedy Center. As artistic director of Cleveland's Great Lakes Theater (1985-1997), he directed 28 productions including Olympia Dukakis as "Mother Courage;" Hal Holbrook as "Uncle Vanya," "King Lear," and Willy Loman in "Death of a Salesman" with Elizabeth Franz as Linda; and Adrienne Kennedy's "Ohio State Murders" with Ruby Dee. His Great Lakes Theater production of Love's Labour's Lost transferred to the Public Theater. Freedman taught at Yale, Juilliard, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, where he served as Dean from 1991 to 2012. Under his guidance, the school became one of the highest- ranked undergraduate acting conservatories in the nation. Isaac Klein's book "The School of Doing: Lessons from theater master Gerald Freedman," about his process as a director and philosophy of actor training, was published in November 2017. He was preceded in death by his parents, Dr. Barnie and Fannie (Sepsenwol) Freedman, and brother, Dr. Robert Freedman. He is survived by cousin "sister" Lois Spector, husband Bill and son Bobby, Natalie Bernard, Sol Sepsenwol and many other beloved cousins, sister-in-law Lois Freedman, nephew David Freedman (Gwyneth Anne), nieces Lisa Keating (Phil Odenweller) and Carol Fine (Rick), four grandnieces: Jessica and Becca Keating, and Jennifer and Sarah Fine, and close friend and former assistant dean Robert Beseda. Memorial donations may be made to the Gerald Freedman Excellence Endowed Fund.
www.uncsa.edu/freedman Condolences may be made online at
www.salemfh.comPublished by New York Times on Mar. 22, 2020.
