Tony Kushner (Playwright) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Lauded for his work on stage he's most known for his seminal work
Angels in America which earned a Pulitzer Prize and a Tony Award. At the turn of the 21st Century he became known for his numerous film collaborations with Steven Spielberg. He received the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013. Kushner made his Broadway debut in 1993 with both
Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and
Angels in America: Perestroika. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play. He then adapted it into a 2003 miniseries directed by Mike Nichols for which Kushner received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie. In 2003 he wrote the lyrics and book to the musical
Caroline, or Change which earned Kushner Tony Award nominations for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. The 2021 Broadway revival of
Caroline, or Change earned Kushner a nomination for the 2023 Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album, making Kushner among the few playwrights in history nominated for all four major American entertainment awards: the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards. He has collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on the films
Munich (2005),
Lincoln (2012),
West Side Story (2021), and
The Fabelmans (2022), the former two earning him nominations for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.
Keith Powell Beyland (Co-Director). recently directed the critically-acclaimed DRC productions of
Grounded, The Moors (co-directed - Theatrical Highlight of 2022 -
Portland Phoenix), Lungs, The Flick,
Cock (the cockfight play) (co-directed - Theatrical Highlight of 2018 -
Portland Phoenix),
Venus In Fur (co-directed - Theatrical Highlight of 2017 -
Portland Phoenix),
The (curious case of the) Watson Intelligence (Theatrical Highlight of 2015 -
Portland Phoenix)
, Equivocation (co-directed, Theatrical Highlight of 2014 -
Portland Phoenix),
My Name Is Rachel Corrie (Theatrical Highlight of 2014 -
Portland Phoenix)
, A Bright New Boise (co-production with Fenix Theatre, Theatrical Highlight of 2013 -
Portland Phoenix),
Topdog/Underdog (Best Production - 2013 PEER Award, Theatrical Highlight of 2012 -
Portland Phoenix), [title of show],
Tigers Be Still, Gross Indecency: The Three Trials of Oscar Wilde, Life During Wartime and
Blue/Orange. He spent the last two decades working on and off Broadway with respected organizations like Roundabout Theatre Company, Manhattan Theatre Club, Signature Theatre Company (NY), The New Group, Berkshire Theatre Festival and Irondale Ensemble Project. Keith studied with Athol Fugard, John Patrick Shanley, Paula Vogel, Maria Irene Fornes, Anne Hamburger, Carey Perloff and Venable Herndon, among others. He holds a degree with Honors from the Dramatic Writing Program at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. He is a Stroke Survivor.
Peter Brown (Co-Director) is honored to be co-directing again with his friend Keith (after having worked so successfully together on
Venus in Fur) and to be working again with Portland Stage, where he served as Production Manager 1999-2009. Peter is a Portland-based actor, director, and theater educator, who has appeared in Dramatic Repertory Company's productions of
Fabulouso, Equivocation, Swimming in the Shallows, and
Life During Wartime. Peter is the Artistic Director of Fenix Theatre Company that produces Shakespeare in Deering Oaks Park, and is the creator/director of Fenix’s annual holiday production,
12th Night: A Celebration of Shakespeare & Song, that infuses
Twelfth Night with over two dozen holiday songs. Peter is the Director of the Portland High School Shakespeare Company (since 2002), and former Associate Artistic Director of Mad Horse Theatre Company. MHTC credits include acting in
The Normal Heart, The Pillowman, and
Long Day's Journey Into Night, and directing
The History Boys and
Six Degrees of Separation. Peter's proudest role is that of Dad to his son Crosby. A million thanks to his husband R.J., whose love, support, and dedication to their family makes it all possible.