CHARLES NEWELL (Director/Court Artistic Director) has been Artistic Director of Court Theatre since 1994, where he has directed over 25 productions. He made his Chicago directorial debut in 1993 with The Triumph of Love, which won the Jefferson Award for Best Production. Directorial credits at Court include Cyrano, Guys and Dolls, James Joyce’s “The Dead,” Hamlet, Piano, The Invention of Love, The Little Foxes, The Cherry Orchard, Nora, Misanthrope, and Travesties. Mr. Newell has also directed at the Guthrie Theatre (Resident Director: The History Cycle, Cymbeline), Arena Stage, John Houseman’s The Acting Company (Staff Repertory Director), the California and Alabama Shakespeare Festivals, Juilliard, and New York University; he is the recipient of the 1992 TCG Alan Schneider Director Award and is a multiple Jeff Award recipient/nominee. He sits on the Board of Directors of Theatre Communications Group and has served on several panels for the National Endowment for the Arts. Last season he made his directorial debut at the Lyric Opera of Chicago with Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, and he will be directing Rigoletto at Opera Theatre of St. Louis this Spring.

LYNN ANN BERNATOWICZ (Assistant Director) is happy to be working on another play by Mr. Albee after having directed his The Zoo Story for the Goodman Theatre. She is a two-time Jefferson nominee and you can find out more about her work at www.lynnann.net. Lynn would like to thank Charlie and Court Theatre for this opportunity.