CHARLES NEWELL was the Marilyn F. Vitale Artistic Director of Court Theatre from 1994 – 2024 and is now Court’s Senior Artistic Consultant. He will return to Court’s stage in spring 2025 to direct the world premiere of Berlin, adapted by Mickle Maher and based on the graphic novel by Jason Lutes.
In 2022, Charlie and Executive Director Angel Ysaguirre accepted the Regional Theatre Tony Award on behalf of Court staff and artists. Recent directorial credits include Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead; The Gospel at Colonus, co-directed with Mark J.P. Hood; The Tragedy of Othello, The Moor of Venice, co-directed with Gabrielle Randle-Bent; An Iliad (2020 production, 2013 production, and 2011 production); Oedipus Rex; The Adventures of Augie March. Charlie has directed at Goodman, Guthrie, Arena Stage, Long Wharf, and many others. Awards received include the SDCF Zelda Fichandler Award, four Jeff Awards, and seventeen Jeff nominations. Charlie is a co-founder of the Civic Actor Studio, a leadership program of the University of Chicago’s Office of Civic Engagement.
Photo by Joe Mazza
Bio as of 7/2024