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Anna Louizos

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Anna Louizos
Born (1957-06-24) June 24, 1957 (age 67)
NationalityAmerican
Occupationscenic designer

Anna Louizos (born June 24, 1957)[1] is an American scenic designer and art director. She is known for her Tony Award-nominated sets for the musicals In the Heights and High Fidelity, as well as the London, Broadway, Las Vegas, and touring productions of Avenue Q. Louizos was represented on Broadway with Cinderella at the Broadway Theatre in 2013–15.

Early life and training

Louizos was born and grew up in Yuba City, California. She saw her first Broadway musical, Applause with Lauren Bacall, at age fifteen. Interested in performing as an actress, Louizos studied at Mills College, Oakland, before transferring to New York University to complete a degree in acting.[2] "Instructors recognized her talent as a visual artist, and progressively her post-graduate focus shifted to design," wrote Andy Smith of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.[3] She used to live in the East Village, Manhattan, New York City.[4] She received an MFA in Scenic design from NYU Tisch School of the Arts.

Career

Louizos served as art director at the 47th Tony Awards in 1993, and was associate scenic designer for the Broadway musical The Red Shoes[5] in December of that year. She continued as an associate designer with the Broadway production of The Scarlet Pimpernel (1997) at the Minskoff and Neil Simon Theatres.[6] From April to June 2000, she was associate scenic designer for the comedic play Taller Than a Dwarf and Uncle Vanya on Broadway.

Her first major production credit as scenic designer came in 2003, with the critically acclaimed musical Avenue Q. Written by Jeff Whitty, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, the musical premiered off-Broadway before opening on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre.[7][8][9] Wrote one reviewer of Louizos' sets: "[She] provides an adaptable row of ramshackle houses that convey a down-at-heel atmosphere and somehow change character to fit the mood, rather like glorified dolls' houses."[10]

Following the opening of Avenue Q, Louizos became art director for eight episodes of the 2003 television series Sex and the City. Her second Broadway scenic design was for the play Golda's Balcony at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2003.[11] Subsequent credits include the Broadway shows Steel Magnolias (2005), High Fidelity (2006), Curtains (2007), In the Heights (2007), All About Me (2010), and Baby It's You! (2011).[12][13][14]

She designed sets for the Manhattan Theatre Club 2008 production of To Be or Not to Be on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.[15][16][17]

Other scenic design work includes the regional premieres of Minsky's, and Vanities, the Musical, as well as the off-Broadway productions of Altar Boyz and Tick, Tick... Boom!. Other off Broadway productions include Sons of the Prophet,[18][19] Olive and the Bitter Herbs,[20] Crimes of the Heart,[21] and The Foreigner.

In November 2008, Louizos designed sets for the musical White Christmas on Broadway at the Marquis Theatre and multiple productions in the US since 2004, as well as the UK production.[22][23][24] A year later, in November 2009, the musical returned to Broadway in a revival production at the Marquis Theatre.[25][26][27] She most recently served as the scenic designer for the Broadway musical Cinderella, which opened in March 2013 at the Broadway Theatre.[28] In December 2014, it was announced that her next project would be Broadway-bound School of Rock.[29]

Awards and nominations

Tony Awards
Drama Desk Awards
Lucille Lortel Awards
Emmy Awards

References

  1. ^ Anna Louizos Credits" broadwayworld.com, accessed July 30, 2015
  2. ^ "'In the Heights' set designer plays with magic". 9 May 2010.
  3. ^ http://www.broadwaycares.org/Page.aspx?pid=704
  4. ^ Scenic Designer Anna Louizos Captured the Heights by Wandering Its Streets Archived October 21, 2012, at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ Singer, Barry. "If the Shoes Fit", New York Magazine, December 13, 1993
  6. ^ McKinley, Jesse. "On Stage and Off:'Jekyll and Hyde' Among Closings",The New York Times, November 10, 2000
  7. ^ Brantley, Ben (August 1, 2003): "A Feeling You're Not On Sesame Street." nytimes.com Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  8. ^ Als, Hilton (August 11, 2003): "Mayhem and Madness." New Yorker Archive Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  9. ^ Johns, Ian (May 29, 2006): "These Toys are Really Us." Times of London Archive Retrieved 2010-07-08.
  10. ^ "Theatre review: Avenue Q at Noël Coward Theatre".
  11. ^ Goldas Balcony ibdb.com, accessed July 30, 2015
  12. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Producers of Baby It's You! Eyeing Broadhurst Theatre and Beth Leavel". Playbill. January 14, 2011.
  13. ^ Reidel, Michael. "Musical's a Shirelles thing". The New York Post. January 13, 2011.
  14. ^ "Mutrux's Baby, It's You Musical to Play Broadhurst in Spring with Leavel in Talks to Star?". BroadwayWorld.com, January 14, 2011.
  15. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Broadway's To Be or Not to Be Will Now Begin Sept. 13", playbill.com, September 2, 2008
  16. ^ To Be or Not to Be ibdb
  17. ^ Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. "To Be or Not To Be to Close Nov. 16", playbill.com, October 20, 2008
  18. ^ Isherwood, Charles (October 20, 2011): "Blighted Existences Eased With Hope and Humor." [1]
  19. ^ Lahr, John (October31, 2011): "Bluebird of Unhappiness."
  20. ^ Isherwood, Charles (August 16, 2011): "Co-Op's Old Crank Finds a Fresh Spirit." [2]
  21. ^ Isherwood, Charles (February 15, 2008): "Sisterhood is Complicated."
  22. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Broadway's White Christmas Will Star Bogardus, O'Malley, Denman and Patterson", playbill.com, September 3, 2008
  23. ^ Hernandez, Ernio. Photo Call: White Christmas Comes to Times Square", playbill.com, October 7, 2008
  24. ^ Hernandez, Ernio. Photo Call: Snow Falls on Broadway in White Christmas", playbill.com, November 21, 2008
  25. ^ Jones, Kenneth. "Williamson, Ogden Stiers, Errico, Yazbeck Will Be Merry and Bright in Broadway's White Christmas" Archived 2009-10-02 at the Wayback Machine, playbill.com, September 29, 2009
  26. ^ Varley, Eddie. "Irving Berlin's White Christmas Returns to Broadway, Previews Begin at The Marquis Theatre", broadwayworld.com, accessed April 8, 2022
  27. ^ Official site Archived 2011-05-31 at the Wayback Machine, whitechristmasthemusical.com, accessed September 30, 2009
  28. ^ Geselowitz, Gabriela (21 November 2012). "Full Broadway Cast Announced for Cinderella, Starring Laura Osnes". Broadway.com. Retrieved 29 December 2014.
  29. ^ Gioia, Michael (18 December 2014). "Andrew Lloyd Webber's School of Rock Will Shake Up Broadway Next Fall". playbill.com. Playbill. Retrieved 8 April 2022.