Richard Nelson (lighting designer)
Encyclopedia
Richard Nelson was an American
theatrical lighting designer
.
Born in New York City
, Nelson studied at the High School of the Performing Arts and began his career off-Broadway
in 1955. He made his Broadway
debut with The Caucasian Chalk Circle
in 1966. His many credits include Coco
, The Magic Show
, So Long, 174th Street
, The Lady From Dubuque
, The Tap Dance Kid
, Sunday in the Park with George
, Into the Woods
, and revivals of Morning's at Seven
, Awake and Sing!
, Long Day's Journey Into Night
, Blithe Spirit
, The Night of the Iguana
, and Private Lives
, among others.
Nelson won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
for Sunday in the Park with George and was nominated for both awards for Into the Woods. He also designed the lighting for the Ronald Reagan Memorial Library in Simi Valley, California.
In addition to his theatre work, Nelson helped define the use of light as an important element in modern dance. He worked with such choreographers as Martha Graham
, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp and Erick Hawkins
. Mr Nelson was the resident lighting designer for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1968 to 1973. He was an associate professor of theater at the University of Michigan
in Ann Arbor from 1988 to 1991 and taught at the Tisch School of the Arts
at New York University
until a month prior to his death from a brain tumor
at Mount Sinai Hospital
in Manhattan
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
theatrical lighting designer
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
.
Born in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Nelson studied at the High School of the Performing Arts and began his career off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in 1955. He made his Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut with The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle
The Caucasian Chalk Circle is a play by the German modernist playwright Bertolt Brecht. An example of Brecht's epic theatre, the play is a parable about a peasant girl who rescues a baby and becomes a better mother than its natural parents....
in 1966. His many credits include Coco
Coco (musical)
Coco is a musical with a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner and music by André Previn. It starred Katharine Hepburn in her only stage musical.-Background:...
, The Magic Show
The Magic Show
The Magic Show is a one-act musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a book by Bob Randall. It starred magician Doug Henning. Produced by Edgar Lansbury, it opened in May 1974 at the Cort Theatre and ran for 1,920 performances, closing on December 31, 1978...
, So Long, 174th Street
So Long, 174th Street
So Long, 174th Street is a musical with a book by Joseph Stein and lyrics and music by Stan Daniels.Based on Stein's play Enter Laughing, which had been adapted from the Carl Reiner book of the same name and served as the basis for a 1967 film, it focuses on the journey of young David Kolowitz from...
, The Lady From Dubuque
The Lady From Dubuque
The Lady from Dubuque, a play by Edward Albee, opened on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on January 31, 1980. It closed there after a mere 12 performances...
, The Tap Dance Kid
The Tap Dance Kid
The Tap Dance Kid is a musical based on the novel Nobody's Family is Going to Change by Louise Fitzhugh. It was written by Charles Blackwell with music by Henry Krieger and lyrics by Robert Lorick.-Productions:...
, Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George
Sunday in the Park with George is a 1984 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical was inspired by the painting "A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte" by Georges Seurat...
, Into the Woods
Into the Woods
Into the Woods is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It debuted in San Diego at the Old Globe Theatre in 1986, and premiered on Broadway in 1987. Bernadette Peters' performance as the Witch and Joanna Gleason's portrayal of the Baker's Wife brought acclaim...
, and revivals of Morning's at Seven
Morning's at Seven
Morning's at Seven is a play by Paul Osborn.Its plot focuses on four aging sisters living in a small Midwestern town in 1938, and it deals with ramifications within the family when two of them begin to question their lives and decide to make some changes before it’s too late.The original Broadway...
, Awake and Sing!
Awake and Sing!
Awake and Sing! is a drama written by American playwright Clifford Odets. The play was initially produced by The Group Theatre in 1935.-Summary and characters:...
, Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night
Long Day's Journey Into Night is a 1956 drama in four acts written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill. The play is widely considered to be his masterwork...
, Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
, The Night of the Iguana
The Night of the Iguana
The Night of the Iguana is a stageplay written by American author Tennessee Williams, based on his 1948 short story. The play premiered on Broadway in 1961. Two film adaptations have been made, including the Academy Award-winning 1964 film of the same name....
, and Private Lives
Private Lives
Private Lives is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It focuses on a divorced couple who discover that they are honeymooning with their new spouses in neighbouring rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetually stormy relationship, they realise that they still have feelings for...
, among others.
Nelson won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
Tony Award for Best Lighting Design
This is a list of the winners of the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a play or musical, first presented in 1970. In 2005 the category was divided with each genre represented separately.-1970s:* 1970: Jo Mielziner – Child's Play...
and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design
The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design is presented by the Drama Desk, a committee of New York City theatre critics, writers, and editors...
for Sunday in the Park with George and was nominated for both awards for Into the Woods. He also designed the lighting for the Ronald Reagan Memorial Library in Simi Valley, California.
In addition to his theatre work, Nelson helped define the use of light as an important element in modern dance. He worked with such choreographers as Martha Graham
Martha Graham
Martha Graham was an American modern dancer and choreographer whose influence on dance has been compared with the influence Picasso had on modern visual arts, Stravinsky had on music, or Frank Lloyd Wright had on architecture.She danced and choreographed for over seventy years...
, Paul Taylor, Twyla Tharp and Erick Hawkins
Erick Hawkins
Frederick Hawkins known as Erick Hawkins was a leading American modern-dance choreographer and dancer...
. Mr Nelson was the resident lighting designer for the Merce Cunningham Dance Company from 1968 to 1973. He was an associate professor of theater at the University of Michigan
University of Michigan
The University of Michigan is a public research university located in Ann Arbor, Michigan in the United States. It is the state's oldest university and the flagship campus of the University of Michigan...
in Ann Arbor from 1988 to 1991 and taught at the Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts
Tisch School of the Arts is one of the 15 schools that make up New York University ....
at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
until a month prior to his death from a brain tumor
Brain tumor
A brain tumor is an intracranial solid neoplasm, a tumor within the brain or the central spinal canal.Brain tumors include all tumors inside the cranium or in the central spinal canal...
at Mount Sinai Hospital
Mount Sinai Hospital, New York
Mount Sinai Hospital, founded in 1852, is one of the oldest and largest teaching hospitals in the United States. In 2011-2012, Mount Sinai Hospital was ranked as one of America's best hospitals by U.S...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.