Sheldon Epps
- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Sheldon Epps, Artistic Director of the renowned Pasadena Playhouse,
conceived and directed the Duke Ellington
musical, "Play On!", which received three Tony Award nominations and
was produced at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where it received four
Joseph Jefferson Awards,
including Best Musical. The Pasadena Playhouse production was taped by
PBS for broadcast as part of the "Great Performances" series.
He also conceived and directed the highly acclaimed musical revue,
"Blues in the Night". The Broadway production was nominated for a Tony
Award as Best Musical of the Year, and the London production, which he
also directed, was nominated for two
Laurence Olivier Awards, and ran for
over a year on the West End, before being broadcast in Europe by Thames
Television.
Epps was a co-founder of the off-Broadway theater, The Production
Company, where he staged the world premiere of "Scenes and
Revelations", which he also directed on Broadway at the Circle In The
Square Theatre. Epps has directed plays and musicals for many of the
country's major theaters including the Guthrie, the Old Globe Theatre,
Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Playwrights
Horizons, Crossroads Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Arizona Theatre
Company, and Coconut Grove Playhouse.
For television, he has directed episodes of
Frasier (1993),
Friends (1994),
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996),
Joey (2004),
Out of Practice (2005),
My Wife and Kids (2000),
In-Laws (2002),
Veronica's Closet (1997),
What I Like About You (2002),
Evening Shade (1990) and
Sister, Sister (1994) and
several pilots, among others. For five seasons, he was also
producer/director for the hit series,
Girlfriends (2000).
He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Society of Stage
Directors and Choreographers. Epps is a two-time recipient of the
Theatre Communications Group/Pew Charitable Trust National Theatre
Artists Residency Grant, which supported his four-year tenure at the
Old Globe Theatre as Associate Artistic Director.
He was pleased to join the Pasadena Playhouse as Artistic Director in
1997. His directing credits at the Playhouse include "As Bees In Honey
Drown", "Blue", "Play On!", "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", "The Importance
of Being Earnest", "The Old Settler", "The Real Thing", "On Borrowed
Time", "Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting", "Blues in the Night" and "Purlie",
a co-production with the Goodman Theatre.
He directed the world premiere of "Blue" at Arena Stage Theatre, which
was also produced off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre. Following its
record- breaking production at the Pasadena Playhouse, "Blue" began a
six-month long national tour.
conceived and directed the Duke Ellington
musical, "Play On!", which received three Tony Award nominations and
was produced at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, where it received four
Joseph Jefferson Awards,
including Best Musical. The Pasadena Playhouse production was taped by
PBS for broadcast as part of the "Great Performances" series.
He also conceived and directed the highly acclaimed musical revue,
"Blues in the Night". The Broadway production was nominated for a Tony
Award as Best Musical of the Year, and the London production, which he
also directed, was nominated for two
Laurence Olivier Awards, and ran for
over a year on the West End, before being broadcast in Europe by Thames
Television.
Epps was a co-founder of the off-Broadway theater, The Production
Company, where he staged the world premiere of "Scenes and
Revelations", which he also directed on Broadway at the Circle In The
Square Theatre. Epps has directed plays and musicals for many of the
country's major theaters including the Guthrie, the Old Globe Theatre,
Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Playwrights
Horizons, Crossroads Theatre, Cleveland Play House, Arizona Theatre
Company, and Coconut Grove Playhouse.
For television, he has directed episodes of
Frasier (1993),
Friends (1994),
Everybody Loves Raymond (1996),
Joey (2004),
Out of Practice (2005),
My Wife and Kids (2000),
In-Laws (2002),
Veronica's Closet (1997),
What I Like About You (2002),
Evening Shade (1990) and
Sister, Sister (1994) and
several pilots, among others. For five seasons, he was also
producer/director for the hit series,
Girlfriends (2000).
He is currently a member of the Executive Board of the Society of Stage
Directors and Choreographers. Epps is a two-time recipient of the
Theatre Communications Group/Pew Charitable Trust National Theatre
Artists Residency Grant, which supported his four-year tenure at the
Old Globe Theatre as Associate Artistic Director.
He was pleased to join the Pasadena Playhouse as Artistic Director in
1997. His directing credits at the Playhouse include "As Bees In Honey
Drown", "Blue", "Play On!", "Les Liaisons Dangereuses", "The Importance
of Being Earnest", "The Old Settler", "The Real Thing", "On Borrowed
Time", "Mr. Rickey Calls a Meeting", "Blues in the Night" and "Purlie",
a co-production with the Goodman Theatre.
He directed the world premiere of "Blue" at Arena Stage Theatre, which
was also produced off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre. Following its
record- breaking production at the Pasadena Playhouse, "Blue" began a
six-month long national tour.