Howell Binkley (July 25, 1956 – August 14, 2020) was a professional lighting designer in New York City. He received the

Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Musical Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Musical is an award for outstanding Lighting design of a musical. The award was first presented in 2005 after the category of Best Lighting Design was divided into Lighting Design in a Play and Lighting De ...

for ''

Jersey Boys ''Jersey Boys'' is a jukebox musical with music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, and book by Marshall Brickman and Rick Elice. It is presented in a documentary-style format that dramatizes the formation, success and eventual break-up of th ...

'' in 2006, and again in 2016 for ''

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

''. He died due to lung cancer on August 14, 2020.

Career

Binkley attended

East Carolina University East Carolina University (ECU) is a public university, public research university in Greenville, North Carolina. It is the fourth largest university in North Carolina. Founded on March 8, 1907, as a Normal school, teacher training school, East ...

in Greenville,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and So ...

where he began his career working with dance programs.Eddy, Kathlee
Simply Howell Binkley
livedesignonline.com, Feb 1, 2004 In 1985, he moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

where he co-founded the

Parsons Dance Company Parsons Dance is a contemporary dance company founded by choreographer David Parsons. The company tours nationally and internationally, and includes an annual season in New York. Based in New York City, Parsons Dance was founded on July 17, 1985, ...

with David Parsons. Binkley then went on to make his Broadway debut as designer for '' Kiss of the Spider Woman '' in 1993, which earned him his first ever Tony nomination. From this success he went on to design and light a plethora of major

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

shows. In total, he designed 52 shows for Broadway and was nominated for a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

nine times. Over the course of his work in Broadway, he became a frequent collaborator with

Hal Prince Harold Smith Prince (born Harold Smith; January 30, 1928 – July 31, 2019), commonly known as Hal Prince, was an American theatre director and producer known for his work in musical theatre. One of the foremost figures in 20th century America ...

and director

Des McAnuff Desmond Steven McAnuff (born June 19, 1952) is the American-Canadian former artistic director of Canada's Stratford Festival and director of such Broadway musical theatre productions as '' Big River'', ''The Who's Tommy'' and ''Jersey Boys''. ...

. In addition to his work in New York City, Binkley worked across America, including national tours of ''

Applause Applause (Latin ''applaudere,'' to strike upon, clap) is primarily a form of ovation or praise expressed by the act of clapping, or striking the palms of the hands together, in order to create noise. Audiences usually applaud after a performance ...

'' in 1996; '' tick, tick…BOOM!'' in 2003; and ''

Flashdance ''Flashdance'' is a 1983 American romantic drama dance film directed by Adrian Lyne and starring Jennifer Beals as a passionate young dancer who aspires to become a professional ballerina (Alex), alongside Michael Nouri playing her boyfriend an ...

'' in 2012. Alongside this, he worked at regional theaters such as

La Jolla Playhouse La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. History La Jolla Playhouse was founded in 1947 by Gregory Peck, Dorothy McGuire, and Mel Ferrer. In 1983, it was revived under ...

, Shakespeare Theatre DC,

Old Globe Theatre The Old Globe is a professional theatre company located in Balboa Park in San Diego, California. It produces about 15 plays and musicals annually in summer and winter seasons. Plays are performed in three separate theatres in the complex, which i ...

, the

Guthrie Theater The Guthrie Theater, founded in 1963, is a center for theater performance, production, education, and professional training in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The concept of the theater was born in 1959 in a series of discussions between Sir Tyrone Gut ...

, The

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...

, and Hartford Stage.Credits as of November 2006
American Theatre Wing Binkley was well known for his use of saturated color, accompanied by white or slightly cool highlights. He frequently used smoke or haze to draw attention to his use of angle. His designs are partly based upon Craig Miller and Tom Skelton's use of cross focussing to make diamond effects.

Awards and nominations

References

External links

*
Internet Off-Broadway Database prfileLondon Theatre Database profileAmerican Theatre Wing's Working in the Theatre Episode on Lighting Design
East Carolina University alumni American lighting designers Tony Award winners 2020 deaths 1956 births {{design-bio-stub