John Rando is an American

stage director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

who won the

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 ce ...

for Best Direction of a Musical for '' Urinetown the Musical'' in 2002. He received his 2nd nomination in the same category in 2015 for the 2014 Broadway revival of '' On the Town''.

Early life

Rando grew up in Houston, Texas and attended the

University of Texas The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

in Austin, studying theatre. He received a

Fulbright Program The Fulbright Program, including the Fulbright–Hays Program, is one of several United States Cultural Exchange Programs with the goal of improving intercultural relations, cultural diplomacy, and intercultural competence between the people o ...

fellowship and studied theatre in Germany and Italy and then studied directing at the

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...

School of Theater, Film and Television, graduating in 1988. He next worked as an assistant director at the

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 ...

(San Diego).

Career

Rando has directed Off-Broadway, on

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 ...

and in regional theatre. His first Off-Broadway play was ''Fortune's Fools'', by Frederick Stroppel, at the Cherry Lane Theatre in 1995. He directed the musical ''The Toxic Avenger'', which opened Off-Broadway in 2009, after it premiered at the George Street Playhouse (New Brunswick, New Jersey). Rando has directed several plays by

David Ives David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; ''The New York Times'' in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written ...

Off-Broadway, including: a revival of ''

Ancient History Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

'' in May 1996 at

Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at Davenport Theatre, 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theat ...

, as part of a double bill with his play ''

English Made Simple ''English Made Simple'' is a 1994 short play by David Ives. Plot ''English Made Simple'' is the story of a couple named Jack and Jill who meet at a party. As the night progresses, it becomes apparent that the two knew each other, and were even in ...

'', ''Mere Mortals'' at

in 1997, and ''Polish Joke'' at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has g ...

in 2003. In February 2013 he directed a revival of Ives' ''

All in the Timing ''All in the Timing'' is a collection of one-act plays by the American playwright David Ives, written between 1987 and 1993. It had its premiere Off-Broadway in 1993 at Primary Stages, and was revived at Primary Stages in 2013. It was first publis ...

'' at

, and received a 2013 Obie Award for Direction. He also directed Ives' play ''Lives of the Saints'' in a Philadelphia Theatre Company production in 1999 and Berkshire Theatre Festival. Rando is directing a revival of Ives' ''Lives of the Saints'' at

in 2015. On Broadway he made his debut in 1994 as the Assistant Director for the

Arthur Miller Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist and screenwriter in the 20th-century American theater. Among his most popular plays are ''All My Sons'' (1947), '' Death of a Salesman'' (1 ...

play '' Broken Glass''. He next directed on Broadway in 2000, with the play ''The Dinner Party'' by

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

. Rando directed the musical ''Urinetown'', which opened in 2001 and closed in 2004, and won the 2002 Tony Award for Direction of a Musical. He is directing a new musical ''The Honeymooners'', based on the television comedy ''

The Honeymooners ''The Honeymooners'' is an American television sitcom which originally aired from 1955 to 1956, created by and starring Jackie Gleason, and based on a recurring comedy sketch of the same name that had been part of Gleason's variety show. It fo ...

'', which was created and starred

Jackie Gleason John Herbert Gleason (February 26, 1916June 24, 1987) was an American actor, comedian, writer, composer, and conductor known affectionately as "The Great One." Developing a style and characters from growing up in Brooklyn, New York, he was know ...

. The musical has music by Stephen Weiner, lyrics by Peter Mills and the book by Dusty Kay and Bill Nuss. The musical premiered at the

Paper Mill Playhouse Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theater with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey on the Rahway River. Due to its relatively close location to Manhattan, it draws from the pool of actors (and audience members) who live i ...

, Milburn, New Jersey on September 28, 2017, and stars Michael McGrath as Ralph Kramden,

Michael Mastro Michael R. Mastro (born June 1, 1925) is an American real estate developer, who was in business for forty years managing apartments and mid-size office parks in Seattle. He declared bankruptcy in 2009. Mastro and his wife, Linda, a former Bellev ...

as Ed Norton,

Leslie Kritzer Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer (born May 24, 1977) is an American singer and musical theatre actress. Life and career Leslie Rodriguez Kritzer was born in Manhattan and raised in Livingston, New Jersey. Her father is Jewish, and her mother is of Puer ...

as Alice Kramden, and

Laura Bell Bundy Laura Ashley Bell Bundy (born April 10, 1981) is an American actress and singer. She is best known for originating the Broadway roles of Amber Von Tussle in the musical version of '' Hairspray and'' Elle Woods in the musical version of ''Legall ...

as Trixie Norton. Rando directed several staged concerts of musicals for New York City Center's Encores!: '' Strike Up the Band'' (1998),'' Do Re Mi'' (1999) ''

The Pajama Game ''The Pajama Game'' is a musical based on the 1953 novel '' 7½ Cents'' by Richard Bissell. The book is by George Abbott and Richard Bissell; the music and lyrics are by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. and dances were staged by Bob Fosse in his ...

'' (2002), '' On the Town'' (2008), ''

Damn Yankees ''Damn Yankees'' is a 1955 musical comedy with a book by George Abbott and Douglass Wallop, music and lyrics by Richard Adler and Jerry Ross. The story is a modern retelling of the Faust legend set during the 1950s in Washington, D.C., dur ...

'' (2008), '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'' (2012), '' It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's Superman'' (2013), '' Little Me'' (2014) and ''

The New Yorkers ''The New Yorkers'' is a musical written by Cole Porter (lyrics and music) and Herbert Fields (book). Star Jimmy Durante also wrote the words and music for the songs in which his character was featured. The musical premiered on Broadway in 1930. ...

'' (2017).

Stage productions (select)

* 1994 '' Broken Glass'' ( Assistant Director) (Broadway) * 2000 ''

The Dinner Party ''The Dinner Party'' is an installation artwork by feminist artist Judy Chicago. Widely regarded as the first epic feminist artwork, it functions as a symbolic history of women in civilization. There are 39 elaborate place settings on a triang ...

'' (Broadway) * 2001 '' A Thousand Clowns'' (Broadway) * 2001 ''

Urinetown ''Urinetown: The Musical'' is a satirical comedy musical that premiered in 2001, with music by Mark Hollmann, lyrics by Hollmann and Greg Kotis, and book by Kotis. It satirizes the legal system, capitalism, social irresponsibility, populism, bu ...

'' (Broadway) * 2002 '' Dance of the Vampires'' (Broadway) * 2005 ''Escape: 6 Ways to Get Away'' (

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

) * 2006 ''

The Wedding Singer ''The Wedding Singer'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Frank Coraci, written by Tim Herlihy, and produced by Robert Simonds and Jack Giarraputo. The film stars Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore, and Christine Taylor, and tells t ...

'' (Broadway) *2009 '' The Toxic Avenger Musical'' (Off-Broadway) *2009 ''The Toxic Avenger Musical'' (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) *2012 '' A Christmas Story: The Musical'' (Broadway) *2014 ''

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead ''Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead'' is an absurdist, existential tragicomedy by Tom Stoppard, first staged at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 1966. The play expands upon the exploits of two minor characters from Shakespeare's ''Ham ...

'' (Off-Broadway) *2014 '' On the Town'' (Broadway) *2015 ''

Penn & Teller Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo h ...

on Broadway'' (Broadway) *2016 '' The Secret on Broadway'' (Broadway) *2018 '' Jerry Springer - The Opera'' (Off-Broadway) *2018 ''

The Royal Family of Broadway ''The Royal Family of Broadway'' is a 1930 American pre-Code comedy film directed by George Cukor and Cyril Gardner and released by Paramount Pictures. The screenplay was adapted by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Gertrude Purcell from the play ''The ...

'' ( Barrington Stage Company) *2021 '' Back to the Future: The Musical'' (London West End)

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

External links

* *
John Rando, Off-Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rando, John Year of birth missing (living people) Living people American theatre directors American musical theatre directors Tony Award winners