Marion Isaac McClinton (July 26, 1954 – November 28, 2019) was an American theatre director, playwright, and actor. He was nominated for 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 cer ...

for ''

King Hedley II ''King Hedley II'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson, the ninth in his ten-part series, '' The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play ran on Broadway in 2001 and was revived Off-Broadway in 2007. Productions ''King Hedley II'' premiered at th ...

''. He won the 2000 Vivian Robinson Audelco Black Theatre Awards, Director/Dramatic Production and the 1999–2000

Obie Awards The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

, Direction, for '' Jitney'', and was nominated for the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

. McClinton's early theater career was at

Penumbra Theatre Company The Penumbra Theatre Company, an African-American theatre company in Saint Paul, Minnesota, was founded by Lou Bellamy in 1976. The theater has been recognized for its artistic quality and its role in launching the careers of playwrights includi ...

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

where he was born. He played the part of narrator in

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

's first stage piece, ''Black Bart and the Sacred Hills'' in 1981, and remained active at Penumbra through the early 1990s. He has directed all of

's plays, both 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 regionally, and has been termed "One of the leading Wilson directors". The first premiere of Wilson's works that he directed was ''

'' in 2001, taking over from the then-retired

Lloyd Richards Lloyd George Richards (June 29, 1919 – June 29, 2006) was a Canadian-American theatre director, actor, and dean of the Yale School of Drama from 1979 to 1991, and Yale University professor emeritus. Biography Richards was born in Toron ...

as Wilson's director. He was an associate artist at Center Stage in

Baltimore, Maryland Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

, where he directed several Wilson plays as well as ''Les Blancs'' and ''Splash Hatch on the E Going Down''. He directed at, among others, the

Pittsburgh Public Theater Pittsburgh Public Theater, or The Public for short, is a professional theater company located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. After the retirement of longtime Producing Artistic Director Ted Pappas, The Public began the 2018–2019 season with a new ...

(several Wilson plays), Guthrie Theater, Alabama Shakespeare Festival, and

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

. At 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 ...

he directed a staged reading of ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' as part of the Goodman's August Wilson Celebration in February 2007. He had previously directed ''King Hedley II'', ''Gem of the Ocean'' and ''Jitney'' at the Goodman. He directed an

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

production of ''Pure Confidence'' in May 2009 as part of Americas Off Broadway Festival. McClinton died from

kidney failure Kidney failure, also known as end-stage kidney disease, is a medical condition in which the kidneys can no longer adequately filter waste products from the blood, functioning at less than 15% of normal levels. Kidney failure is classified as eit ...

in Saint Paul on November 28, 2019, at age 65.

Selected works

*''Jitney'' (2000 off-Broadway) - Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Director of a Play nominee *''

'' (2001 Broadway) Tony Award, Best Direction of a Play nominee *''

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...

'' (2003 Broadway) *''

Gem of the Ocean ''Gem of the Ocean'' (2003) is a play by American playwright August Wilson. Although the ninth play produced, chronologically it is the first installment of his decade-by-decade, ten-play chronicle, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle'', dramatizing the Afri ...

'' (2003 World premiere, Goodman Theater) *''Drowning Crow'' (2004 Broadway) *''Elmina's Kitchen'' (American premiere, 2005, Center Stage)Elmina's Kitchen production details
centerstage.org, accessed May 28, 2009

References

External links

*
Official biography, management agency
{{DEFAULTSORT:McClinton, Marion 1954 births 2019 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers African-American dramatists and playwrights African-American male actors American male dramatists and playwrights American theatre directors Artists from Saint Paul, Minnesota Deaths from kidney failure Male actors from Saint Paul, Minnesota Writers from Saint Paul, Minnesota 20th-century African-American writers 21st-century African-American writers African-American male writers