Eric Brent Rosen (born September 23, 1970) is an American

theater 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 ...

and

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

Education

Rosen attended the

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase ''universitas magistrorum et scholarium'', which r ...

, and completed a doctorate of performance studies at

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Chart ...

Career

Eric Rosen co-founded and served as Artistic Director of Chicago’s About Face Theatre from 1995-2008. At About Face, Rosen produced the original production of the

Pulitzer Pulitzer may refer to: *Joseph Pulitzer, a 20th century media magnate * Pulitzer Prize, an annual U.S. journalism, literary, and music award *Pulitzer (surname) * Pulitzer, Inc., a U.S. newspaper chain *Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, a non-pr ...

and

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 ...

winning play ''

I Am My Own Wife ''I Am My Own Wife'' is a play by Doug Wright based on his conversations with the German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. It opened on Broadway later that year. The pla ...

'' and Tennessee Williams' One Arm directed by

Moisés Kaufman Moisés Kaufman (born November 21, 1963) is a Venezuelan theater director, filmmaker, playwright, founder of Tectonic Theater Project, based in New York City, and co-founder of Miami New Drama at the Colony Theatre. He was awarded the 2016 Nati ...

. He went on to serve as Artistic Director of

Kansas City Repertory Theatre Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area, and is the professional theater in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC). The theatre has had four artistic d ...

, bringing national attention to the institution. He directed the original production of '' A Christmas Story: The Musical'', with music by

Benj Pasek Benj Pasek (born June 6, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works ''The Greatest Showman'', '' La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, Justin ...

and

Justin Paul Justin Paul (born January 3, 1985) is an American theater and television composer and lyricist best known for his works '' The Greatest Showman'', '' La La Land'' and ''Dear Evan Hansen'', all of which he co-wrote with his songwriting partner, ...

, which opened 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 ...

in 2012 and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Musical. He co-wrote and directed

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 bridges. The isla ...

at the Public Theatre in New York which

Time magazine ''Time'' (stylized in all caps) is an American news magazine based in New York City. For nearly a century, it was published weekly, but starting in March 2020 it transitioned to every other week. It was first published in New York City on M ...

named the best musical of 2010. He also directed and co-conceived Clay at Lincoln Center. He is also known for his reimagining of classic musicals including

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting '' A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande ...

which played at the Nelson-Atkins Museum, a punk rock production of

Pippin Pippin or Pepin may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Pippin'' (comics), a children's comic produced from 1966 to 1986 * ''Pippin'' (musical), a Broadway musical by Stephen Schwartz loosely based on the life of Pepin the Hunchback * Pippin T ...

, and Hair: Retrospection in collaboration with and starring members of the original Broadway companies of Hair As a playwright, his work includes the play Dream Boy which won a Chicago Jeff Award for Best New Play and Best Direction, and the critically acclaimed hip hop musical Venice. In 2000, he co-founded About Face Youth Theatre, one of the nation’s foremost arts and advocacy programs for at-risk LGBTQ youth, and the 18 year old program continues to serve thousands of young people in Chicago. Rosen serves on the Board of Directors of

Theatre Communications Group Theatre Communications Group (TCG) is a non-profit service organization headquartered in New York City that promotes professional non-profit theatre in the United States. The organization also publishes ''American Theatre'' magazine and ''ARTSEA ...

Directing credits

Steppenwolf,

Goodman Goodman or Goodmans may refer to: Businesses and organizations * Goodman Games, American publisher. * Goodman Global, an American HVAC manufacturer. * Goodman Group, an Australian property company. * Goodmans Industries, a British electronic comp ...

, Hartford Stage,

Baltimore Center Stage Center Stage is the state theater of Maryland, and Baltimore's largest professional producing theater. Center Stage began in a converted gymnasium in 1963 as a full arena theatre that seated 240 people. Today, Center Stage houses two performing ...

, St. Louis Rep,

Cincinnati Playhouse The Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park is a regional theatre in the United States. It was founded in 1959 by college student Gerald Covell and was one of the first regional theatres in the United States. Located in Eden Park, the first play that pr ...

Chicago Shakespeare (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, Melbourne Theatre Company (AUS), the O'Neill, and Sundance.

Personal life

Eric Rosen and actor Claybourne Elder were married on July 28, 2012 in New York State. In 2017 they had a son through surrogacy, who they named Claybourne.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rosen, Eric American theatre directors Broadway theatre directors 1970 births American gay actors Living people People from Asheville, North Carolina Northwestern University alumni University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill alumni