David Cromer

Former Columbia College Chicago Theatre Department student and faculty member David Cromer HDR ’17, recipient of a 2017 Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Columbia College, will star in the title role of Anton Chekhov’s classic drama Uncle Vanya in what is being proclaimed a “hyper-intimate” production in New York City June 28 through July 16. The show business news site TheatreMania reports that only 40 audience members per night will be able to attend the production, which will be performed in at a private loft in New York’s Flatiron District. The cast also features two-time Tony Award winner Bill Irwin and Tony Award nominee Marin Ireland. For more information, click here. For tickets, click here.

As previously reported in this blog, Cromer won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Band’s Visit. Though best known for directing productions on and off Broadway, in Chicago, and around the U.S., he is also an actor with Broadway credits including The Waverly Gallery (costarring Elaine May and Joan Allen) and A Raisin in the Sun (costarring Denzel Washington, Phylicia Rashad, and Sophie Okenedo). Prior to relocating to New York, Cromer was well known as an actor and director in Chicago, where he won several Joseph Jefferson Awards for directing plays. Cromer studied acting and directing at the Columbia College Theatre Department and later taught and directed shows there, and received an Honorary Doctorate of Arts from Columbia College when he spoke at the college’s 2017 commencement ceremony.