Albert Marre facts for kids
Albert Marre (born September 20, 1924 – died September 4, 2012) was an American director and producer. He was famous for directing the musical Man of La Mancha in 1965. For this work, he won a special award called the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical.
Biography
Albert Marre's Early Life
Albert Marre was born in New York City. His birth name was Albert Elliot Moshinsky. He went to Oberlin College and earned a bachelor's degree. Later, he joined the United States Navy Reserve. He studied languages at the Naval Oriental Language School. After serving in the Navy, he went to Harvard Law School. While at Harvard, he joined a drama group. There, he met his first wife, an actress named Jan Farrand.
Albert Marre's Career in Theatre
Marre started his career on Broadway in 1950. He was an actor and also helped direct a play called The Relapse. He then directed a play by Shaw called Misalliance.
In 1954, he directed the musical Kismet on Broadway. For Kismet, he won the Donaldson Award for Best Director of a Musical. This award was like an early version of the Tony Awards. Famous actors like Alfred Drake and Joan Diener were in the cast. Joan Diener later became Marre's wife in 1956. That same year, he was nominated for a Tony Award for directing The Chalk Garden. He also directed a Broadway show called Saint Joan starring Siobhán McKenna.
In 1957, Marre directed the play Time Remembered. This play starred well-known actors like Helen Hayes and Richard Burton. The show received five Tony nominations. Helen Hayes won the award for Best Actress.
Marre directed a musical called At the Grand in Los Angeles in 1958. His wife, Joan Diener, starred in it. He then returned to New York. In 1961, he directed Milk and Honey, which was Jerry Herman's first Broadway musical. It was nominated for five Tony Awards. In 1963, he directed another Shaw play, Too True to Be Good, with stars like Lillian Gish.
His biggest success came in 1965 with Man of La Mancha. He worked with Richard Kiley and Joan Diener again for this show. Marre won the Tony Award for Best Director of a Musical for Man of La Mancha. He directed many versions of this popular musical around the world. He also directed its Broadway revivals in 1972, 1977, and 1992. He was supposed to direct the movie version, but other directors took over. The movie, starring Peter O'Toole and Sophia Loren, was not as successful.
Marre also directed two versions of a musical called Chu Chem. The first version in 1966 closed before reaching Broadway. A second version opened Off-Broadway in 1988. It later moved to Broadway in 1989 but closed after 45 performances.
In 1948, Marre helped start the Brattle Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts. This was one of the first classical theatre groups in the country. Many of their plays later moved to New York.
In 1953, he became the first Artistic Director for the New York City Drama Company. He directed their first season of plays. These included Love's Labour Lost, The Merchant of Venice, and Misalliance.
He also directed many shows in London and Los Angeles. He worked a lot for the Los Angeles Civic Light Opera Company. There, he directed big shows with famous actors like Burt Lancaster. In 1967, he directed The Sorrows of Frederick at the Ahmanson Theatre.
Personal Life
In the late 1940s, Albert Marre was married to actress Jan Farrand. They later divorced. In 1956, Marre married actress Joan Diener. They had two children, Jennifer and Adam. They stayed married until Joan's death in 2006.
In 2009, Marre married actress and lyricist Mimi Turque. He was married to her until he passed away three years later. Albert Marre died on September 4, 2012, at the age of 87. He had been ill for a long time. Mimi Turque had played Antonia in the original Man of La Mancha production.
