Lynne Meadow is an American theatre producer, director and a teacher. She has been the artistic director of the Manhattan Theatre Club since 1972.
Career A cum laude graduate of Bryn Mawr, Meadow attended the Yale School of Drama."Lynne Meadow Plans Wedding" The New York Times, September 4, 1983
In 1972, she joined the Manhattan Theatre Club as Artistic Director, and in that position, she has directed and produced more than 600 New York City and world premieres of plays by American and international playwrights, including Terrence McNally, Beth Henley, John Guare, Athol Fugard, Brian Friel, Harold Pinter, Alan Ayckbourn, John Patrick Shanley, David Auburn, Jocelyn Bioh, Joshua Harmon, James Graham, David Lindsay-Abaire, Martyna Majok, Tarell McCraney, Nick Payne, Simon Stephens and Florian Zeller.
Under Meadow's leadership, MTC has been honored with every prestigious theatre award, including 31 Tony Awards, seven Pulitzer Prizes for Drama, 49 Obie Awards, and 54 Drama Desk Awards, as well as New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, Outer Critics Circle Awards, and Theatre World Awards."Awards" manhattantheatreclub.com, accessed June 9, 2025 In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Meadow's directing credits include Sally and Marsha,Simon, John. "Theater. John Simon" New York Magazine, p. 82 The Tale of the Allergist's Wife,"Review. Ben Brantley. New York Times" charlesbusch.com, (date not shown), accessed March 28, 2015 Absent FriendsSimon, JOhn. "Review" New York Magazine, February 25, 1991, ISSN 0028-7369, p. 120 and The Commons of Pensacola (2013).Purcell, Carey. " 'The Commons of Pensacola', Starring Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner, Extends Prior to Opening" playbill.com, October 3, 2013
Meadow has directed productions for The New York Shakespeare Festival, the Alliance Theatre, the Phoenix Theatre, the Spoleto Festival and the O’Neill Theatre Center. She has also directed for The 24 Hour Plays.
Meadow has taught at Yale University, Fordham University, NYU,"MTC's Lynne Meadow to Direct New York Debut of Melissa Ross's 'Of Good Stock' This Summer" broadwayworld.com, January 22, 2015 Circle in the Square Theatre School, and Stony Brook University.
On June 26, 2025, Meadow announced her plans to step into the role of Artistic Advisor at Manhattan Theatre Club during the next season."For 53 Years, She Led a New York Theater. Now She’s Stepping Down." The New York Times, June 26, 2025
Personal She is married to attorney Ronald Shechtman."Managing Partner Ronald Shechtman Profiled by BizNow" pryorcashman.com, November 16, 2010
In 2008 Meadow made national headlines when an argument with a flight attendant led to her being detained and interrogated by the FBI. Meadow subsequently sued Continental Airlines and the flight attendant for "emotional distress and humiliation and for providing her with faulty equipment on the flight."
Education Bryn Mawr Board of Trustees Herbert Brodkin Fellow at Yale
Awards Lucille Lortel Award for Lifetime Achievement Lilly Award for Lifetime Achievement Museum of the City of New York’s Auchincloss Prize Lee Reynolds Award from the League of Professional Theatre Women Manhattan Award from Manhattan magazine Person of the Year from the National Theatre Conference Margo Jones Award Mr. Abbot award for Lifetime Achievement from the Stage Directors Foundation She has twice been nominated for Best Director at the Drama Desk Awards: in 1996 for Leslie Ayvazian’s Nine Armenians and in 1988 for Alan Ayckbourn’s Woman in Mind with Stockard Channing.
Directing credits Sources: Internet Off-Broadway Database;"Meadow Listing" lortel.org Internet Broadway Database"Meadow Listing" ibdb.com
1974: Mark Medoff’s The Wager 1974: Corinne Jacker’s Bits and Pieces 1975: Clifford Odets’ Golden Boy 1976: The Pokey 1977: David Rudkin's Ashes (Obie Award) 1977: Peter Nichols’ Chez Nous 1978: Istvan Orkeny's Catsplay 1979: Joanna M. Glass’ Artichoke 1979: David Edgar's The Jail Diary of Albie Sachs 1980: S.N. Behrman's Biography 1980: Steve Metcalf's Vikings 1981: Simon Gray’s Close of Play 1982: Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters 1982: Sybille Pearson’s Sally and Marsha 1984: Israel Horovitz's Park Your Car in Harvard Yard 1986: Richard Nelson's Principia Scriptoriae 1988: Alan Ayckbourn's Woman in Mind (Drama Desk nomination, Best Director) 1989: Lee Blessing's Eleemosynary 1991: Alan Ayckbourn’s Absent Friends 1992: Alan Ayckbourn's A Small Family Business 1993: Donald Margulies’ The Loman Family Picnic 1996: Leslie Ayvazian's Nine Armenians (Drama Desk nomination) 1999: Frederick Freyer and Patrick Cook's Captains Courageous 2000: Charles Busch’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife 2001: Melanie Marnich's Blur 2003: Neil Simon's Rose's Dilemma 2003: Marsha Norman's Last Dance 2005: Ron Hutchinson's Moonlight and Magnolias 2006: David Greig's The American Pilot 2007: Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady 2010: Donald Margulies’ Collected Stories 2011: Margaret Edson's Wit 2013: Richard Greenberg's The Assembled Parties 2013: Amanda Peet’s The Commons of Pensacola 2015: Melissa Ross’ Of Good Stock 2016: Richard Greenberg’s Our Mother’s Brief Affair 2017: Penelope Skinner’s Linda 2019: Bekah Brunstetter’s The Cake 2020: Richard Greenberg’s The Perplexed
Selected world/New York premieres produced under Meadows' artistic direction Sources: Internet Off-Broadway Database; Internet Broadway database
1978: Richard Maltby Jr.& Murray Horowitz’ Ain’t Misbehavin’: The Fats Waller Musical 1981: Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart 1982: Simone Benmusa’s The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs 1984: Beth Henley’s The Miss Firecracker Contest 1987: Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune 1988: Richard Greenberg’s Eastern Standard 1990: August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson 1991: Terrence McNally’s Lips Together, Teeth Apart 1991: Stephen Sondheim’s Putting It Together 1993: Charlayne Woodard’s Pretty Fire 1993: Athol Fugard’s Playland 1994: Terrence McNally’s Love! Valour! Compassion! 1995: A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia 1999: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Fuddy Meers 2000: David Auburn’s Proof 2000: Charles Busch’s The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife 2004: Donald Margulies’ Sight Unseen (Pulitzer Prize finalist) 2004: John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt 2006: Conor McPherson’s Shining City 2006: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole 2007: Alfred Uhry’s LoveMusik suggested by the letters of Kurt Weill and Lotte Lenya 2007: David Harrower’s Blackbird 2009: George S. Kaufman’s and Edna Ferber’s The Royal Family 2009: Lynn Nottage’s Ruined (Pulitzer Prize) 2009: Donald Margulies’ Time Stands Still (play) 2010: Lee Hall’s The Pitmen Painters 2011: David Lindsay-Abaire’s Good People 2012: David Auburn’s The Columnist 2012: David Ives’ Venus in Fur 2012 & 2019: Tarell McCraney’s Choir Boy 2015 & 2016: Simon Stephens’ Heisenberg 2015: Nick Payne’s Constellations 2016: Florian Zeller’s The Father 2017 & 2022: Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living 2019: James Graham’s Ink 2022 & 2024: Joshua Harmon’s Prayer for the French Republic 2023: David Auburn’s Summer, 1976 2023: Jocelyn Bioh's Jaja's African Hair Braiding 2024: Jonathan Spector’s Eureka Day 2025: Stephen Sondheim's Old Friends
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