Danya Taymor
{{Short description|American theatre director}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Danya Taymor
| image = Danya Taymor in 2024.jpg
| image_size = 160
| caption = Taymor at 77th Tony Awards 2024
| alt =
| birth_date = October 20, 1988 (age 36)
| birth_place = New York City
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education =
| occupation = Stage director
| partner =
| relatives = Julie Taymor [https://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2019/03/danya-taymor-on-the-rise/ 'Danya Taymor on the Rise.'] Accessed 12/9/24. (aunt)
| website = }}
Danya Taymor is an American theatre director. She won the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for The Outsiders.{{cite news |author= |date=16 June 2024 |orig-date= |title=Tony Award Winners 2024: Updating List |script-title= |trans-title= |url= https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/16/theater/tony-award-winners.html?searchResultPosition=1|url-status= |newspaper=New York Times |type= |series= |language= |volume= |issue= |edition= |location=New York, New York |publisher= |publication-date= |agency= |page= |pages= |at= |no-pp= |arxiv= |asin= |bibcode= |doi= |isbn= |issn= |jfm= |jstor= |lccn= |mr= |oclc= |ol= |osti= |pmc= |pmid= |rfc= |ssrn= |zbl= |id= |archive-url= |archive-date= |access-date=16 June 2024 |via= |url-access=subscription |quote=After a very crowded spring in which 18 Broadway shows opened in two months, theatergoers and actors alike can finally exhale — and celebrate.}}
Life and career
Taymor grew up in Palo Alto, California. Her parents are doctors in Palo Alto — her father is a pediatrician and her mother is a psychiatrist.{{Cite web |last=Gangal |first=Ashwini |date=2024-09-19 |title=Tony Award-winning director Danya Taymor looks back on growing up in Palo Alto |url=https://www.almanacnews.com/ae/2024/09/19/tony-award-winning-director-danya-taymor-looks-back-on-growing-up-in-palo-alto/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=The Almanac |language=en-US}} Her aunt is the acclaimed theatre and film director Julie Taymor. She attended Palo Alto High School and subsequently graduated from Duke University. Her love story with theater began early; the first time she auditioned was at 6, for Palo Alto Children’s Theatre.
Taymor made her Broadway debut as assistant director of a 2015 revival of Thérèse Raquin and later helmed the premiere of Antoinette Chinonye Nwandu’s Pass Over.{{Cite news |last=Green |first=Jesse |date=2021-08-22 |title=Review: ‘Pass Over’ Comes to Broadway, in Horror and Hope |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/22/theater/pass-over-review.html |access-date=2025-03-29 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}
Accepting her Tony in 2024 for directing the Broadway musical The Outsiders, Taymor acknowledged the importance of female representation in theater, calling it the "honor of a lifetime to be among this group of directors — especially the group of women directors, a record number this year." The six female nominees in that group, outnumbering four men who also received nods in the play and musical categories, ranged from prolific veteran Leigh Silverman to rising star Whitney White.{{Cite web |last=Gardner |first=Elysa |date=2025-03-28 |title=The Women Shaping Broadway: A Look at This Spring's Directors |url=https://broadwaydirect.com/the-women-shaping-broadway-a-look-at-this-springs-directors/ |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Broadway Direct |language=en-US}}
On April 14, 2025, the Taymor-directed play, John Proctor is the Villain, opened at the Booth Theatre.{{Cite web |title=Broadway's John Proctor Is the Villain Announces 2-Week Extension |url=https://playbill.com/article/broadways-john-proctor-is-the-villain-announces-2-week-extension |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250326175106/https://playbill.com/article/broadways-john-proctor-is-the-villain-announces-2-week-extension |archive-date=2025-03-26 |access-date=2025-03-29 |website=Playbill |language=en-US}} Performances began on March 20 and it will run through July 2025.
In summer 2025, Taymor will direct the American premiere of Trophy Boys, by Emmanuelle Mattana. The play will begin previews June 5, 2025, with an opening night set for June 24. The show will run until July 13.{{Cite news |last=Tran |first=Diep |date=December 9, 2024 |title=Outsiders Director Danya Taymor to Direct U.S. Premiere of Trophy Boys |url=https://playbill.com/article/outsiders-director-danya-taymor-to-direct-u-s-premiere-of-trophy-boys |work=Playbill}}
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|2224861}}
{{TonyAward MusicalDirection}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Taymor, Danya}}
Category:Duke University alumni
Category:American theatre directors
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