Lila Neugebauer
{{Short description|American theatre director (born 1985)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Lila Neugebauer
| birth_date =
| birth_place = New York City, New York, U.S.
| death_date =
| death_place =
| education = Yale University (BA)
| occupation = Director
writer
artistic director
| years_active = 2012–present
}}
Lila Neugebauer ({{IPAc-en|ˈ|l|aɪ|l|ə|_|ˈ|n|ɔɪ|ɡ|ə|b|aʊ|.|ər}};{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL-Nt4SzisY|title=Tatiana Maslany, Blair Brown, and More Introduce Us to Mary Page Marlowe|work=TheaterMania|date=June 19, 2018|access-date=July 1, 2022|archive-date=July 2, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702023737/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DL-Nt4SzisY&gl=US&hl=en|url-status=live}} born 1985) is an American theatre director, writer and artistic director. After studying at Yale University she started directing numerous theatrical productions. She came to prominence directing the Broadway revival of Kenneth Lonergan's memory play The Waverly Gallery (2018) which was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. She has since directed the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins family drama Appropriate (2023), for which she received a Tony Award nomination, Itamar Moses political satire The Ally (2024), and the Anton Chekhov revival Uncle Vanya (2024).
She had directed multiple episodes of the Mindy Kaling created HBO Max comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls (2021–2022) and she made her directorial film debut with the A24 drama Causeway (2022) starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry.
Early life and education
Neugebauer was born and raised in New York City.{{cite web|url=http://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2017/05/an-interview-with-lila-neugebauer/|title=An Interview with Lila Neugebauer|date=May 31, 2017|publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525141824/http://www.theintervalny.com/interviews/2017/05/an-interview-with-lila-neugebauer/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/interview-lila-neugebauer_82931.html|title=Meet Lila Neugebauer, the Director Who Should Be on Your Radar|date=October 29, 2017 |publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525132557/https://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/interview-lila-neugebauer_82931.html|url-status=live}} A native Upper West Sider, she grew up seeing plays and was exposed to theatre, and credits her mother for a lot of that.{{cite web|url=https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a46007/lila-neugebauer-director-off-broadway/|title=Meet The Director Behind All the Weird, Brilliant, Deeply Moving Plays You've Seen This Year|date=June 15, 2017|publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525132624/https://www.elle.com/culture/movies-tv/news/a46007/lila-neugebauer-director-off-broadway/|url-status=live}} She attended the Hunter College High School,{{cite web|url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/25/the-spring-of-lila-neugebauer/|title=The Spring of Lila Neugebauer|date=January 25, 2017|publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 26, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180526040945/https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/01/25/the-spring-of-lila-neugebauer/|url-status=live}} where she performed in Seven Minutes in Heaven by fellow student Lin-Manuel Miranda.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/theater/lila-neugebauer-directs-kill-floor-but-the-cows-are-safe-in-her-hands.html|title=Lila Neugebauer Directs 'Kill Floor,' but the Cows Are Safe in Her Hands|newspaper=The New York Times|date=September 23, 2015|publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|last1=Shattuck|first1=Kathryn|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525072910/https://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/27/theater/lila-neugebauer-directs-kill-floor-but-the-cows-are-safe-in-her-hands.html|url-status=live}} Neugebauer played a partygoer. Neugebauer was an English major at Yale University. There she befriended actress and playwright Zoe Kazan. She has said that "one of the best classes I took was a constitutional law class". While in Louisville, she received the 2013 Princess Grace Theater Fellowship Award in partnership with Actors Theatre of Louisville.{{cite web|url=https://actorstheatre.org/2013/08/07/director-lila-neugebauer-receives-a-prestigious-2013-princess-grace-award-in-partnership-with-actors-theatre-of-louisville/|title=Director Lila Neugebauer Receives a Prestigious 2013 Princess Grace Award in partnership with Actors Theatre of Louisville – Actors Theatre of Louisville|date=August 7, 2013|publisher=|accessdate=May 25, 2018|archive-date=May 25, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180525133506/https://actorstheatre.org/2013/08/07/director-lila-neugebauer-receives-a-prestigious-2013-princess-grace-award-in-partnership-with-actors-theatre-of-louisville/|url-status=live}}
Career
One of the standout young stage directors, Neugebauer's stage productions include Tracy Letts' Mary Page Marlowe (2018), Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo (2018), and the world premieres of Sarah DeLappe's The Wolves (2017), The Mad Ones' Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (2019) and Miles For Mary (2017), Branden Jacobs-Jenkins' Appropriate (2016) and Everybody (2017) as well as Annie Baker's The Antipodes (2017).{{Cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/04/jennifer-lawrence-lila-neugebauer-a24-iac-films-next-film-1202596721/|title=Jennifer Lawrence Sets Big-Screen Return Aligned With Theater Director Lila Neugebauer, A24 & IAC Films|last=Fleming|first=Mike Jr.|date=2019-04-16|website=Deadline|language=en|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190416173915/https://deadline.com/2019/04/jennifer-lawrence-lila-neugebauer-a24-iac-films-next-film-1202596721/|archive-date=April 16, 2019|access-date=2020-02-24}} Neugebauer has continued to direct various plays off-Broadway.
She made her Broadway debut as a director for Kenneth Lonergan's revival of The Waverly Gallery which debuted at the John Golden Theatre on September 25, 2018 in previews, and officially opened on October 25. The play, produced by Scott Rudin, is considered a "memory play", and starred Elaine May, Lucas Hedges, Michael Cera, Joan Allen, and David Cromer. The play received widespread critical acclaim, including from Ben Brantley, theatre critic for The New York Times, who described her direction as "fine-tuned."{{Cite news|last=Brantley|first=Ben|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/theater/review-waverly-gallery-elaine-may-kenneth-lonergan.html|title=Review: Elaine May Might Break Your Heart in 'Waverly Gallery'|date=2019-01-27|work=The New York Times|access-date=2020-02-24|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=September 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210917133705/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/25/theater/review-waverly-gallery-elaine-may-kenneth-lonergan.html|url-status=live}} The revival received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play, and a win for Best Actress in a Play (Elaine May).{{Cite web|url=https://www.tonyawards.com/shows/waverly-gallery/|title=The Waverly Gallery|access-date=February 13, 2020|archive-date=May 3, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190503020858/https://www.tonyawards.com/shows/waverly-gallery/|url-status=live}} That same year she made her television directing debut for episode of the Duplass brothers' HBO series Room 104.
In April 2019, it was announced that Neugebauer would be teaming up with A24 and Scott Rudin to make her directorial film debut with Red, White and Water, later retitled Causeway. It was announced Jennifer Lawrence was attached as a star in the project, and was written by first-time screenwriter Elizabeth Sanders. The project's principal photography started in mid-June 2019 in New Orleans.{{Cite web|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jennifer-lawrence-star-untitled-a24-drama-1201692|title=Jennifer Lawrence to Star in Untitled A24 Drama|website=The Hollywood Reporter|date=April 16, 2019|language=en|access-date=2020-02-24|archive-date=April 11, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210411233314/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/jennifer-lawrence-star-untitled-a24-drama-1201692|url-status=live}} From 2021 to 2022 she directed multiple episodes of the Mindy Kaling created comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max.{{cite web|url= https://www.avclub.com/the-sex-lives-of-college-girls-season-2-review-hbo-max-1849773878|title= HBO Max's The Sex Lives Of College Girls almost aces its sophomore run|website= The A.V. Club|date= November 16, 2022|accessdate= March 9, 2024}}
In 2023 she directed the Branden Jacobs-Jenkins play Appropriate on Broadway. The production starred Sarah Paulson, Corey Stoll, Natalie Gold, and Elle Fanning. The play, a family drama, revolves around a family trying to sell the house after the patriarch's death only to discover a dark secret.{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/appropriate-broadway-helen-hayes-theatre-2023|title= Appropriate (Broadway, 2018)|website= Playbill|accessdate= March 9, 2024}} The following year she directed the Itamar Moses political play The Ally at The Public Theater. Josh Radnor stars as a Jewish college professor who is conflicted when asked to sign a political manifesto by a student.{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/the-ally-off-broadway-public-theater-anspacher-theater-2024|title= The Ally (Off-Broadway, 2024)|website= Playbill|accessdate= March 9, 2024}} That same year she directed Lincoln Center's revival of Anton Chekov's Uncle Vanya at the Vivian Beaumont Theater. The cast includes Steve Carell, Alison Pill, William Jackson Harper, Jayne Houdyshell, and Alfred Molina.{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/uncle-vanya-broadway-vivian-beaumont-theater-2024|title= Uncle Vanya (Broadway, 2024)|website= Playbill|accessdate= March 9, 2024}}
Filmography
=Film=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Notes ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Causeway | Feature film debut |
=Television=
| class="wikitable" | |||
| Year
! Title ! Notes ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Room 104 | Episode: "Josie & Me" | rowspan="4"|{{Cite web|url=https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10244127/|title=Lila Neugebauer|website=IMDb|access-date=February 13, 2020|archive-date=May 26, 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220526114331/https://www.imdb.com/name/nm10244127/|url-status=live}} |
| 2021 | Maid | Episode: "Thief" | |
| 2021–22 | The Sex Lives of College Girls | 3 episodes | |
| 2023 | The Last Thing He Told Me | Episode: "When We Were Young" |
=Theatre=
| class="wikitable" |
| Year
! Play ! Author ! Venue ! {{Tooltip|Ref.|Reference(s)}} |
|---|
| rowspan=2|2012
|rowspan=2|The Aliens |rowspan=2|Annie Baker |San Francisco Playhouse, California |
| Studio Theatre, Washington, DC |
| rowspan=2|2013
|O Guru Guru Guru |Mallery Avidon |Actors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky |
| Red Speedo
|Studio Theatre, Washington, DC |
| rowspan=2|2014
|Trudy and Max in Love |South Coast Repertory, California |
| The Wayside Motor Inn
|The Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway |
| rowspan=2|2015
|Kill Floor |Claire Tow Theater, New York |
| Arcadia
|Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, New York |
| rowspan=3|2016
|The Sandbox |Edward Albee |The Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway |
| The Wolves
|Duke on 42nd Street, Off-Broadway |
| Appropriate
|rowspan=2|Branden Jacobs-Jenkins |Stephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, New York |
| rowspan=4|2017
|rowspan=2|The Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway |
| The Antipodes |
| After the Blast
|Claire Tow Theater, New York |
| The Wolves
|Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Off-Broadway | |
| rowspan=5|2018
|Miles for Mary |The Mad Ones |Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
| Edward Albee's At Home at the Zoo
|rowspan=2|The Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway |
| Peace for Mary Frances
|Lily Thorne |
| Mary Page Marlowe
|Second Stage Theater, Off-Broadway |
| The Waverly Gallery
|John Golden Theatre, Broadway Debut |
| 2019
|Mrs. Murray's Menagerie |The Mad Ones |Ars Nova at Greenwich House Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 2021
|Morning Sun |Manhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway |
| 2022
|Oh God, A Show About Abortion |Cherry Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 2023
|Hayes Theater, Broadway |
| rowspan=2|2024
|The Public Theater, Off-Broadway |
| Uncle Vanya
|Vivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway |
Awards and nominations
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|10244127}}
- {{IBDB name}}
- {{iobdb name|38880}}
{{authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Neugebauer, Lila}}
Category:American theatre directors
Category:American women theatre directors
Category:Broadway theatre directors