Tina Landau (born May 21, 1962) is an American playwright and theatre director. Known for her large-scale, musical, and ensemble-driven work, Landau's productions have appeared on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, most extensively at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago where she is an ensemble member. She attended Yale University where she met frequent collaborators Ted Sperling and Adam Guettel.
Early life Born in New York City to film and television producers Edie and Ely Landau, Landau moved with her family to Beverly Hills, California, where she graduated from Beverly Hills High School before attending Yale University, where she directed numerous productions as an undergraduate. She later attended the American Repertory Theater Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University. Her family is of Jewish background.
Career Landau's early work included site specific productions with New York City's En Garde Arts, including Orestes and The Trojan Women: A Love Story, both by Charles L. Mee, as well as her original play "Stonewall: Night Variations." Floyd Collins, with a book by Landau and a score by Adam Guettel, opened off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in 1996. Landau was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Director of a Musical, and the production won the Lucille Lortel Award for Best Musical. A later version of the show played at San Diego's Old Globe Theater, The Goodman Theater in Chicago, and The Prince Music Theater in Philadelphia (where it was originally commissioned and produced.)
In 1997, she became a member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, where she has directed numerous productions including The Wheel, The Hot L Baltimore, Tarell Alvin McCraney's The Brother/Sister Plays and Head of Passes, The Tempest, The Time of Your Life (which later moved to Seattle Rep and A.C.T.), The Diary of Anne Frank, The Cherry Orchard, Theatrical Essays, Time to Burn, Berlin Circle, and The Ballad of Little Jo.
She made her Broadway debut directing the 2001 revival of Bells Are Ringing with Faith Prince, and in 2009 she returned to Broadway with the Steppenwolf production of Tracy Letts' Superior Donuts. In February 2015 Nickelodeon announced that she had been tapped to co-adapt and direct SpongeBob SquarePants, The Broadway Musical, a stage adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants. The show opened on Broadway on December 4, 2017.SpongeBob SquarePants The New York Times, November 22, 2017 For SpongeBob SquarePants, Landau was nominated for the 2018 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical at the 72nd Tony Awards. She won Best Director of a Musical at both the 2018 Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the production won for Best Musical in both awards as well.
Landau's other New York City directing credits include Old Hats (with Bill Irwin and David Shiner) at the Signature Theater, Paula Vogel's A Civil War Christmas at New York Theatre Workshop, Charles L. Mee’s Iphigenia 2.0 at the Signature, Dream True, Mary Rose, Miracle Brothers and Wig Out!, all at the Vineyard Theater, as well as In the Red and Brown Water, Space, and Saturn Returns all at The Public Theater.
Landau's many other regional credits include Antony and Cleopatra at Hartford Stage, A Midsummer Night's Dream at the McCarter Theater and Paper Mill Playhouse, Of Thee I Sing at Papermill, The Cure at Troy at Seattle Rep, Zack Zadek's Deathless at Goodspeed Musicals,Rickwald, Bethany. "Tina Landau Dives Into a 'Deathless' Future in Zack Zadek's New Musical" theatermania.com, June 2, 2017 and the musical Dave at Arena Stage.
In addition to Floyd Collins, Landau's writing includes book and lyrics for Dream True and States of Independence, both with scores by Ricky Ian Gordon, the plays Beauty at La Jolla Playhouse (San Diego Critics Best Play), Space at Steppenwolf, the Public, and the Mark Taper Forum (TIME magazine Top Ten), Stonewall: Night Variations, and 1969 (or Howie Takes a Trip). With Anne Bogart, Landau co-authored The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition.Anne Bogart; Tina Landau (1 August 2004). The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Composition. Theatre Communications Group. .
Landau has taught at Yale University and the Yale School of Drama, Tisch School of the Arts at New York University, artscapemedia.com, accessed February 20, 2009 University of Chicago, Northwestern University, and Columbia University.
In 2024, Landau directed Mother Play by Paula Vogel on Broadway. In 2025, she directed a revised Broadway production of Floyd Collins at the Vivian Beaumont Theater, as part of their 2024–2025 season. She directed and wrote the book and lyrics for Redwood on Broadway, starring Idina Menzel, with whom she conceived the musical.
Awards and recognition Landau was named one of the "Out 100 of 2009" by OUT Magazine. Landau was named a 2007 USA Ford Fellow and granted $50,000 by United States Artists, an arts advocacy foundation dedicated to the support and promotion of America's top living artists.Listings for USA Ford Fellow unitedstatesartists.org In 2018 she won for Best Director at the 28th NAACP Theatre Awards. Landau received a 2018 Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Musical for SpongeBob SquarePants at the 72nd Tony Awards.Fierberg, Ruthie. "25 Days Of Tonys How Does Director Tina Landau Describe 'Spongebobsquarepants'" Playbill, May 23, 2018 She won awards for Best Direction of a Musical at the 2018 Drama Desk Awards and Outer Critics Circle Awards as well.
In 2022, Landau was featured in the book 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre, with a profile written by theatre scholar David Román.
Credits + Selected Credits Year Production Credit Category Ref. 1996 Floyd Collins Director Off-Broadway, Playwrights Horizons 1997 Cloud Tectonics Director 1998 Saturn Returns Director Off-Broadway, The Public Theater1999 Space Director2000 The Ballad of Little Jo Director Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre 2001 Bells are Ringing Director Broadway, Plymouth Theatre 2004 Miracle Brothers Director Off-Broadway, Vineyard TheatreOf Thee I Sing Director Regional, Paper Mill Playhouse2007 Mary Rose Director Off-Broadway, Vineyard TheatreIphigenia 2.0 Director Off-Broadway, Peter Norton Space2008 Wig Out! Director Off-Broadway, Vineyard Theatre 2009 Superior Donuts Director Broadway, Music Box Theatre2015 Big Love Director Off-Broadway, Signature Theatre2016 Old Hats DirectorHead of Passes Director Off-Broadway, The Public TheaterThe SpongeBob Musical Director Regional, Nederlander Theater- Ford Center for the Performing Arts2017 The Doppelganger Director Regional, Steppenwolf Theatre SpongeBob SquarePants Director, Conceiver Broadway, Palace Theatre2018 Dave Director Regional, Arena Stage 2023 Mother Play Director Broadway, Hayes Theatre2025 Redwood Director Broadway, Nederlander Theatre Floyd Collins Director, Book, Lyrics Broadway, Vivian Beaumont Theatre
Awards and nominations Award Year Category Work Result Ref.Drama Desk Awards 1996 Outstanding Director of a Musical Floyd Collins Outstanding Book of a Musical Tony Awards 2018 Best Direction of a Musical SpongeBob SquarePants Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical Outer Critics Circle Awards Outstanding Director of a Musical Drama League Awards Outstanding Production of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Musical Helen Hayes Awards2019Outstanding Direction in a Musical – HayesDave Tony Awards 2025 Best Revival of a Musical Floyd Collins
Notes Peterson, Jane T., and Bennett, Suzanne. Women Playwrights of Diversity: A Bio-Bibliographical Sourcebook, Greenwood Press, 1997. Dominus, Susan. The 9 Habits of Highly Creative Directors, New York Times, September 4, 2005. Bogart, Anne and Landau, Tina. The Viewpoints Book: A Practical Guide to Viewpoints and Compositions. Theater Communications Group, 2005. Hausam, Wiley, ed., The New American Musical: An Anthology from the End of the 20th Century. Theatre Communications Group, 2001.
References
External links
Internet Off-Broadway listing Tina Landau at Doollee.com Tina Landau at Steppenwolf.org Tina Landau at FilmReference.com