Lila Neugebauer ( ; 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. A native Upper West Sider, she grew up seeing plays and was exposed to theatre, and credits her mother for a lot of that. She attended the Hunter College High School, where she performed in Seven Minutes in Heaven by fellow student Lin-Manuel Miranda. 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.
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). 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." The revival received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play, and a win for Best Actress in a Play (Elaine May). 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. From 2021 to 2022 she directed multiple episodes of the Mindy Kaling created comedy series The Sex Lives of College Girls on HBO Max.
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. 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. 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.
Filmography Film Year Title Notes 2022 Causeway Feature film debut
Television Year Title Notes 2018 Room 104 Episode: "Josie & Me" 2021 Maid Episode: "Thief"2021–22 The Sex Lives of College Girls 3 episodes2023 The Last Thing He Told Me Episode: "When We Were Young"2025 Sirens Episode: "Siren Song" The Beast in Me 2 episodes
Theatre Year Play Author Venue 2012The AliensAnnie BakerSan Francisco Playhouse, California Studio Theatre, Washington, DC2013O Guru Guru GuruMallery AvidonActors Theatre of Louisville, Kentucky Red SpeedoLucas HnathStudio Theatre, Washington, DC2014Trudy and Max in LoveZoe KazanSouth Coast Repertory, California The Wayside Motor InnA.R. GurneyThe Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-Broadway2015Kill FloorAbe KooglerClaire Tow Theater, New York ArcadiaTom StoppardStephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, New York2016The Sandbox Drowning Funnyhouse of a NegroEdward Albee Maria Irene Fornes Adrienne KennedyThe Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-BroadwayThe WolvesSarah DeLappeDuke on 42nd Street, Off-BroadwayAppropriateBranden Jacobs-JenkinsStephanie P. McClelland Drama Theater, New York 2017EverybodyThe Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-BroadwayThe AntipodesAnnie BakerAfter the BlastZoe KazanClaire Tow Theater, New YorkThe WolvesSarah DeLappeMitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Off-Broadway2018Miles for MaryThe Mad OnesPlaywrights Horizons, Off-BroadwayEdward Albee's At Home at the ZooEdward AlbeeThe Pershing Square Signature Center, Off-BroadwayPeace for Mary FrancesLily ThorneMary Page MarloweTracy LettsSecond Stage Theater, Off-Broadway The Waverly GalleryKenneth LonerganJohn Golden Theatre, Broadway Debut The Waverly Gallery ibdb2019Mrs. Murray's MenagerieThe Mad Ones Ars Nova at Greenwich House Theatre, Off-Broadway 2021Morning Sun Simon StephensManhattan Theatre Club, Off-Broadway2022Oh God, A Show About AbortionAlison LeibyCherry Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway2023AppropriateBranden Jacobs-JenkinsHayes Theater, Broadway2024The AllyItamar MosesThe Public Theater, Off-BroadwayUncle VanyaAnton ChekhovVivian Beaumont Theater, Broadway
Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2015 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play The Wayside Motor Inn 2017 Sam Norkin Award 2017 Obie Award Ensemble Performance The Wolves 2017 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Director of a Play 2017 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Director 2018 Drama League Award Outstanding Revival of a Play Edward Albee's The Zoo Story 2018 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play Miles for Mary 2018 Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Play 2018 Outstanding Director 2020 Outstanding Play Mrs. Murray's Menagerie 2022 Rome Film Festival Best First Feature Award Causeway 2024 Tony Award Best Direction of a Play Appropriate 2024 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Director of a Play 2024 Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Director of a Play 2024 Drama League Award Outstanding Direction of a Play 2024 Uncle Vanya
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