Frank Galati | |
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| Born | (1943-11-29)November 29, 1943 Highland Park, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | January 2, 2023(2023-01-02) (aged 79) Sarasota, Florida, U.S. |
| Alma mater | |
| Occupation(s) | Theatre director, actor, professor |
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Frank Joseph Galati (November 29, 1943 – January 2, 2023) was an American director, writer, and actor. He was a member ofSteppenwolf Theatre Company and an associate director atGoodman Theatre. He taught atNorthwestern University for many years.
Galati was born inHighland Park, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago, the son of Virginia (Cassel), a saleswoman with Marshall Field, and Frank Galati, a dog trainer and boarder.[1] He attendedGlenbrook North High School in Northbrook, Illinois, where he competed in speech, winning a state championship in the Original Comedy event in 1961.[2] He attendedWestern Illinois University for one year before transferring toNorthwestern University, where he received a B.S. in speech, with a concentration in interpretation, in 1965. He taught at theUniversity of South Florida and then earned a M.S. in speech from Northwestern in 1966, and received his Ph.D. in interpretation from Northwestern in 1971. During this time, he both directed and performed in numerous plays.[3]
Galati was an associate director at the Goodman Theatre from 1986 to 2008.[4]
In 2004, Galati was inducted into theChicago Gay and Lesbian Hall of Fame.[5] He was the recipient of nineJoseph Jefferson Awards for his contributions to Chicago theater.[6]
Galati and co-writerLawrence Kasdan adapted the novelThe Accidental Tourist for a film,The Accidental Tourist which was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Writing (Adapted Screenplay), aBAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, and aWriters Guild of America Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.[1] The pair won aUSC Scripter Award for the screenplay.
Galati was awarded theTony Award for Best Play for his adaptation ofThe Grapes of Wrath in 1990. The production originated at Steppenwolf and transferred toBroadway where, in addition toBest Play, Galati won an additional Tony forBest Direction of a Play. The drama also received six more nominations, including recognition in acting categories forGary Sinise,Terry Kinney, andLois Smith.[7] Following his success withThe Grapes of Wrath, Galati went on to adaptAs I Lay Dying in 1995, andHaruki Murakami'sAfter the Quake in 2005. He also wrote original work, such asEveryman (1995). Most of his work debuted at Steppenwolf.[8]
Galati occasionally had turns as an actor, and directedTony Kushner'sHomebody/Kabul atNew York Theatre Workshop. For Broadway, he directed the musicalRagtime in 1998 andThe Pirate Queen in 2007. He directed two productions ofThe Visit, at the Goodman Theatre in 2001 and at theSignature Theatre (Arlington, Virginia) in May 2008, withChita Rivera.[9][10]
With a book score byStephen Flaherty, lyrics byLynn Ahrens, and directing and libretto by Galati,Knoxville premiered at theAsolo Repertory Theatre in spring 2020, based on thePulitzer Prize winning bookA Death in the Family byJames Agee and Pulitzer Prize winning playAll the Way Home byTad Mosel.[11] It starsJason Danieley as Author.[12]
The Frank Galati Papers are at Northwestern University.[3] He was a professor emeritus in the Department of Performance Studies at Northwestern University,[4] having retired in 2006.[13]
Galati married his longtime partner, Peter Amster, in 2017.[1] Later in life, they resided betweenSarasota, Florida, andBeaver Island onLake Michigan.[1] Galati died in Sarasota from cancer on January 2, 2023, at the age of 79.[1][14]
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