Jacques Levy | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1935-07-29)July 29, 1935 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | September 30, 2004(2004-09-30) (aged 69) New York City, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Theatre director,songwriter |
Jacques Levy (July 29, 1935 – September 30, 2004) was an Americansongwriter,theatre director andclinical psychologist.
Levy was born inNew York City in 1935 and graduated from theCity College of New York in 1956. He then received hisM.A. (1958) andPh.D. (1961) inpsychology fromMichigan State University and was certified by theMenninger Institute for Psychoanalysis inTopeka, Kansas. After returning to New York, he practiced as aclinical psychologist while pursuing his avocation in the city'sexperimental theatre scene.
In 1965, Levy directedSam Shepard's playRed Cross at the Judson Poets Theater, New York City.[1] The following year he directed two of the short plays inJean-Claude van Itallie'sAmerica Hurrah.[2] In 1969, Levy directed the successfuloff-BroadwayeroticrevueOh! Calcutta![3][4]
During this period, Levy approachedRoger McGuinn ofThe Byrds to collaborate onGene Tryp, a project inspired byHenrik Ibsen'sPeer Gynt. While development of themusical stalled (a revised iteration was eventually performed atColgate University in 1993), one song, "Chestnut Mare," became thesingle released from the album(Untitled) in 1970. Although it only peaked at #121 in the United States, the song reached #19 in theUnited Kingdom and ultimately became an enduringFM radio staple in America.[5] Many further Levy-McGuinn songs appeared on Byrds and McGuinn albums during the 1970s. In 1973, Levy and Van Itallie reunited forMystery Play, which starredJudd Hirsch and ran for 14 performances off-Broadway at theCherry Lane Theatre.[6] The songwriting partnership between McGuinn and Levy endured until 1977'sThunderbyrd, a McGuinn solo album.
In the mid-seventies, Levy metBob Dylan through McGuinn. Shortly thereafter, the two collaborated on "Isis" and another six songs which appeared on Dylan's 1976 albumDesire. These included "Hurricane" (about imprisonedboxerRubin "Hurricane" Carter) and "Joey" (an ode to theAmerican Mafia gangster and hitmanJoe Gallo). Levy was the stage director of both the 1975 and 1976 legs of Dylan'sRolling Thunder Revue.[7]
In 1980, he stagedStephen Poliakoff's playAmerican Days atManhattan Theatre Club, which featuredDavid Blue, one of the performers in the Rolling Thunder Revue.Frank Rich in his review forThe New York Times wrote: "Jacques Levy, the director, matches the crackling energy of the text blow for blow."[8] In 1983 he stagedDoonesbury: A Musical Comedy (based onGarry Trudeau'sPulitzer Prize-winningcomic stripDoonesbury) onBroadway.[9] In 1988 he provided thelyrics for the stage musical of the filmFame. Later cameMarat/Sade (1994),Bus Stop (1997), andBrecht on Brecht (2000, in New York City).[10]
In the early 1990s he taught acting at Hunter College in Manhattan. From 1993 until his death fromcancer in 2004, he was a professor ofEnglish and director of the drama program atColgate University in upstateNew York.
He had two children, Maya and Julien, with his wife Claudia.
Broadway[9]
Note:Fame, the stage musical, was not presented on Broadway, but has been playing inLondon'sWest End since 1995.
Off Broadway
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