David Rockwell to Design 81st Annual Academy Awards

Tony Award nominee David Rockwell has been named the production designer for the 81st Annual Academy Awards on Sunday, February 22. Rockwell, head of the New York-based architecture and design firm Rockwell Group, designed the Kodak Theatre, where the Oscars are now held.

Rockwell designed the sets for the Broadway productions of Rocky Horror Picture Show, Hairspray, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, All Shook Up, and Legally Blonde, as well as those shows’ national tours and international productions.

He is scheduled to design the Public Theater’s production of John Guare’s Free Man of Color in 2009 as well as the upcoming Broadway musical Catch Me If You Can. In addition, he will be a co-producer and designer of the musical Houdini, which is scheduled to bow on Broadway in 2010.