Director Michael Langham Dies at 91

Tony-nominated director Michael Langham died on January 15 in his home in England from complications from a chest infection, according to published reports. He was 91.

Langham received a Tony nomination for his direction of Timon of Athens in 1994, and was also Tony-nominated as part of the producing team of that production. He directed the Broadway premiere of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, with other Main Stem directing credits including productions of Waiting in the Wings, The Moliere Comedies: The School for Husbands and The Imaginary Cuckold, The Government Inspector, Saint Joan, Andorra, The Broken Jug, and Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Langham served as artistic director of Canada’s Stratford Shakespeare Festival from 1956-1967, and is credited with bringing the festival to international prominence. He continued to direct productions at Stratford up through 2008. Stratford Shakespeare Festival established the Michael Langham Workshop for Classical direction in his honor in 2009, and has announced that it will dedicate its 2011 season to Langham.

He is also the former artistic director of the La Jolla Playhouse in California, Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, and Juilliard School in New York.

Langham is survived by his wife, actress Helen Burns, his son Christopher, and five grandchildren.