Tony-nominated director Lila Neugebauer was honored at Signature Theatre’s 2024 Gala at the Pershing Square Signature Center on June 3, 2024. The evening began with cocktails and featured a program of performances, special tributes, a live auction in The Irene Diamond Stage, followed by dinner.
Lila Neugebauer. Photo by Lia Chang
Ms. Neugebauer’s keen, visionary productions have brought groundbreaking new plays to life—often catapulting them to national and international recognition—and affirmed the resonance and vitality of classics. At Signature, where she is now a Trustee, she has directed plays from writers including Edward Albee, Annie Baker, Maria Irene Fornés, A.R. Gurney, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins and Adrienne Kennedy.
Lila Neugebauer and Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Photo by Lia Chang
Whether “marshaling rampant teen spirit into balletic unity” (The New York Times, Critic’s Pick review) in Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves; contributing a “time-blurring seamlessness” (The New York Times, Critic’s Pick review) to Annie Baker’s The Antipodes and showing that “three short vintage works…still have the power to engage, amuse and, above all, disturb” at Signature; or bringing a sensibility “so smart and swift…that you feel gripped by storytelling” (The New York Times, Critic’s Pick Review) to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate on Broadway; Neugebauer’s productions, “taken together…form a remarkable syllabus” (The New Yorker). She has also garnered acclaim for her onscreen work, having directed Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry in the A24 film Causeway (Neugebauer’s feature directorial debut) and directed episodes of the series The Sex Lives of College Girls.
Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, Sarah Paulson, Lila Neugebauer, Natalie Gold, Corey Stoll. Photo by Lia Chang
At the gala, for which Appropriate Associate Director Laura Dupper served as a creative consultant and director, Neugebauer was celebrated by numerous collaborators, including: Appropriate cast members Natalie Gold, Sarah Paulson, and Corey Stoll; Appropriate playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins (whose play Everybody Neugebauer directed at Signature); performers from her production of Annie Baker’s The Antipodes at Signature, Phillip James Brannon (who was also in The Mad Ones’ Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie) and Josh Hamilton; Crystal Dickinson, who performed in the Signature Plays (three short works by Adrienne Kennedy, Edward Albee, and Maria Irene Fornés) that Neugebauer directed; Heidi Schreck, who wrote a new translation for the Neugebauer-directed Uncle Vanya; Zoe Kazan, whose play After the Blast Neugebauer directed, and Cristin Milioti, who performed in the production; Lucas Hedges, who performed in Neugebauer’s Broadway production of Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery; members of The Mad Ones, the devised theater company she co-founded (currently in residence at Signature); and more.
Zoe Kazan, Heidi Schreck, Natalie Gold, Corey Stoll and Neugebauer. Photo by Lia Chang
Sarah Paulson. Photo by Lia Chang
Sarah Paulson and Emma Beatty. Photo by Lia Chang
Corey Stoll. Photo by Lia Chang
Phillip James Brannon. Photo by Lia Chang
Josh Hamilton. Photo by Lia Chang
Crystal Dickinson. Photo by Lia Chang
Heidi Schreck. Photo by Lia Chang
Zoe Kazan. Photo by Lia Chang
Lucas Hedges. Photo by Lia Chang
The Mad Ones: Marc Bovino, Michael Dalton, Lila Neugebauer, Stephanie Wright, and Joe Curnutte. Photo by Lia Chang
Paige Evans, Signature’s outgoing Artistic Director who was also celebrated at the event, said of Neugebauer, “Jim first brought Lila to Signature a decade ago to direct A.R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn. Since then, Lila has directed four more productions at Signature, become a resident writer with The Mad Ones, and joined our Board of Trustees. Playwrights love Lila, because she’s a wonderful collaborator and cares deeply about honoring their voices. Her direction serves a play and its characters in a rigorous, nuanced, and detailed way. Lila has become an integral part of Signature’s community, and we’re honoring her at our gala because this has been a flagship year for her as a director. We could not be more thrilled by all her well-earned success.”
Tim McClimon, Lila Neugebauer, Paige Evans. Photo by Lia Chang
Neugebauer said, “In 2011 I met Jim Houghton and my life changed. Beginning with my first off-Broadway production, he gave me an artistic home, a singular gift for any artist. In the years since, Signature has provided a spine for my career. To be a part of this institution’s ever-expanding community of artists and to grow creatively within the framework of Signature’s uniquely vital mission have been among the greatest honors of my professional life. As a director, resident writer, and trustee, I’ve also had the privilege of observing first-hand Paige Evans’ tenacity in the face of field-wide existential challenges. For the gift of her collaboration and her tireless spirit, I’m eternally grateful.”
Tim McClimon, Paige Evans. Photo by Lia Chang
Paige Evans has led the organization since 2016, producing eight seasons of award-winning and critically-acclaimed shows and bringing gifted writers, including The Mad Ones, to Signature for its distinctive residencies. Dave Malloy—another esteemed writer brought to Signature for a residency by Evans, and Signature’s first musical writer, whose Three Houses is currently being performed in Signature’s Romulus Linney Courtyard Theatre through June 16—and Three Houses director Annie Tippe toasted Evans. Cast members from Three Houses, the final production under Evans’ leadership, performed a song from the musical.
Dave Malloy, Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh, J.D. Mollison, Ching Valdes-Aran, Mia Pak, Margo Seibert, Scott Stangland, and Annie Tippe. Photo by Lia Chang
Dave Malloy, Mona Seyed-Bolorforosh, J.D. Mollison, Ching Valdes-Aran, Mia Pak, Margo Seibert, Scott Stangland, and Annie Tippe. Photo by Lia Chang
Ching Valdes-Aran. Photo by Lia Chang
Mia Pak. Photo by Lia Chang
Margo Seibert. Photo by Lia Chang
J.D. Mollison. Photo by Lia Chang
Scott Stangland. Photo by Lia Chang
Annie Tippe and Dave Malloy. Photo by Lia Chang
Will Eno. Photo by Lia Chang
Lois Smith. Photo by Lia Chang
Bill Irwin. Photo by Lia Chang
Crystal Dickinson, Bill Irwin. Photo by Lia Chang
Sean Robert Leonard. Photo by Lia Chang
Katie Finneran. Photo by Lia Chang
Darin Oduyoye. Photo by Lia Chang
Julián Mesri. Photo by Lia Chang
About Lila Neugebauer
Lila Neugebauer. Broadway: Kenneth Lonergan’s The Waverly Gallery, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Appropriate, Chekhov’s Uncle Vanya in a new adaptation by Heidi Schreck. At Signature Theatre: Annie Baker’s The Antipodes, Branden Jacobs-Jenkins’ Everybody, Edward Albee’s Homelife/The Zoo Story, Signature Plays (works by Adrienne Kennedy, Maria Irene Fornes, and Edward Albee), and A.R. Gurney’s The Wayside Motor Inn. Recent Off-Broadway: Itamar Moses’ The Ally (Public Theater), Simon Stephens’ Morning Sun (MTC), Tracy Letts’ Mary Page Marlowe (Second Stage), Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves and Zoe Kazan’s After the Blast (Lincoln Center). As co-Artistic Director of The Mad Ones: Mrs. Murray’s Menagerie (Ars Nova) and Miles for Mary (Playwrights Horizons), among others. TV: “Maid,” “The Last Thing He Told Me,” “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” “Room 104.” Lila’s directorial feature debut Causeway, starring Jennifer Lawrence and Brian Tyree Henry (Oscar nomination) is available on AppleTV+. She is a recipient of the Obie, Drama Desk, and Princess Grace Awards, and for her work in the 2023-2024 season, she has been nominated for the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Drama League, and Tony Awards.
Lia Chang. Photo by Kalin Ivanov
Lia Chang is an actor, a multi-media content producer, activist, documentarian and an Award winning filmmaker and co-founder of Bev’s Girl Films making films that foster inclusion and diversity on both sides of the camera. Lia is also the host and Executive Producer of BACKSTAGE PASS WITH LIA CHANG, an Arts and Entertainment and Lifestyle program that airs on Sundays at 6:30pm on FIOS 34, RCN 83, Spectrum 56/1996 and streams on MNN2. Lia was recently profiled on Asian American Life. BGF collaborates with and produces multi-media content for artists, actors, designers, theatrical productions, composers, musicians and corporations. www.liachang.com www.liachangphotography.com
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