Josephine Abady

Josephine Abady
BornAugust 21, 1949
Richmond, Virginia, U.S.
DiedMay 25, 2002 (aged 52)
New York City, New York, U.S.
Alma materSyracuse University (BA)
Florida State University (MFA)
FamilyCaroline Aaron (sister)

Josephine R. "Josie" Abady (August 21, 1949 – May 25, 2002) was an American stage director, film director, and producer.

Early life and education

Abady's mother Nina (née Friedman) was an Alabama-born civil rights activist of Mizrahi Jewish (Syrian Jewish) descent who worked full time to support her three kids after Aaron's father, who was of Sephardic Jewish (Lebanese-Jewish) descent, passed away.[1][2] Her sister is actress Caroline Aaron.

Abady graduated from Syracuse University and earned her MFA from Florida State University.[3]

Theatrical career

Abady taught theater at Bennington College and was head of the theater program at Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts before she began her professional career as the artistic director of the Berkshire Theater Festival (in Stockbridge, Massachusetts). She opened the season at the Cleveland Play House with a revival of Born Yesterday, starring Ed Asner and Madeline Kahn, a production that moved to Broadway.

From 1994 to 1996, Abady was one of the two artistic directors of the Circle in the Square Theatre, along with Theodore Mann.[4]

Film and TV work

Abady also did film and TV work, including, with the assistance provided by an American Film Institute grant, To Catch a Tiger, a short film inspired by the life of Nina Friedman Abady, Abady's own mother.[3] She later co-produced a TV remake of A Raisin in the Sun, which starred Esther Rolle and Danny Glover.[5][6]

Last years

Despite her advanced breast cancer, she was active during the last years of her life, until her death, at her home in Manhattan, aged 52.[3]

Affiliations

  • Member, League of Professional Theatre Women[7]

References

  1. ^ "Caroline Aaron on Playing Shirley Maisel: She's a Liberated Woman for the Times". 5 December 2019.
  2. ^ Pfefferman, Naomi (September 29, 2005). "Interview with Jewish Journal". Jewishjournal.com. Archived from the original on February 1, 2016. Retrieved September 8, 2010.
  3. ^ a b c Gussow, Mel (2002-05-30). "Josephine Abady, 52, Director Of Plays on and Off Broadway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  4. ^ Marks, Peter (1996-09-05). "Circle in the Square Appoints A Leader to Take a New Tack". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2022-12-31.
  5. ^ "Josie Abady, Director of Cleveland Playhouse and Circle in the Square…". archive.ph. 2013-01-31. Archived from the original on 2013-01-31. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  6. ^ "American Playhouse" episode: "A Raisin in the Sun" at Internet Movie Database
  7. ^ League of Professional Theatre Women: The Josephine Abady Award Retrieved January 25, 2013