Michael Leeds

Michael Leeds wrote and directed the Broadway musical Swinging on a Star, which was nominated for a Tony Award® for Best Musical. Off-Broadway he directed and choreographed Hello Mudduh, Hello Faddah – The Songs of Allan Sherman (starring Tovah Feldshuh and Mary Testa), for which he was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Best Director and Best Choreographer. Other Off-Broadway credits include directing and choreographing Lypsinka – A Day in the Life, Showing Off (starring Donna Murphy), and Hot Klezmer for AJT. Mr. Leeds has directed for Playwrights Horizons, the York Theatre, and the Goodspeed Opera House, among others. His adaptation and production of Arthur Miller’s Playing for Time won a Festival First at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, where it was given its European premiere. He directed and choreographed A Little Night Music for the Houston Grand Opera, starring Frederica Von Stade and Thomas Allen, and 70, Girls, 70 for the York Theatre’s Musicals In Mufti series, starring Jane Powell and Charlotte Rae. For film, he has choreographed End of Summer, starring Jacqueline Bisset and Peter Weller, and co-wrote with Linda Yellen The Simian Line, starring William Hurt, Lynn Redgrave, Tyne Daly, Harry Connick Jr., and Cindy Crawford. The Last Film Festival (starring Dennis Hopper, Jacqueline Bisset, Leelee Sobieski, and Chris Kattan) completed shooting in 2008. Mr. Leeds rewrote and directed a new version of Cole Porter’s Red, Hot, and Blue for the Goodspeed Opera and PaperMill Playhouse. He also directed the Florida Grand Opera production of Marc Blitzstein’s Regina, starring Lauren Flanigan. He directed the world premiere of Henry Covery’s play The First Step at the New York International Fringe Festival. For ten years Mr. Leeds co-directed, with Albert Stephenson, the Drama League’s annual benefit honoring Liza Minnelli, Kander & Ebb, Hal Prince, Rosie O’Donnell, and Chita Rivera, among others. As a songwriter, Mr. Leeds’ work has appeared Off-Broadway in Martin Charnin’s Upstairs at O’Neals and The No Frills Revue, as well as on CBS’ The Comedy Zone. Mr. Leeds also collaborated on Miracles, a musical he wrote with Joe Stein, with a score by Sheldon Harnick, Stephen Schwartz, David Shire, and Marvin Hamlisch. He directed Carmelina for the York Theatre’s Musicals In Mufti Series, starring Marla Schaffel and Ray Wills. Mr. Leeds directed and choreographed Mating Habits of the Urban Mammal, a musical comedy he co-wrote with Peggy Gordon, Brian Lasser, and Timothy Graphenreed for the Broward Stage Door Theatre in Coral Springs. Other directing credits include Deathtrap for the Boca Raton Theatre Guild, Hello Mudduh, Hello Faddah, starring Avi Hoffman, at the New Vista, Lucky Stiff and Showtune for the Broward Stage Door Theatre, and A Little Night Music.