Goodman Lighting Designer Michael Philippi Dies Suddenly at 58; HIGH HOLIDAYS Preview Cancelled

Michael Philippi, longtime lighting designer at the famed Goodman Theatre Company, collapsed and died suddenly yesterday while on his way to a technical rehearsal for the theater's production of Alan Gross's High Holidays. 

As a result of the tragedy, the Goodman has announced that it will cancel its first preview performance, scheduled to take place on October 31. The Goodman's Resident Lighting Designer, Robert Christen, will be stepping in to take over the project. 

Says Artistic Director Robert Falls in the Chicago Tribune, "We are all reeling from this...He has been one of this theater's most important, and frequently unsung, collaborators over the last 20 years."

Mr. Philippi's professional relationship with Falls dates back to Falls' reign with the Chicago company Wisdom Bridge Theatre, where he partnered with Falls, Steven Robman and Brian Dennehy on Rat in the Skull.

Philippi's credits at the Goodman include Desire Under the Elms (which ran on Broadway this past spring), Death of a Salesman (which also enjoyed a cricially acclaimed Broadway run), The Speed of Darkness (also a Broadway transfer), King Lear, Finishing the Picture, A Life in the Theatre, Heartbreak House, Blue Surge, Boy Gets Girl, Somebody Else's House, On the Open Road and Pal Joey. 

Praised most for his work on Death of A Salesman, he additionally worked at the Northlight Theatre, Court Theatre, Remains Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, and now-defunct New American Theatre in Rockford, where he got his start.

Regionally, Philippi also worked regionally at Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, Berkeley Repertory Theatre and Mark Taper Forum in California and at the Manhattan Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, and The Public Theater in New York.

He is the recipient of Jeff Awards for Terra Nova and In the Belly of the Beast (Wisdom Bridge Theatre), and Hollywood Drama-Logue Awards for Kabuki Medea (Berkeley Repertory Theatre) and Changes of Heart (Mark Taper Forum).

Philippi is survived by his wife, Miriam Hack, and a daughter, Megan.

High Holidays is scheduled to begin previews on November 1. The four-character drama-inspired by playwright Alan Gross' own life and family experience and tells the story of the young Billy Roman (Max Zuppa) and the anxiety-riddled preparations for his Bar Mitzvah in 1963 north suburban Chicago.  To stay updated on the status of the production and memorial tributes to Philippi at the theater, visit www.goodmantheatre.org.