Vincent J. Cardinal to Lead CRT and Drama Department

Vincent J. Cardinal, the current Associate Dean of Performing Arts at Adelphi University, and formerly the Artistic Director of Miami's Jerry Herman Ring Theatre and Associate Artist with Circle Repertory Company, will begin as both Artistic Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre and head of the Department of Dramatic Arts beginning August 23, 2010.

After a yearlong national search, with more than 70 applicants from throughout the world, David Woods, Dean of the School of Fine Arts, announced that Mr. Cardinal has accepted the offer from the University of Connecticut.

Dean Woods said, "Vincent Cardinal stood out among numerous excellent candidates for his extraordinary accomplishments both as a professional theatre artist and educator. I am privileged to welcome him to our faculty and eager to work with him on the leadership of the Department of Dramatic Arts and Connecticut Repertory Theatre."

"Vincent Cardinal is an exciting addition to the vigorous Connecticut theater scene," says Mark Lamos, Artistic Director of Connecticut's Westport Country Playhouse, "His work is dynamic and bold, and his mission to discover exciting new writers and new theatrical contexts is going to take Connecticut Repertory Theater to new heights. He's a terrific choice."

"I'm honored to join the company of theatre artists and educators who have built this nationally respected Regional Theatre and Department of Drama," says Cardinal, "I look forward to extending the tradition of robust production and dynamic education at UConn."

Currently, the Associate Dean of Performing Arts at Adelphi University, Cardinal was the Chair of Theatre at the University of Miami and the Artistic Director of the Jerry Herman Ring Theatre where his musical theatre productions garnered international attention. He served as the Director of the School of Theater and Head of the MFA Playwriting Program at Ohio University. Cardinal was the Director of off-Broadway‘s Circle Repertory Company School of Theater. He was also an Associate Artist with The Circle Repertory Company and a member of its LAB. He graduated in Playwriting from the Yale School of Drama where he was honored with the ASCAP-Cole Porter Award for Best-Collected Work.

His play, The Colorado Catechism, premiered at Circle Repertory Company. The Los Angeles production of the play garnered actors TimoThy Daly and Amy Van Nostrand Dramalogue Awards for Best Performances. Cardinal's play King Dusyanta: A Tale from Kalidasa premiered, under his direction, at the Oasis Theater Company. It starred Broadway legend André DeShields. Cardinal directed Eileen Gallindo's Multicultural Disorder for Next Stage -- off-Broadway showcase, Joe Fox's new play Prism View at New Dramatists and Paul Corrigan's Queens Blvd. in a commercial off-Broadway run. He helmed Steve Hayes' Hollywood Reunion for its New York and regional productions and will direct the premiere of Steve Hayes: Tired Old Queen at the Movies LIVE, based on the popular YouTube series, which Cardinal produces and directs. He has directed 80 productions from coast to coast; premieres under his direction include Killing El Cid by Dan Shea and Disengaged by Anita Gabrowsek.

Two-time Tony Award winning Broadway producer, Barry Brown said, "Cardinal will bring to Connecticut Repertory Theatre the highest of artistic standards, exciting professional connections, and a genuine love for great theatre."

Mr. Cardinal replaces Gary M. English, the founding Artistic Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre who served in the position for 15 years. Mr. English continues at the University of Connecticut as a Professor of Drama. Lighting and Stage Design Professor Tim Hunter served as Interim Department Head and Director of Performance Studies, Dale AJ Rose, served as Interim Artistic Director of CRT for the past year and will return to his role as Associate Artistic Director and Associate Head for the Performance Program.

University of Connecticut Provost Peter Nicholls said, "I'm delighted that we have been able to attract such a capable and experienced head for our theatre arts program who has also developed an international reputation for the quality of his creative activities."

This position is unique in that the Department Head also serves as Artistic Director of Connecticut Repertory Theatre, a resident professional company that serves as the professional producing arm of the department. Mr. Cardinal's duties will include administrative leadership of the department as well as artistic leadership of the theatre company. The department has approximately 140 graduate and undergraduate students in its BA, BFA and MFA programs, as well as approximately 35 faculty and staff. CRT performs a six-play season during the academic year and a four show summer season.

CRT's next production will be The Who's Tommy, presented April 22 to May 1 in the Harriet S. Jorgensen Theatre. This classic rock musical tells the story of young Tommy who witnesses a violent crime and is rendered deaf, mute and blind. Tommy's incredible transformation from catatonia to stardom as a pinball celebrity is told through The Who's immortal songs including "Pinball Wizard," "See Me, Feel Me," "Listening to You" and "We're Not Gonna Take It."

The Connecticut Repertory Theatre's popular Nutmeg Summer Series will present a full season this summer for the first time since 2002, after presenting one show, the musical play Crowns, last summer. The 2010 Nutmeg Series will run May 27 to July 4, 2010. It will include two musicals defined by distinct and remarkable eras of rock and roll, Rent and Smokey Joe's Café; All in the Timing, a comedic collection of six one-act plays; and Endurance, a world premiere play presented by movement theatre artists, Split Knuckle Theatre.

For information on tickets, including subscriptions to the Nutmeg Summer Series, please call the Jorgensen Box Office at 860-486-4226. You may also purchase single tickets through the box office or by visiting www.crt.uconn.edu.

CRT is the professional producing arm of the Department of Dramatic Arts at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. CRT productions are directed, designed by, and cast with visiting professional artists, including Equity actors, faculty members, and the department's most advanced student artists. The synergy between professional and advanced student artists creates extraordinary theatre and a unique learning environment.

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