Longtime General Manager Member Marilyn S. Miller Dies at 88

Marilyn S. Miller, an ATPAM member since 1966, passed away on September 2, 2023 at the Actors Fund Home. Ms. Miller was an ATPAM Gold Card member of the Managers’ Chapter.

Miller, 88, began her long and successful theatrical career in stock in Nantucket.  She made a brief foray into television before returning to her first love - theater.  She arrived in New York in 1963 and became a lighting designer and stage manager for the Phoenix Theater, a pioneering Off-Broadway company that also produced shows on Broadway.  She soon stepped into the position of Assistant General Manager before becoming General Manager and then the company’s Executive Director.  During her time with the Phoenix Theater, her credits included Boy Meets Girl, A Member of the Wedding, Holiday, The Visit, The School for Wives, and Harvey with Helen Hayes and James Stewart.  As a lighting designer and/or stage manager for that company, her credits also included Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma’s Hung You In The Closet and I’m Feelin’ So Sad and The Tragical Historie of Doctor Faustus, among others.

After more than ten years, she left the Phoenix Theater to establish the general management firm of Weiler/Miller/Carrellas, with former ATPAM Secretary Treasurer Berenice Weiler and manager Barbara Carrellas.  Their work encompassed both Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.  

As a General Manager, Miller’s credits are extensive and include (selected titles): the Broadway productions of A Broadway Musical, Meet Me In St. Louis, Stardust, Wind in the Willows, Marlowe, and the Tony Award-winning original production of Nine.  Her Off-Broadway credits include A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking, Cloud 9, Uncommon Women and Others, G.R. Point, and Ladyhouse Blues, and the Mirror Repertory Company.

One of Ms. Miller’s most extraordinary talents was mentoring young theatrical talent.  Countless management, artistic and production professionals have been nurtured by her practical advice, enthusiastic encouragement and wry humor.

Born in Akron, Ohio in 1934, Marilyn Miller graduated from Miami University (Ohio) with a Bachelor of Arts degree.  She earned her Master of Arts from Boston University.  In addition to her long-standing membership in ATPAM, she was also a member of the Broadway League until 2021.  Donations in Marilyn’s memory may be made to the Theater Development Fund and/or the National Disaster Search Dog Foundation (https://www.searchdogfoundation.org/).

A virtual memorial via ZOOM will be held in a few weeks.