The letter below was sent to everyone in house over at the Huntington Theatre by Managing Director Michael Maso announcing the death of Nicholas Martin, beloved former artistic director there who died April 30, at age 75 in New York after battling a long illness.
Martin directed 18 shows for the Huntington while serving as Artistic Director (2000-2008) and two after his departure (2009 and 2010). Among the most memorable were Dead End, his first, which featured a three-story set depicting a New York tenement onstage and a swimming pool standing in for the East River in the orchestra pit, and the joyous She Loves Me featuring Brooks Ashmanskas and Kate Baldwin, his last as Artistic Director. Other highlights include the world premiere of Hedda Gabler with Kate Burton, Butley with Nathan Lane, and Present Laughter with Victor Garber, all of which transferred to Broadway.
I pass Michael’s letter on to you by way of tribute and remembrance. Click on the link below for a wonderful video tribute featuring Nicky on the occasion of his retirement as the Huntington’s Artistic Director.
“Dear Friends,
I write this morning with the sad news that Nicky Martin, the Huntington’s Artistic Director from 2000 through 2008, passed away yesterday in New York. I will share more details as we get them, but this is a day of remembrance for so many people who were inspired and delighted by his talent and his personality, and by the legion of friends who loved him.
Today the Huntington has a previously scheduled all-staff meeting, and it seems clear that it will now become a time and a place to share stories, most of which I expect to end with laughter. His time as artistic director here began with his production of Dead End and ended with his joyous She Loves Me, and included the triumphant opening of the Calderwood Pavilion with Sonia Flew. In between were many other great productions, including his Hedda Gabler with Kate Burton, Butley with Nathan Lane and Present Laughter with Victor Garber, all of which went to Broadway.
The first Nicky Martin production I saw was Betty’s Summer Vacation by Christopher Durang, a production of pure perfection that we were able to recreate at the Huntington (with the great Andrea Martin) and the last was Durang’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which earned him a Tony nomination as Best Director. He was a Durang genius.
What his friends will most remember, I believe, is the joy with which he infected a room, whether it was a rehearsal hall or a dinner table. And that laugh. Nicky Martin’s laugh will always be a life-affirming miracle, loud enough to rouse the angels from their heavenly sleep and wicked enough to make them question whether they were on the right side.
Have a good laugh today, and think of him.”
–Michael Maso, May 1, 2014
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