Kenneth Posner
Kenneth Posner is an American lighting designer, working on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and in American regional theatre. His most notable designs include the musicals Wicked and Hairspray, two highly regarded musicals of the early 21st century. In 2011, he won the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Play for his work on The Coast of Utopia (Part 2 - Shipwreck).
Kenneth Posner | |
|---|---|
| Education | Eastchester High School |
| Alma mater | SUNY Purchase Boston University College of Fine Arts |
| Occupation | Lighting designer |
| Years active | 1988-present |
| Known for | Wicked Hairspray |
| Awards | Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Play |
Career and education
He has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design 11 times and won once for The Coast of Utopia (Part 2 - Shipwreck) in 2011. His nominations have included nods for Merchant of Venice (2011), Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2005), Wicked (2004), Hairspray (2003), and The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (2001). He has also been nominated 10 times for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lighting Design and received an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Lighting in 2003. In 2013, Posner achieved a near-sweep of the nominations for the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Musical, garnering nods in three of the four eligible slots (for Kinky Boots, Pippin, and Rodgers + Hammerstein's Cinderella), though he lost to Matilda The Musical.
Posner was educated at SUNY Purchase, where Brian MacDevitt also attended. He is a 1983 graduate of Eastchester High School in Eastchester, New York. He also attended Boston University College of Fine Arts.
Personal life
He is currently a resident of Verona, New Jersey.[1]
Productions
Broadway
Touring
- Swing! (2000-2001)
- Hairspray (2003-2006)
- Wicked Tours
- Emerald City Tour (2005-2015)
- Chicago Tour (2005-2009)
- Los Angeles Tour (2007-2009)
- San Francisco Tour (2009-2010)
- Munchkinland Tour (2009-present)
- Little Women (2005-2006)
- Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (2006-2007)
- Grease (2008-2010)
- Kinky Boots (2014-2017)
- Pippin (2014-2016)
- Rogers + Hammerstein's Cinderella (2014-2016)
- If/Then (2015-2016)
- Finding Neverland (2016-2018)
- On Your Feet! (2017-2019)
- Mean Girls (2019-present)
- Pretty Woman: The Musical (upcoming)
West End
- Hairspray – 2007
- Legally Blonde – 2010
- Kinky Boots – 2015
- On Your Feet! – 2019
- Wicked – 2021
- Pretty Woman: The Musical – 2021
Off-Broadway
|
|
|
Awards and nominations
Tony Awards
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Best Lighting Design | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Nominated |
| 2003 | Hairspray | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Wicked | Nominated | |
| 2005 | Best Lighting Design in a Musical | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Nominated |
| 2007 | Best Lighting Design in a Play | The Coast Of Utopia (Part 2 - Shipwreck) | Won |
| 2011 | The Merchant of Venice | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Other Desert Cities | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Best Lighting Design in a Musical | Kinky Boots | Nominated |
| Rogers and Hammerstein's Cinderella | Nominated | ||
| Pippin | Nominated | ||
| 2019 | Beetlejuice | Nominated |
Drama Desk Awards
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Outstanding Lighting Design | Machinal | Nominated |
| 1998 | Pride's Crossing | Nominated | |
| A View From the Bridge | Nominated | ||
| 2000 | The Wild Party | Nominated | |
| 2001 | The Adventures of Tom Sawyer | Nominated | |
| 2002 | Monster | Nominated | |
| 2004 | Wicked | Nominated | |
| 2007 | The Coast Of Utopia (Part 2 - Shipwreck) | Won | |
| 2009 | 9 to 5 | Nominated | |
| 2012 | Death Takes a Holiday | Nominated | |
| 2013 | Pippin | Nominated |
Obie Award
| Year | Category | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Sustained Excellence in Lighting | Won | |
References
- KENNETH POSNER Archived 2008-03-06 at the Wayback Machine, Playbill. Accessed January 11, 2008. "He resides in Verona, New Jersey, with his wife Michelle and their three children."