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Michael Shamata

Director

Well-known for his Soulpepper production of A Christmas Carol, Michael Shamata’s directing credits include the English-language premiere of And Slowly Beauty (Tarragon; NAC), and the Canadian premieres of The Year of Magical Thinking (Tarragon; NAC) and A Doll’s House, Part 2 (Belfry). He has directed acclaimed productions of Glengarry Glen Ross starring Eric MacCormack (Arts Club), I Am My Own Wife starring Tom Rooney (Vancouver Playhouse), and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? starring Brenda Robins (Grand; MTC; Sadie Bronfman).  He has directed numerous large-scale musicals, including Cabaret (Grand Theatre; MTC), The Music Man and Guys and Dolls (Vancouver Playhouse) and the world premiere of Pélagie (Canadian Stage/NAC). He directed the premiere of Walk Right Up at the Stratford Festival, as well as numerous productions of Shakespeare at Festival of Classics (Macbeth; Love’s Labours Lost), Canadian Stage (The Tempest), and Bard on the Beach (Much Ado About Nothing; The Comedy of Errors). Recent successes include Sexual Misconduct of the Middle Classes and The Lehman Trilogy (Belfry). 

 

Signature Productions

  • The Light in the Piazza by Craig Lucas, Music and Lyrics by Adam Guettel - Theatre Calgary (2016) won the Calgary Critics’ Award for Outstanding Direction 
  • Mary Poppins by Julian Fellowes - Citadel Theatre/Theatre Calgary (2014) won the Calgary Critics’ Award for Outstanding Direction and the Betty Mitchell Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical 
  • The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by Rachel Sheinkin - Belfry Theatre/Arts Club Theatre (2010) won the Jessie Award for Outstanding Direction and Outstanding Production    
  • And Slowly Beauty... by Michel Nadeau - Belfry/Tarragon/NAC (2010) won the Capital City Critics Award (Ottawa) for Outstanding Production 
  • Fiddler on the Roof by Joseph Stein - Vancouver Playhouse (2002) won the Jessie Award for Outstanding Production 
  • A Little Night Music by Stephen Sondheim - Canadian Stage/Grand Theatre (1996) won the Dora Award for Outstanding Production of a Musical