David Binder

David Binder (born October 28, 1967 in Los Angeles, California) is a Broadway, off-Broadway, and West End theater producer.

Life and career

Binder is the lead producer of the 2014 Broadway productions of Hedwig and the Angry Inch starring Neil Patrick Harris^[1] and Of Mice and Men starring James Franco and Chris O'Dowd.^[2] Hedwig and the Angry Inch won four Tony Awards including Best Revival,^[3] and Of Mice and Men became the first Broadway show to be filmed by the National Theatre of Great Britain’s NT Live and shown in cinemas around the world.^[4]

Binder produced the first Broadway revival of Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, starring Sean Combs, Audra McDonald, Phylicia Rashad and Sanaa Lathan. The 2004 production won two Tony Awards for Best Actress^[5] and Best Featured Actress in a Play.^[6] He is an Executive Producer of the ABC television movie based on the Broadway production.

In 1998 Binder presented the off-Broadway hit De La Guarda,^[7] and in 2007 produced Fuerzabruta, the new show from the creators of De La Guarda. He is the original producer of John Cameron Mitchell and Stephen Trask's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, as well as Lisa Kron's 2.5 Minute Ride.

In March 2012, Binder produced Kenneth Lonergan's This Is Our Youth at the Sydney Opera House starring Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin.^[8]

Simon and Schuster Audio released a recording of Binder's Broadway reading of The Normal Heart, which featured Barbra Streisand, Kevin Bacon, John Turturro and Eric Bogosian. In 2006 he produced The Public Sings: A 50th Anniversary Celebration for the Public Theater with Meryl Streep, Natalie Portman, Ben Stiller and Mike Nichols, among others.

In 2007, with his business partner Josh Wood, Binder created and produced the High Line Festival in New York City. The inaugural festival was curated by David Bowie and featured performances by Arcade Fire, Air, Meow Meow, Ricky Gervais (making his American stand up debut), Laurie Anderson, Daniel Johnston, The Polyphonic Spree, The Secret Machines, Deerhoof, Ken Nordine, and many others.

Binder produced the Dutch New Island Festival on Governors Island, which featured ten days of performance, music, theatre and dance from the Netherlands.^[9]

Partnering with London's Donmar Warehouse, he presented the Broadway production of Frost/Nixon, and West End productions of Voyage Around My Father with Derek Jacobi, Lobby Hero, and Guys and Dolls with Ewan McGregor.

In 2011, Binder produced Short Ride in a Fast Machine, IBM’s Centennial Celebration at Lincoln Center.^[10]

Binder taught at Princeton University where he was the Anschutz Distinguished Fellow in American Studies in 2012/2013.^[11]

Binder's TED Talk on "The Arts Festival Revolution" has been watched by over a half million people online.^[12]

He is the recipient of the Robert Whitehead Award for Outstanding Achievement in Theatrical Producing,^[13] and has been honored by Performance Space 122.^[14] He teaches at the Yale School of Drama, and attended the University of California at Berkeley.

References

External links

• Hedwig
• Of Mice and Men
• 33 Variations
• Fuerzabruta
• A Raisin in the Sun - Broadway
• Internet Broadway Database
• David Binder Productions
• David Binder at TED