Tom Moore

BA 1965, Theatre
HDR 1995, College of Liberal Arts
MFA, Yale University

Theatre/Film TV Director, Vincent Andrews Management
Los Angeles, CA

In the theatre, Tom Moore is best known as the director of ‘Night Mother (with Kathy Bates and Anne Pitoniak) which won the Pulitzer prize, and for which he received his second Tony nomination, and for the original Grease which ran for eight years and is one of the longest running shows in the history of Broadway.(Over the years , this production introduced Barry Bostwick, John Travolta, Richard Gere, Peter Gallagher, Greg Evigan, Treat Williams, Patrick Swayzee, Marilu Henner, Adrienne Barbeau, and countless others who now work steadily in theatre, film, and television.) His most recent Broadway production was the Moon over Buffalo with Carol Burnett. A documentary, Moon Over Broadway by Pennebaker-Hegedes, which followed the production from rehearsals to the Broadway opening, has been played in theatres, on television, and is now on video and DVD. His first Tony nomination was for the direction of the Big Band Musical Over Here, which brought the Andrews Sisters out of retirement. Other Broadway productions include the critically acclaimed revival of Once in a Lifetime (with John Lithgow, Deborah May, Treat Williams, and Jayne Meadows) at the Circle-in-the Square, Division Street, The Octette Bridge Club, A Little Hotel on the Side with Tony Randall and Lynn Redgrave, and the short-lived, but legendary Frankenstein at the Palace Theatre.

Mr. Moore has a long time association with the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles where he directed Feydeau’s A Flea In Her Ear; Division Street (premiere), A Month in the Country by Turgenev, Wild Oats (for the Olympic Arts  Festival.) ‘Night Mother, and Ayckbourne’s Henceforward (with Jane Krakowski & John Glover). In Los Angeles, he also directed Hay Fever, at the Ahmanson Theatre (with Celeste Holm and Charles Kimbrough) and Once in a Lifetime in a special benefit for the Los Angeles Classic Theatre Works (with John Lithgow, Marsha Mason, Amy Irving, Helen Hunt, Ed Asner, Robert Foxworth, where he also directed The Pentagon Papers  At the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco, Moore directed Knock Knock, Hotel Paradiso, The Little Foxes, and Chekhov’s The Three Sisters. Also in San Francisco, he directed The Boys in Autumn with Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas. He directed Loot at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis: Once in a Lifetime at the Arena Stage in Washington D.C.: Our Town (with Geraldine Fitzgerald as the stage manager), Hay Fever (with Celeste Holm & John Glover), and The Manwoman of Chaillot (with Kathryn Helman) at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Mass. The Importance of Being Earnest, Fallen Angels, and the world premiere of The Lady with all the Answers at the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, and Traveler in the Dark (with Sam Waterston & Hume Cronyn) and ‘Night Mother at the American Repertory Theatre in Boston.  He has directed two productions of Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard, one at the La Jolla Playhouse (with Lynn Redgrave), and the other (with Marsha Mason) was the premiere stage production at the LENSIC Center for Performing Arts for Santa Fe Stages. He also directed the Brian Friel adaptation of A Month in the Country for Antaeus Theatre Company.

Mr. Moore’s most recent stage production was When Something Wonderful End, which was developed at the Ojai Playwrights Conference and then played at the Humana Festival at Actors Theatre of Louisville and at the Interact Theatre in Philadelphia.

He has also taught and directed at the State University of New York at Buffalo, Brandeis University, and the University of London, England. He was artistic director of the Peterborough Players in New Hampshire, and he has lectured at the Seminar in American Studies in Salzburg, Austria. He directed the National touring companies of Grease and ‘Night Mother, and presented ‘Night Mother at the Spoletto Festival in Italy.

On film, Mr. Moore directed ‘Night Mother with Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft, and his short film Journey, made for the American Film Institute won two international film awards.

On television, he directed Disney’s first original musical for television, Geppetto starring Drew Carey and Julia Louis-Dreyfuss; ER (Emmy nomination), Mad About You (Emmy nomination), L.A. Law (Emmy nomination), Huff, Mismatch, Gilmore Girls, Ally McBeal, Felicity, Lateline, Nothing Sacred, Dharma and Greg, Suddenly Susan, Something So Right, Cybill, Pride & Joy, Thirtysomething, The Wonder Years (The episode “Square Dance” won the Humanitas Prize), Almost Grown, Cheers, Pickett Fences, Civil Wars, Northern Exposure, The Class of ‘96, Good Company, Boston Common, Maybe it’s Me, The Court, the late night Fridays, and the pilots of First Years, 50-Minute Man, and the Flamingo Kid. He also directed the television movies Maybe Baby and Fine Things. He is currently producing and directing a documentary on the flying trapeze, To Fly a Trapeze Legacy.

Mr. Moore is presently on the executive board of the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Mr. Moore was a fellow at the American Film Institute. As an avocation, Mr. Moore is also involved with the Circus Arts, and spends as much time as possible on the flying trapeze.