Misplaced Pages

Natasha Katz
Katz at the 75th Tony Awards in 2022
Alma mater	Oberlin College
Occupation	Lighting designer

Natasha Katz is an American lighting designer for the theatre, dance, and opera.

Biography

Early life and education

A New York City native, Katz trained at Oberlin College, and early in her career was mentored by Roger Morgan, a lighting designer and theatre consultant. Her first Broadway production was as lighting designer for the play Pack of Lies in 1985.

Career

Katz was nominated for a 2017 Tony Award for Hello, Dolly! and a 2017 Olivier Award for The Glass Menagerie. She won the 2016 Tony Award for Best Lighting Design of a Play for her work on Long Day's Journey Into Night. She has won eight Tony Awards out of 19 total nominations.

Among her over 60 Broadway credits include designs for Frozen, Springsteen on Broadway, Meteor Shower, Cats, School of Rock, Gigi, Skylight, An American in Paris (2015 Tony Award), Aladdin, The Glass Menagerie (2014 Tony Award), Motown: The Musical, Once (2012 Tony Award), Follies, Sister Act, Elf, Collected Stories, The Addams Family, Hedda Gabler, The Little Mermaid, The Coast of Utopia: Salvage (2007 Tony Award), A Chorus Line (revival), Tarzan, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Sweet Smell of Success, Aida (2000 Tony Award), Twelfth Night, Beauty and the Beast, and Gypsy.

She has lit the performances of Bette Midler, Zachary Quinto, Jake Gyllenhaal, Mike Tyson, Jessica Lange, Helen Hunt, Mary Louise Parker, Christopher Plummer, Elaine Stritch, Cathy Rigby, Nathan Lane, Bernadette Peters, Claudette Colbert and Sir Rex Harrison. She has also designed concert acts for Shirley MacLaine, Ann-Margret, Tommy Tune, and most recently Prince’s 2014 SNL appearance.

In the world of dance, Katz is a frequent collaborator with choreographer Christopher Wheeldon, with projects including Tryst, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, and The Winter's Tale, all for The Royal Ballet in London. Other collaborations with Wheeldon include Continuum (San Francisco Ballet), Carnival of the Animals (New York City Ballet), An American in Paris (New York City Ballet, Théâtre du Châtelet, Broadway, London), Swan Lake (Pennsylvania Ballet), Cinderella (Dutch National Ballet), and The Nutcracker (Joffrey Ballet). Her other dance work includes American Ballet Theatre's production of Don Quixote and productions with companies including San Francisco Ballet, Dutch National Ballet, and National Ballet of Canada.

For the opera stage, her credits include Cyrano de Bergerac for the Metropolitan Opera, Die Soldaten for the New York City Opera, two productions of Norma for Dame Joan Sutherland: the Opera Pacific (in Costa Mesa, California) and the Michigan Opera Theatre (in Detroit). She worked with The Royal Opera on Cyrano de Bergerac, directed by Francesca Zambello.

Her film work includes Barrymore starring Christopher Plummer and Mike Tyson: The Undisputed Truth. She lit the HBO television specials Mambo Mouth and Spic-O-Rama starring John Leguizamo and scenes from two episodes of Girls shot inside the Belasco Theatre on 44th Street in New York City.

Her work may be seen in filmed performances of The Winter's Tale, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland and An American in Paris as well as the PBS documentary "Making a New Nutcracker" and the American Theatre Wing documentary Working in the Theatre: Lighting Design.

Her permanent audio-visual shows include The Masquerade Village at the Rio Casino, Las Vegas, the Big Bang at the Hayden Planetarium in New York, and the Niketown stores in New York City and London.

She is currently a mentor for the Theatre Development Fund's Wendy Wasserstein Project (formerly known as Open Doors).

Selected awards

References

1. ^ "Natasha Katz (Designer)". Playbill. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
2. Gabrielli, Betty (June 13, 2000). "She's Lighting Stages from Oberlin to Broadway". Oberlin.edu. Archived from the original on September 6, 2006.
3. Piepenburg, Erik (May 2, 2017). "Tony Awards 2017: The Full List of Nominations". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
4. "Olivier Awards 2017: the full list of winners and nominees". The Telegraph. April 7, 2017.
5. Staff (June 12, 2016). "Tony Awards Winners: Complete List". Variety.
6. ^ "About". natashakatz.com. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
7. ^ "Natasha Katz — People — Royal Opera House". roh.org.uk. Archived from the original on October 31, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
8. "Production: Continuum". www.sfballet.org. Archived from the original on April 5, 2018.
9. "Carnival of the Animals". New York City Ballet. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
10. "An American in Paris". anamericaninparisbroadway.com. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
11. Ibay, Lori (June 4, 2004). "Christopher Wheeldon's World Premiere of 'Swan Lake' - Review". www.ballet-dance.com. Archived from the original on July 11, 2004.
12. Parry, Jann (July 12, 2015). "Dutch National Ballet – Cinderella – London". dancetabs.com.
13. "The Nutcracker, Joffrey Ballet - 59 Productions". 59productions.co.uk. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
14. "ABT Dashes Off A Vivid, Spirited Don Quixote". Sun Sentinel. February 13, 2001. Retrieved June 3, 2023.
15. Tommasini, Anthony (May 16, 2005). "Long-Nosed but Handy With a Pen and a Song". The New York Times.
16. Rothstein, Edward (10 October 1991). "Review/City Opera; Madness, Lust and Militarism in 'Die Soldaten'". The New York Times. Retrieved November 2, 2022.
17. ^ "Natasha Katz". IMDb.
18. Johnson, Robin (January 8, 2018). "Date confirmed for An American In Paris cinema screenings". officiallondontheatre.com.
19. "Making a New American NUTCRACKER". PBS. Archived from the original on November 25, 2017.
20. American Theatre Wing (July 12, 2016). "Working in the Theatre: Lighting Design in Working in The Theatre" – via Vimeo.
21. "A.C. Lighting supply and install lighting at new NikeTown store in London". A.C. Entertainment Technologies. August 2, 1999. Archived from the original on April 4, 2018.
22. Wild, Stephi (April 2, 2018). "Tony Award-Winning Lighting Designer, Natasha Katz, Accepts The 2018 Apple Award". BroadwayWorld.

External links

• Natasha Katz official website
• Natasha Katz at the Internet Broadway Database
• Biography at filmreference.com
• American Theatre Wing's Working in the Theatre Episode on Lighting Design featuring Natasha Katz

• American lighting designers
• Tony Award winners
• Oberlin College alumni
• Living people
• Ballet designers
• Drama Desk Award winners