Howell Binkley (July 25, 1956 – August 14, 2020)[1] was a professional lighting designer in New York City. He received the Tony Award for Best Lighting Design in a Musical for Jersey Boys in 2006, and again in 2016 for Hamilton. He died due to lung cancer on August 14, 2020.[2]
Career
editBinkley attended East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina where he began his career working with dance programs.[3]
In 1985, he moved to New York City where he co-founded the Parsons Dance Company with David Parsons. Binkley then went on to make his Broadway debut as designer for Kiss of the Spider Woman in 1993, which earned him his first ever Tony nomination. From this success he went on to design and light a plethora of major Broadway shows. In total, he designed 52 shows for Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award nine times.[4] Over the course of his work in Broadway, he became a frequent collaborator with Hal Prince and director Des McAnuff.
In addition to his work in New York City, Binkley worked across America, including national tours of Applause in 1996; tick, tick…BOOM! in 2003; and Flashdance in 2012. Alongside this, he worked at regional theatres such as La Jolla Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre DC, Old Globe Theatre, the Guthrie Theatre, The Goodman Theatre, and Hartford Stage.[3][5]
Binkley was well known[opinion] for his use of saturated colour, accompanied by white or slightly cool highlights. He frequently used smoke or haze to draw attention to his use of angle. His designs are partly based upon Craig Miller and Tom Skelton's use of cross focussing to make diamond effects.[citation needed]
Awards and nominations
edit| Year | Production | Award | Category | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Kiss of the Spider Woman | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design | Nominated |
| Olivier Award | Best Lighting Design | Won | ||
| 1998 | Parade | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Full Monty | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Nominated |
| 2003 | Radiant Baby | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Nominated |
| 2005 | Jersey Boys | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Won |
| 2007 | LoveMusik | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Won |
| 2008 | In The Heights | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Nominated |
| 2009 | West Side Story | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design | Nominated |
| 2011 | How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Nominated |
| 2014 | After Midnight | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Nominated |
| 2015 | Hamilton | Lucille Lortel Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Won |
| Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Lighting Design | Nominated | ||
| Hewes Design Award | Lighting Design | Won | ||
| 2016 | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Won | |
| 2017 | Come From Away | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Nominated |
| 2018 | Hamilton | Olivier Award | Best Lighting Design | Won |
| 2019 | Ain't Too Proud | Tony Award | Best Lighting Design of a Musical | Nominated |
References
edit- ^ Genzlinger, Neil (2 September 2020). "Howell Binkley, Who Sculpted Broadway Hits in Light, Dies at 64". The New York Times.
- ^ "Tony Award-Winning Lighting Designer Howell Binkley Has Passed Away". Retrieved 2020-08-14.
- ^ a b Eddy, Kathleen.Simply Howell Binkley livedesignonline.com, Feb 1, 2004
- ^ "Remembering Howell Binkley". The Association of Lighting Designers. 2020-08-15. Retrieved 2020-08-16.
- ^ Credits as of November 2006 American Theatre Wing
External links
edit- Howell Binkley at the Internet Broadway Database
- Internet Off-Broadway Database profile
- London Theatre Database profile
- American Theatre Wing's Working in the Theatre Episode on Lighting Design
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