Dorothy Danner, Stage Director
Noted for her inventive staging, Dorothy Danner has directed nearly 200 productions of operettas, musicals and plays throughout the United States, Canada and Belgium; including operas for the companies of Glimmerglass, Houston, Philadelphia, Miami, Cleveland, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Portland, Kansas City, Virginia and for San Francisco Merola. Her production of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in New York for the Juilliard, garnered wide critical acclaim, as did her PBS-TV Tribute to Gilbert and Sullivan for the Boston Pops and her television staging of Richard Wargo’s opera, Ballymore – the first and only musical setting of a Brian Friel play.
Ms. Danner has had the honor of staging the premieres of contemporary composers Barab, Botti, Garwood, Hamlisch, Harnick, Lloyd, Mechem, Musgrave, Sirotta and Wargo. She has also served on the awards panel for the National Institute of Music Theatre and on Opera America’s Panel for New Works.
As a performer, Dorothy Danner, aka Dorothy Frank, appeared in 9 Broadway shows, from the original Once Upon A Mattress to Michael Bennett’s Ballroom. She performed on numerous TV Variety shows – Perry Como and Ed Sullivan, among others – as well as in several films including Mel Brooks’ The Producers.
A dedicated and inspiring teacher, she was co-founder of the Glimmerglass Young Artist Program, has served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Curtis Institute of Music, and the Chautauqua Institution, and has been a frequent guest director at the Academy of Vocal Arts in Philadelphia, New York University, Boston University and at Carnegie-Mellon.
Dorothy Danner is a member of a theatrical family that includes actors Blythe, Harry and Hillary Danner, Gwyneth Paltrow, writer-filmmaker Jake Paltrow, actress Katherine Moennig and departed brothers-in-law, violin maker William Moennig 3rd and writer-producer Bruce Paltrow.