Zack Brown
Scenic & Costume Designer
Zack Brown was born in Honolulu in 1949. Mr. Brown is one of the most versatile theatrical designers, with a career that has spanned Broadway, opera, ballet and television.
Since obtaining a BFA from Notre Dame and an MFA from Yale School of Drama he has designed sets and costumes for more than 150 productions from the Metropolitan Opera to the Spoleto Festivals in Charleston and Melbourne; from Hamburg Ballet to Arena Stage in Washington DC; from San Francisco Opera to the Maly Theatre in Moscow, Mr. Brown's talents have been employed throughout the world.
1977 marked his Broadway debut with scenic designs at Circle in the Square with the The Importance of Being Ernest, followed by costumes and sets for Tartuffe (Drama Desk and Emmy nominations for PBS Great Performances); also costumes for St Joan (1977 Drama Desk nomination); scenery and costumes for 13 Rue de L'Amour (1978), Man and Superman (1978); Major Barbara (1980); The Man Who Came to Dinner (1980); The Devil's Disciple (1988); Night of the Iguana (1988); Salome (1992 American Theatre Wing nomination); Suddenly Last Summer (1995). He also designed scenery and costumes for On Your Toes with Natalia Makarova (1983 Drama desk nomination for costume).
For the Metropolitan Opera he designed scenery and costumes for Rigoletto (2000), but Washington DC has seen the bulk of his work in opera, as principal designer he created more than 40 productions at the Kennedy Center including La Boheme, Die Fledermaous, Rigoletto, Turandot, The Tsar's Bride, Otello and The Flying Dutchman. For San Francisco Opera such productions as Prince Igor, Le Nozze de Figaro and Don Carlos among others.
His regional work includes the Guthrie, McCarter Seattle Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, American Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club. His long association with Arena Stage includes productions such as Animal Crackers, On the Town (1990 Helen Hayes nomination); Importance of Being Ernest, The Royal Family and Candide all garnering Helen Hayes Award nominations for costumes, and Sunday in the Park with George for scenery. for Shakespeare Theatre in DC he designed sets and costumes for Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Comedy of Errors.
For American Ballet Theatre some designs include Swan Lake (filmed for Dance in America, WNET), Theme and Variations, Gaite Parisienne, Jardin Aux Lila and La somnambulant (both of the latter filmed for Dance in America, WNET). He has designed The Nutcracker for Milwaukee Ballet, American Repertory Ballet, Pittsburgh Ballet, and Alberta Ballet.
He has received two Emmy Awards for San Francisco Opera's La Gioconda, and and Emmy nomination for his costume designs for WNET's Mourning Becomes Electra.
