Elizabeth Ireland McCann

Elizabeth Ireland McCann (March 29, 1931 – September 9, 2021) was an American theatrical producer. She won nine Tony Awards and three Emmy Awards over a long career on Broadway.

Elizabeth Ireland McCann
Born(1931-03-29)March 29, 1931
New York City
DiedSeptember 9, 2021(2021-09-09) (aged 90)
New York City
OccupationTheatrical producer

Early life

McCann was born in New York City, the daughter of Scottish-born Irish Catholic immigrants, Patrick McCann and Rebecca Henry McCann. She graduated from Manhattanville College in 1952, and earned a master's degree in English literature from Columbia University in 1954. In 1966 she completed a law degree at Fordham University.[1][2]

Career

McCann produced over 60 plays on Broadway, and won nine Tony Awards.[3][4] She and her producing partner Nelle Nugent[5][6] won Tony Awards in 1978 for Dracula (best revival), in 1979 for The Elephant Man (best play), in 1980 for Morning's at Seven (best revival), in 1981 for Amadeus, and in 1982 for The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby (best play).[7][8] She won four more Tony Awards without Nugent: in 1998 for the revival of A View from the Bridge, in 2000 for Copenhagen, in 2002 for The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?, and in 2009 for the revival of Hair. She also produced off-Broadway runs of Edward Albee's Three Tall Women and The Play About the Baby,[1] and was general manager of the Big Apple Circus.[4]

McCann was managing producer on the annual Tony Awards broadcast six times,[9] in 2001 and from 2004 to 2008, and won three Emmy Awards for those shows. She produced several television adaptations of plays she'd produced, including Morning's at Seven (1982), Orpheus Descending (1990), and Passing Strange (2009).[1]

McCann was inducted into American Theater Hall of Fame in 2004.[3] In 2015, she gave an oral history interview for the Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project.[10] Her last show, Hangmen starring Dan Stevens, was in previews in March 2020, when Broadway closed for the COVID-19 pandemic.[2]

Personal life

McCann died from cancer in 2021, aged 90 years, at a hospital in the Bronx.[1][7] The records of McCann & Nugent Productions are in the Billy Rose Theatre Division of the New York Public Library.[11]

References
  1. Gates, Anita (2021-09-09). "Elizabeth I. McCann, Tony-Winning Broadway Producer, Is Dead at 90". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  2. McCleary-Harris, Sierra (2021-09-24). "Elizabeth I. McCann, Tony-Award Winning Producer and Mentor to Fordham Students, Dies at 90". Fordham Newsroom. Archived from the original on 2021-09-27. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  3. Simonson, Robert (September 10, 2021). "Elizabeth I. McCann, Longtime Tony-Winning Broadway Producer With a Taste for Drama, Dies at 90". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  4. Sullivan, Lindsey (September 10, 2021). "Nine-Time Tony-Winning Producer Liz McCann Dies at 90". Broadway Buzz. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  5. Schoen, Elin (1981-02-01). "Presenting McCann & Nugent". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  6. Haun, Harry (1980-10-05). "The Hottest Producers on Broadway". Daily News. p. 463. Retrieved 2021-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. Barnes, Mike (2021-09-09). "Liz McCann, Nine-Time Tony-Winning Producer, Dies at 90". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
  8. Sharbutt, Jay (1981-09-27). "Production Duo Undaunted by the Perils of 'Nickleby'". Sunday News. p. 76. Retrieved 2021-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. O'Haire, Patricia (2000-11-09). "McCann to Run Tony Shows". Daily News. p. 1120. Retrieved 2021-12-09 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. Martha Steketee (November 4, 2015). Interview with Elizabeth I. McCann, Primary Stages Off-Broadway Oral History Project.
  11. "McCann & Nugent Productions records". Billy Rose Theatre Division, New York Public Library. Archived from the original on 2015-09-26. Retrieved 2021-12-09.
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