Andre Gregory
| Andre Gregory | |
|---|---|
| Born |
May 11, 1934 Paris, France |
| Occupation | Actor, director, writer |
| Known for | My Dinner with Andre |
| Spouse(s) | Mercedes "Chiquita" Nebelthau (died 1992) Cindy Kleine (2000–present) |
| Children | 2 |
Andre William Gregory (born May 11, 1934) is an American theatre director, writer and actor. His latest film is A Master Builder based on the 19th century play by Henrik Ibsen.
Gregory was born in Paris, France, in 1934 to Russian Jewish parents. Gregory studied at Harvard University, where he was affiliated with Adams House.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Gregory directed a number of avant-garde productions developed through ensemble collaboration, the most famous of which was Alice in Wonderland (1970), based on Lewis Carroll's two classic Alice books. He founded his own theatrical company, known as The Manhattan Project (1968). In 1975 he directed Our Late Night, the first produced play by Wallace Shawn, which began a long working relationship between the two men.
Shortly afterward, Gregory's growing misgivings about the role of theatre in modern life, and what he felt was a trend toward fascism in the United States, led him to abandon theatre abruptly and leave the country. As described in the film, My Dinner with Andre (1981), he traveled to Poland on an invitation from noted director Jerzy Grotowski, where he developed a number of experimental theatrical events for private audiences. He spent several years in a variety of esoteric spiritual communities (such as Findhorn) developing an interest and practice in what could be described as New Age beliefs.
Although Gregory left the theatre in 1975, he has returned several times to direct small productions, usually for invited audiences. These included a long-running workshop of Uncle Vanya (adapted by David Mamet), which was developed from 1990 to 1994 and featured Wallace Shawn and Julianne Moore. Though never publicly performed, it was released as the film, Vanya on 42nd Street, by Gregory and Louis Malle. He appeared as himself, directing the play featured within the film. Gregory also directed a radio production of Shawn's play, The Designated Mourner, in 2002.
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