Francis Cullinan

Francis Cullinanis an American stage director ofopera,musical theater,dramas,comediesandcabaretshows.

Life and career

Born inMassachusetts,Cullinan received his BA fromSt. Bonaventure Universityand an MA degree in Speech and Theatre from theUniversity of Kansas.He also served for five years as aSpecial ServicesEntertainment Director for the US Army inZweibrücken,Germany where he ran the Zweibrücken American Theatre and helped coordinate touringUSOshows. He went on to serve as Associate Professor of Theatre at theUniversity of Missouri-Kansas Citywhere he was the principal coordinator for the MFA professional directing program and supervisor of the studio theatre series.He became a full-time faculty member at the school in 1974, directing regularly there until he retired in 1989.

Among the 37 operas directed by Cullinan areDon Pasqualefor Anchorage Opera in 1986,the 1987 world-premiere of Mark Houston'sHazel KirkeatLake George Opera,a 1992 production ofThe Merry Widowfor Opera Festival of New Jersey,La bohèmeforUtah Operain 1995,FalstaffforOpera Carolinain 1997,The Barber of SevilleforCentral City OperaandRoméo et JulietteforKentucky Operain 1998,Candidefor Pittsburgh Opera Theatre in 1999, andHansel and GretelforManitoba Operain 2000.In September 1995 he directed Kurt Weill's operaDown in the Valleyfor Lyric Opera of Kansas City. Conducted by Russell Patterson, this was the first production of the work by a professional American opera company.

Cullinan's work with Lyric Opera of Kansas City, which began in 1980, also includedLa fille du régiment,Così fan tutte,The Barber of Seville,Andrea Chénier,L'elisir d'amoreandDon Giovanniin addition to severalGilbert and Sullivanoperas.In addition to returning to many of these companies for further productions he also directed operas forChattanooga Symphony and Opera,Mobile Opera,Toledo Opera,Opera Omaha,Augusta Opera and Piedmont Opera. As a guest stage director and Visiting Artist, Cullinan has also staged various works at theCarnegie Mellon College of Fine Artsand the Opera Institute atBoston University.

Cullinan has worked as theatre director for plays staged at theEisenhower Theatrein Washington, D.C., Boston's Huntington Theatre, theMissouri Repertory Theatreand The Perry Street Theatre in New York City, where he directedSimply Cole Porterin 1994.In 1983 he directed a successful production of Oscar Wilde'sThe Importance of Being Earnestfor the Boston Shakespeare Company.A past Artistic Director for theCreede Repertory Theatre,he was also a guest stage director for the company.

While largely retired, in recent years he has directed plays and cabaret shows for The Arts Council ofHenderson County, North Carolina.In 2011, he created and directedOn the Sunny Side of the Street,an original cabaret revue in tribute to the lyricist and librettist,Dorothy Fields,with musical direction by Jan Powell.In the same year, he directed the one man show,Shakespeare Sings!at the Altamont Theatre featuring Shakespearean monologues with operatic arias andart songsettings of Shakespeare's work performed by tenorScott Joiner.In 2013 he directed a semi-staged performance ofJake Heggie'sDead Man Walkingstarring Jane Bunnell, Elise Quagliata as Sister Helen and Christiaan Smith-Kotlarek as the condemned man. It was produced by the American Music Project and performed at theUniversity of North Carolina at Ashevilleand attended byHelen Prejean.