Eric Simonson

Eric Simonson is an American writer and director working across theatre, film, and opera, born on June 27, 1960, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Though born in Milwaukee, he grew up on a farm in the small town of Eagle. After earning a Bachelor of Arts in theatre from Lawrence University, he spent a brief period in Madison, Wisconsin, where he worked with the then-emerging Ark Repertory Theatre. He relocated to Chicago in 1983, where he helped establish Lifeline Theatre before eventually joining the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, becoming a member of its ensemble in 1993.

Simonson's Broadway career spans several decades and includes both performing and writing credits. His first Broadway appearance came in 1990, and he subsequently received a Tony Award nomination for Best Direction of a Play in 1993 for The Song of Jacob Zulu. His play Lombardi, based on David Maraniss's book When Pride Still Mattered, ran on Broadway from October 2010 through May 2011. Magic/Bird premiered on Broadway in March 2012, and Bronx Bombers, a play centered on the New York Yankees, opened on Broadway on February 6, 2014, at the Circle in the Square Theatre, starring Peter Scolari and Tracy Shayne, following an Off-Broadway run at Primary Stages beginning September 20, 2013. His Broadway credits also include The Grapes of Wrath.

Beyond Broadway, Simonson co-wrote Work Song: Three Views of Frank Lloyd Wright with Jeffrey Hatcher, a piece commissioned by Steppenwolf Theatre Company and Milwaukee Repertory Theater that was subsequently produced across the United States. His play Honest premiered at Carthage College in 2009 and was later included in Steppenwolf Theatre Company's 5th Annual First Look Repertory of New Work. The Carthage production, the first commission of that institution's New Play Initiative, traveled to the 2010 American College Theatre Festival's Region 3. In 2018, Simonson returned to Carthage College to create Up and Away, the tenth play in their New Play Initiative, which subsequently traveled to the 2019 Edinburgh Festival Fringe and the 2019 Region 3 American College Theatre Festival. His play Louder Faster, co-authored with Jeffrey Hatcher, premiered at City Theatre in Pittsburgh in May 2011.

Simonson has also directed opera, including the 2007 world premiere of Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie's The Grapes of Wrath at Minnesota Opera, the 2011 premiere of Kevin Puts and Mark Campbell's Silent Night, which won the Pulitzer Prize in music, and the North American premiere of The Handmaid's Tale. He wrote the libretto for The Fix in 2019, based on the Black Sox Scandal.

His film work has earned him recognition across multiple award bodies. His short documentary A Note of Triumph: The Golden Age of Norman Corwin won the 2005 Academy Award for Short Subject Documentary and also received a nomination from the International Documentary Association for Distinguished Achievement. His documentary Studs Terkel: Listening to America earned an Emmy nomination, and On Tiptoe: Gentle Steps to Freedom received an Oscar nomination, an IDA Award, and Emmy nominations. All three films aired on HBO and Cinemax. Additional film credits include Hamlet, co-directed with Campbell Scott for Hallmark Entertainment, and the independent feature Topa Topa Bluffs. In 2007, Simonson was invited to join the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. He has also written and developed television series for HBO, FX, USA, TNT, and Starz. Simonson holds the distinction of having received Tony, Emmy, and Oscar nominations across his career.

In his personal life, Simonson married theatre producer Susan Raab in 2004; she died of breast cancer in 2006 at the age of 37. They had one child, Henry Simonson. In 2013, he married actress Sue Cremin. Simonson is based in Los Angeles but works throughout the United States.