Kevin Newbury is a theater, opera, and film director based in New York City. Kevin’s work focuses on issues of community and social justice with a particular focus on our shared LGBTQAI+ history.
Kevin has directed over 70 original theatre, opera and film projects. Recent world premiere highlights include FELLOW TRAVELERS (Cincinnati Opera, Prototype Festival/NYC, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Arizona Opera; named “The Best Opera of 2016” by The New York Times), THE (R)EVOLUTION OF STEVE JOBS (Santa Fe Opera, Seattle Opera, 2019 GRAMMY Award Winner: Best Opera Recording), KANSAS CITY CHOIR BOY (starring Courtney Love and Todd Almond: NYC, Boston, LA and Miami), DOUBT (Minnesota Opera, PBS’ Great Performances), BEL CANTO (Lyric Opera of Chicago, PBS’ Great Performances), OSCAR (Santa Fe Opera & Opera Philadelphia), the Pulitzer Prize-winning LIFE IS A DREAM (Santa Fe Opera), THE GOOD SWIMMER (BAM Next Wave Festival), and THE NINTH HOUR at Met Live Arts. Kevin has also directed productions for San Francisco Opera, L’Opera de Monreal, Canadian Opera Company, San Francisco Symphony, Barcelona Liceu, American Repertory Theatre, Bard Summerscape, Houston Grand Opera, Wexford Festival, Glimmerglass Opera, Opera Theatre of St. Louis, the Virginia Arts Festival, Portland Opera, and many more.
Kevin’s long association with the work of Leonard Bernstein includes directing CANDIDE with the Philadelphia Orchestra (starring Bradley Cooper & Carey Mulligan) in 2019 and Bernstein’s MASS six times, including two commercial audio recordings (one GRAMMY nominated). Kevin’s MASS productions have been named “One of the Best Events of the Year” by The New York Times and The Washington Post for the Carnegie Hall and Kennedy Center iterations in 2008, and by The Chicago Tribune for the 2018 Ravinia Festival production, which was revived in 2019 and recorded for PBS’ Great Performances, airing in 2020.
Kevin’s theatre directing work includes the GLAAD-Media Award-winning play CANDY & DOROTHY. As an event director, Kevin has directed and curated the Park Avenue Armory Gala four times, and the BAM Gala once.
Kevin’s three short films, MONSURA IN WAITING, STAG, and EPIPHANY V have collectively screened at over 50 film festivals and have won several awards. Kevin also staged the opera scene and served as a consultant on Split the Lark (Season 2, Episode 6) of Apple TV’s DICKINSON. Kevin has also directed music videos for Morgan James, Shayfer James, Coyle Girelli, and others.
Upcoming projects include the world premieres of Greg Spears’ and Tracy K. Smith’s CASTOR & PATIENCE for Cincinnati Opera and Karim Sulayman’s UNHOLY WARS for the Spoleto Festival. Kevin recently co-founded UP UNTIL NOW COLLECTIVE. Founded in Summer, 2020, UP UNTIL NOW develops and produces new interdisciplinary work that explores empathy, intimacy, and community, and seeks to challenge the status quo by building new structures for artistic creation. Among UP UNTIL NOW’s recent projects include SOUL(SIGNS): AN ASL PLAYLIST, for Broadstream. UUN’s first American Sign Language music video for Gladys Knight and the Pips’ Midnight Train to Georgia was featured as the Times Square Alliance’s “Midnight Moment,” playing on 80+ screens in Times Square every night in July, 2021.
