Chicago theatre giant Frank Galati dies at 79

CHICAGO (CBS/AP) -- Frank Galati, a stage director, adaptor, and actor who worked with the Steppenwolf and Goodman theatres in Chicago, has died.

As CBS 2's Noel Brennan reported Tuesday, the Steppenwolf Theatre Company said Galati died Monday evening in Florida. He was 79.

"He embodied the joy in life," said Roche Schulfer, chief executive officer of the Goodman. "Arguably the most influential theatre artist to come out of Chicago in the last 50 years, at least."

Galati was once the associate director of the Goodman – and worked with Schulfer.

"He was an actor. He was a director. He was a writer. He was an educator, and he was theatrical innovator," Schulfer said.

Galati joined the Steppenwolf in Lincoln Park as an ensemble member in 1985. He became the associate director of the Goodman downtown the following year – and remained in that role until 2008.

His adaptation of john Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath" debuted at the Steppenwolf and went on to Broadway in New York. The play starred Gary Sinise in the role of Tom Joad.

Galati won two Tony Awards in 1990 for the production – one for best play and the other for best director.

"He had productions on Broadway. He had an Academy Award nomination," Schulfer said. "The list of achievements is enormous."

Galati also received a Tony Award nomination for "Ragtime." The Oscar nomination was for best screenplay for "The Accidental Tourist." He also was credited for writing the teleplay to Arthur Miller's play "The American Clock" in 1993.

The Steppenwolf noted that he while Galati was also known for his stage acting, appearing in such productions as "The Drawer Boy" and "The Tempest" for the Steppenwolf.

Galati directed adaptations of Haruki Murakami's "after the quake" short story collection and "Kafka on the Shore" novel at the Steppenwolf, and also directed his adaptation of E.L. Doctorow's "The March."

At the Goodman, his productions included "The Visit," "She Always Said Pablo," "the Winter's Tale," The Good Person of Setzuan," and "Cry the Beloved Country," the Steppenwolf noted.

Galati was also an artistic associate at the Asolo Repertory Theatre on the Ringling Museum campus in Sarasota, Florida.

Most recently, Galati directed the Asolo Rep's 2022 world premiere musical "Knoxville," which was adapted from the James Agee novel "A Death in the Family." "Knoxville" was written by the "Ragtime" team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty.

Galati's long career also included directing at the Metropolitan Opera in New York and the Lyric Opera of Chicago, as well as teaching performance study at Northwestern University for nearly 40 years.

"He seems to have five productions going at once, major ones, always juggling, always busy, always thrilled to be doing them all," Sinise told the Los Angeles Times in 2007. "I've asked him several times how he does it, and he says he doesn't know."

Galati had highs but also lows on Broadway, including watching his production of "The Pirate Queen" be shipwrecked by blistering reviews and become one of Broadway's costliest flops in 2007 and being fired in 2001 as director of "Seussical."

Regardless, Galati had a résumé any artist would envy - and a laugh everyone enjoyed.

"It was one of the greatest laughs that I have ever experienced, and it was frequent," Schulfer said.

Galati won several Joseph Jefferson Awards for outstanding achievements in Chicago theatre, as well as two directing awards from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation, a League of Chicago Theatres Artistic Leadership Award and an NAACP Theatre Award.

"Frank had a profound impact on Steppenwolf, and all of us, over the years. For some, he was a teacher, mentor, director, adaptor, writer, fellow actor and visionary," Steppenwolf co-artistic directors Glenn Davis and Audrey Francis said in a statement. "Regardless of the relationship, Frank always made others feel cared for, valued, and inspired in his ever-generous, joyful and compassionate presence."

Galati was inducted into the Theater Hall of Fame earlier this year, the Steppenwolf noted.

"You won't find one of us who was fortunate enough to work with him who wasn't changed by him. He made us all better and there will never be another one like him," said Steppenwolf member and Broadway director Anna D. Shapiro.

Schulfer remembers the joy Galati sparked and shared.

"Frank took the word 'play' literally - and felt, you know, it was a privilege to that have that opportunity to tell these stories," Schulfer said.

And now, a light missing from Chicago Theatre still shines in memory.

"There's so much conversation going on," Schulfer said. "So many memories. So much love. So much loss."