Cara Reichel '96
/
Cara Reichel '96
Arts Administrator, Arts Educator, Director, Producer, Writer
Me in 50 words or less:
Cara is an NYC-based theatrical director, writer, producer and arts educator. She is the Producing Artistic Director of Prospect Theater Company, which she co-founded in 1998, and is a leader in the field of new musical theater development.
Pronouns:
She/her/hers
Undergraduate Affiliations
Department: Anthropology
Certificates: Creative Writing, Theater
Arts-related Groups: Triangle, PUP, Chapel Choir, Intime, Princeton Summer Theater
Bio
Through Prospect Theater Company, Cara collaborates with fellow company founder, composer / lyricist Peter Mills. Together, they have co-created over a dozen original musicals, including THE HELLO GIRLS (multiple 2019 Drama Desk & Outer Critics' Circle Award nominations), DEATH FOR FIVE VOICES, THE UNDERCLASSMAN (aka THE PURSUIT OF PERSEPHONE), EVERGREEN, GOLDEN BOY OF THE BLUE RIDGE, HONOR, THE ROCKAE, THE FLOOD, LONELY RHYMES, THE ALCHEMISTS, ILLYRIA, and THE TAXI CABARET. With Peter Mills she has founded a summer arts retreat in Southern Italy, called Nuova Musica (www.NuovaMusica.org).
As a director, Cara recently collaborated with Joanne Sydney Lessner and Joshua Rosenblum on the NYC premiere of the musical EINSTEIN'S DREAMS (@ 59E59 Theaters) which received multiple 2020 Drama Desk Award nominations. And, she worked closely with Susan DiLallo, Peter Mills, and Stephen Weiner on the creation of IRON CURTAIN, an original musical which received the 2006 Innovative Theatre Award for “Outstanding Production of a Musical,” and for which she also received an “Outstanding Director” IT Award nomination. She directed Iron Curtain at the O’Neill Theatre Center (2008), at NAMT's 2009 Festival of New Musicals, and in its 2011 critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway premiere.
As a bookwriter, Cara was recently commissioned by Theatrical Rights Worldwide to create the book for a new, female-forward juke-box musical, THE OLYMPIANS. She is collaborating with Jesse L. Kearney, Alphonso Horne, and Mills on the creation of a new jazz musical inspired by the life of Oscar Micheaux, America's first major Black filmmaker. She also collaborated with lyricist Marion Adler and composer/lyricist Peter Foley on I CAPTURE THE CASTLE, adapted from the beloved British novel by Dodie Smith, workshopped in 2013 in the Pace New Musicals program. She was a 2019 Fellow at the Women's International Study Center (Santa Fe, NM) and received a 2015 Bogliasco Fellowship to conduct research and work in Italy.
Also through Prospect, Cara has collaborated with many other emerging and established writers on readings, workshops, and productions of new works.
Regional directing credits include: Phoenix Theatre Company (AZ), Surflight Theatre (NJ), the Village Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals (WA), and the Goodwill Theatre (NY). Internationally, she has directed at the Teatro Carlo Gesualdo in Italy, and for Broadway au Carré in Paris, France.
Cara was honored to receive the 2002 “Lucille Lortel Award” for Emerging Women Artists from the League of Professional Theatre Women, an organization which she served on the board and from 2009-2011 as the Vice-President of Communications. She received 2004 and 2007 “New Directors / New Works” Grants from the Drama League, and participated in the Drama League's 2012 international exchange with Bulgarian theatres.
As a theater educator, Cara served as a lecturer for Princeton University's 2022 Global Seminar Program in Italy, for which she co-created and directed a site specific, immersive musical theater event. She has also has been a Visiting Artist / Lecturer at Princeton University's Lewis Center for the Arts Atelier Program, a teaching artist at Pace University and Molloy College, and has taught Master Classes for the American Theatre Wing's Springboard Program.
Cara was educated at Princeton University, and in the M.F.A. Program for Directing at Brooklyn College, where she was named 2006 “Alumna of the Year.” She has worked as an administrative staff member at Manhattan Theatre Club, American Ballet Theatre, and HERE Arts Center. She is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, the League of Professional Theatre Women, a Lincoln Center Directors Lab alum, and a Trustee of the Princeton Triangle Club.
Featured Projects
Links and Social Media
Website: http://www.carareichel.com
I would like to share my expertise with:
Alumni
Students
I would like to:
Speak on a panel