Remembering Frank Galati, award-winning writer, director and actor

• Link to: Northwestern Now Story

EVANSTON, Ill. --- Frank Galati (C65, GC67, GC71), Academy Award-nominated and Tony Award-winning writer, director, actor and emeritus professor in the department of performance studies in Northwestern University’s School of Communication, died Jan. 2. He was 79 years old.

Galati graduated with a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern in 1965 and earned his doctorate in interpretation (now performance studies) in 1971. Galati began teaching at Northwestern in 1973. He retired and was named emeritus professor in 2006.

Galati was nominated for an Academy Award for his adapted screenplay of “The Accidental Tourist” and won two Tony Awards in 1990 for his adaption of “The Grapes of Wrath,” which originated at Steppenwolf. Additional Broadway-directed shows include “Ragtime” in 1998 and “The Pirate Queen” in 2007, as well as dozens of high-profile productions in Chicago and well beyond. After retiring from Northwestern, Galati moved to Sarasota, Fla., where he was an artistic associate at Asolo Repertory Theatre.

Several of Galati’s former Northwestern colleagues offer tributes to their beloved friend:

E. Patrick Johnson, dean of the School of Communication and former colleague in the department of performance studies

“Frank was a towering figure in both SoC and industry and leaves behind a bounty of profound performance work and a legacy that will live on through those he trained and whose lives he touched. He embodied and practiced so much of what we preach in our pedagogy, with his unbounded creativity, collaborative spirit and playful approach to the rigors of performance. I knew him well as a colleague and treasure my memories of his genius and kindness.” 

Cindy Gold, professor, department of theatre

“Doing a play directed by Frank was like being in graduate school all over again. The amount I learned each time, about the play, the playwright, the style, as well as innumerable other ideas in which he was versed, is hard to quantify. Frank was the smartest, most fascinating person I've ever encountered. He was also wickedly funny. His love for his students, and everyone working with him on his plays, was enormous. And he made it very clear that he loved us all. I owe a great debt to he and his husband, Peter Amster (also an NU alum) for "adopting" me into their tribe of artists and wits. I loved him and am better for having had these last 25 years in his orbit.”

Henry Godinez, professor and chair, department of theatre

“Frank Galati’s impact on the Chicago Theatre community is enormous; not just as a writer and director of iconic productions such as “The Grapes of Wrath” for Steppenwolf and “She Always Said, Pablo” at Goodman, or as an actor in plays like “A Flea in Her Ear” at Goodman, but most significantly as a teacher at Northwestern University, where his signature courses in adapting non-dramatic literature for the stage produced students like Mary Zimmerman, who along with Frank, basically created a new genre for the American Theatre landscape. Even beyond those monumental influences, Frank was a mentor to countless artists in the Chicago Theatre community. A genuinely kind and brilliant man, Frank Galati’s soul will continue to ripple throughout our community for a long, long time to come.”

David Catlin, professor of instruction, department of theatre

"Frank inspired invention with giant-hearted kindness. I’m sure Lookingglass wouldn’t exist without the imaginative theatre-making he practiced and taught so generously, so luminously. Though he never directed at Lookingglass, he is deep within our DNA—he’s down in the mitochondria of our cells igniting us. Would that we as teachers could wield a fraction of such breathtaking, soul-stirring inspiration."