Executive Leadership
Goodman Executive Director Roche Schulfer has been leading Goodman Theatre since 1980; in 1986 he was joined by Artistic Director Robert Falls. For the past 20 years, they have brought the Goodman into the national spotlight, making it one of the most respected and highest-regarded theaters in the country.
Robert Falls
Artistic Director
Roche Schulfer
Executive Director
ROBERT FALLS (Goodman Artistic Director) has been the artistic director of Goodman Theatre since 1986, after serving in that capacity at Chicago's Wisdom Bridge Theatre from 1977 to 1985. This season, Mr. Falls directs a major revival of A Life in the Theatre by David Mamet, the centerpiece of the David Mamet Festival. His acclaimed London revival of Death of a Salesman, starring Brian Dennehy, recently completed its long run in the West End, and his production of Elton John and Tim Rice's Aida for Walt Disney Theatricals is currently playing in Munich, Kyoto, and Seoul, South Korea. This spring, he will direct the American premiere of Conor McPherson’s Shining City on Broadway. Last season at the Goodman, Mr. Falls directed Rebecca Gillman’s Dollhouse, Eugene O’Neill’s Hughie and, just prior to that, the world premiere production of Arthur Miller’s Finishing the Picture. During the 2003/2004 season, he directed Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who is Sylvia? for the Goodman. His Broadway production of Long Day's Journey into Night received three 2003 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Play, and three 2003 Drama Desk Awards, including Outstanding Director of a Play and Outstanding Revival of a Play. Mr. Falls first staged Long Day's Journey into Night at the Goodman in 2002. Other recent credits include Lobby Hero at the Goodman, and a new production of Rebecca Gilman's Blue Surge for the Joseph Papp Public Theater in New York. His 1999 production of Death of a Salesman won four 1999 Tony Awards, including Best Direction of a Play and Best Revival of a Play, as well as four 1999 Joseph Jefferson Awards, including Best Direction of a Play and Best Production of a Play. His 1997 Goodman production of Horton Foote's The Young Man from Atlanta, which also transferred to Broadway, received a Tony Award nomination for Best Production of a Play. In 1995, Mr. Falls won an Obie Award for his direction of the world premiere of Eric Bogosian's subUrbia at Lincoln Center Theater, and his production of Tennessee Williams' The Rose Tattoo for Circle in the Square received a Tony Award nomination for Best Revival of a Play. At the Goodman, Mr. Falls has directed House and Garden, A Touch of the Poet, Three Sisters, The Night of the Iguana, The Iceman Cometh, Galileo, Landscape of the Body, Pal Joey, The Misanthrope and world premieres of Blue Surge, Griller, Book of the Night, The Speed of Darkness, On the Open Road, and Riverview: A Melodrama with Music. His directing credits also include The Iceman Cometh at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, On the Open Road at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, The Night of the Iguana at the Roundabout Theatre, and Nicky Silver's The Food Chain at the Westside Theatre in New York, as well as productions for the Guthrie Theater, Remains Theatre, the La Jolla Playhouse, the Lyric Opera of Chicago, the Metropolitan Opera and the Grande Théâtre de Genève. Mr. Falls is the 1999 recipient of the Illinois Arts Council's Governor's Award for outstanding contributions by an individual artist, and he was named a "Chicagoan of the Year" by Chicago magazine in 2000. In 2003, he received the League of Chicago Theatres' Artistic Leadership Award and was also elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
ROCHE EDWARD SCHULFER (Goodman Executive Director) has worked at the Goodman Theatre since 1973 and in collaboration with Robert Falls since 1986. He has supervised the production of more than 300 plays including more than 110 world or American premieres. Mr. Schulfer instituted the Goodman’s annual production of A Christmas Carol, which has become a Chicago holiday tradition for the past 27 years. During his leadership the Goodman has received numerous local and national awards for excellence including the Tony award for outstanding regional theatre. In 2003 Time Magazine named the Goodman Theatre the Best Regional Theater in the U.S. Mr. Schulfer has negotiated the presentation of Goodman productions in New York, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Paris and many other cities. He was responsible for coordinating the design, development and construction of the new Goodman Theatre facility. Mr. Schulfer has served as chair of the American Arts Alliance, the national advocacy organization for theater, dance, opera and presenters, and the Illinois Arts Alliance, the statewide arts advocacy coalition. He is a founder and current chairman of the League of Chicago Theatres, the trade association representing over 170 local theater companies. Mr. Schulfer has served on the board of Theatre Communications Group, the national service organization for resident theaters and negotiating committees for the League of Resident Theaters, a management association for over 65 regional theaters. He was a member of the Illinois Arts Council and has served on grant panels for the National Endowment for the Arts, Illinois Arts Council and the Department of Cultural Affairs. Mr. Schulfer is a member of the Lifeline Theatre board of trustees in Rogers Park and the Chicago Central Area Committee. He has been recognized for his work by the City of Chicago, the Chicago Tribune, Chicago magazine, the Illinois Arts Alliance, the American Arts Alliance and Crain’s Chicago Business among others. Mr. Schulfer was recently honored with the Raymond R. Snyder award for career achievement from Lifeline Theatre. He consults regularly with many organizations and has been a guest lecturer at numerous colleges and universities. He currently teaches at the DePaul Theatre School. Mr. Schulfer is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and was the chairman of the Cultural Arts Commission.