Leland Moss
Born
Leland Eric Moss

30 March 1948
New York
Died24 Jan 1990 (age 41)
San Francisco
NationalityAmerican
EducationHarvard University
OccupationTheatre Director
Known forThe AIDS Show

Leland Moss (1948 – January 24, 1990 San Francisco, California)[1] was an American theatre director, writer, and gay activist[2] who died from AIDS at age 41.[3][4]

Life and work

Moss graduated from Beverly Hills High School and was a National Merit Scholar.[5] Moss studied at Harvard University and at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art. After London, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in theatre. He worked at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club, Playwrights Horizons, and the New York Shakespeare Festival, among other venues.[6]

His first production at La MaMa was And Things That Go Bump in the Night, adapted from the play by Terrence McNally, in 1971. The production opened at the Loeb Experimental Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where the company was based, before playing at La MaMa in Manhattan. It then played at the Emmanuel Church in Boston.[7] In 1972, he performed with La MaMa's Great Jones Repertory Company on their European tour, which included performances in Germany, the Netherlands, Italy, Lebanon, France, and Denmark. The company toured with a production of Euripides' Medea adapted and directed by Andrei Serban with music by Elizabeth Swados.[8]

In 1973, Moss directed a production of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure at La MaMa.[9] He also directed his company, the "Y" La MaMa Workshop, in a production of Roy Kift's Play Mary Play. The production first played at the YM-YWHA of Mid-Westchester (in Scarsdale, New York),[10] then at La MaMa in Manhattan.[11]

He is best known for The AIDS Show, a collaborative work he created in 1984 while living in San Francisco. In San Francisco, he worked with the Theatre Rhinoceros. A documentary about the play was made for public television and shown in November 1986.[1]

Family

Leland Moss was the son of actress Thelma Moss and the producer Paul F. Moss (né Moskovitz).[12]

References

  1. 1 2 "Leland Moss, 41, The Theater Director Of 'The AIDS Show'". NY Times. January 27, 1990. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  2. ↑ "Leland Moss Papers, 1976-1980 Coll2011.067*". Online Archive California. Retrieved 6 February 2019.
  3. ↑ "Leland Moss: Playwrights Horizons". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved February 5, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Collection Guide, Leland Moss Papers". Online Access of California. Retrieved April 28, 2023.
  5. ↑ Citizen News 18 May 1965
  6. ↑ "Leland Moss: Playwrights Horizons". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved August 20, 2018.
  7. ↑ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: And Things That Go Bump in the Night (1971)". Accessed August 22, 2018.
  8. ↑ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Tour: Great Jones Repertory Company Tour (1972)". Accessed August 22, 2018.
  9. ↑ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Measure for Measure (1973)". Accessed August 22, 2018.
  10. ↑ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Play Mary Play (1973a)". Accessed August 22, 2018.
  11. ↑ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections. "Production: Play Mary Play (1973b)". Accessed August 22, 2018.
  12. ↑ Paul F. Moss on the Internet Movie Database IMDB
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