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IN MEMORIAM
ANDREW LEYNSE, ARTISTIC DIRECTOR 2001-2023
On January 20, 2023, we lost one of the dearest, kindest, most devoted people we have ever known: our beloved Artistic Director, Andrew Leynse. Andrew was our light and our heart, and his passing diminishes us all. We are grateful for every day we had with him, and know he touched so many of you, both personally and artistically. Please hold his incredible family, especially his wife Mary, son Abadi, brother Jim, and sister Anne in your hearts – we know this is the first thing he would have asked of all of us.
Andrew’s dedication to playwrights and the theater launched dozens of careers and brought hundreds of new plays to life. His work had an incredible and indelible contribution to the American theater, and his vision and generosity will never be forgotten.
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Andrew Leynse was the Artistic Director of Primary Stages for 21 seasons. He produced, managed, and directed in the New York Theater community for more than thirty years. Andrew began his career at Primary Stages in a variety of different roles, including Production Manager and Literary Manager, after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University's directing program. In 1999, he left Primary Stages to work as an Associate Producer to Julian Schlossberg at Castle Hill Productions, where he developed over twenty productions on and off-Broadway. Upon returning to Primary Stages in 2001 as Artistic Director, he oversaw our move to 59E59 Theaters, to The Duke on 42nd Street, to the Cherry Lane Theatre, and most recently to our return to 59E59 Theaters.
During his tenure at Primary Stages, he fostered a home for playwrights, producing new works including Charles Busch’s The Tribute Artist and The Confession of Lily Dare; Theresa Rebeck’s Downstairs and Poor Behavior; Terrance McNally’s The Stendhal Syndrome and Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams; David Ives’ All In The Timing and Lives of the Saints; Donald Margulies’ The Model Apartment; multiple works by Horton Foote, including Dividing the Estate (two Tony nominations); A.R. Gurney’s The Fourth Wall and Black Tie; Michael McKeever’s Daniel’s Husband; Willy Holtzman’s Sabina; Danai Gurira and Nikkole Salter’s In the Continuum; In Transit by Kristen Anderson-Lopez, James-Allen Ford, Russ Kaplan, and Sara Wordsworth; Billy Porter’s While I Yet Live; Sharon Washington’s Feeding the Dragon; and Kate Hamill’s Pride and Prejudice and Little Women.
Andrew was also a director and founding member of the Primary Stages Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, and helped launch the Primary Stages/Fordham MFA in Playwriting and the Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA). He was the Artistic Director of the Colorado New Play Festival, and a board member of Colorado New Play Festival and A.R.T./New York. Andrew taught for Carnegie Mellon University, The Tepper Semester at Syracuse University, and Primary Stages ESPA.
Andrew Leynse is survived by his wife Mary Bacon, son Abadi Leynse, brother James Leynse, sister Anne Bullock, beloved dog Oreo, and a community of artists, friends, and extended family.
Help continue Andrew’s legacy of supporting playwrights and fostering new works at Primary Stages with a gift to The Andrew Leynse Legacy Project.
Celebrating THE LIFE OF ANDREW LEYNSE
On April 24, 2023, our community gathered at St. Paul's Chapel at Colombia University to celebrate Andrew's life, career, and legacy. We shared some of our favorite memories, laughed and cried, and paid tribute to our dear friend and Artistic Director. See the tribute videos made to honor Andrew and pictures of the event below, as we hold this beautiful celebration in our hearts.
PLEASE ENJOY PHOTOS OF THIS CELEBRATION AND SOME OF OUR FAVORITE PHOTOS OF ANDREW AT PRIMARY STAGES
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Celebration of Life: Charles Busch
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Celebration of Life: Chesney Snow
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Celebration of Life: Erin Daley
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Celebration of Life: Hallie Foote
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Celebration of Life: Heidi Armbruster
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Celebration of Life: Kerry Butler
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Celebration of Life: Mary Bacon
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Celebration of Life: Melisa Annis
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Celebration of Life: Michele Lowe
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Celebration of Life: Shane D. Hudson
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Celebration of Life: Ted Snowdon
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Celebration of Life: Theresa Rebeck
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Celebration of Life: Tyler Marchant
Celebration of Life: Sue Breger, Ted Snowdon
Celebration of Life: Mary Bacon and Duffy Violante
Celebration of Life: Maria Mileaf and Neil Patel
Celebration of Life: Mahira Kakkar, Karen Hartman
Celebration of Life: Mahira Kakkar
Celebration of Life: Kelly McAndrew and Erin Gioia Albrecht
Celebration of Life: Kelly Letourneau, Braley Degenhardt, Ken Einhorn, Ellen Zerkin
Celebration of Life: Karen Hartman
Celebration of Life: Sally Plass and Judy Gold
Celebration of Life: Jane Guyer Fujita
Celebration of Life
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Celebration of Life: Charlayne Woodard
Celebration of Life: Carl Andress, Charles Busch, Ted Snowdon, Duffy Violante
Celebration of Life: Erica Raven-Scorza
Celebration of Life: Kelly McAndrew
Celebration of Life: Braley Degenhardt, Phil Haas, Jason Koth, Alex Marrs
Celebration of Life: Barbara Thomas and Theresa Rebeck
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Shane Hudson, Marla Persky, and Andrew Leynse
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Mary Bacon and Andrew Leynse
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Shane Hudson, Carl Andress, Charles Busch, Andrew Leynse, and Erin Daley
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Casey Childs, Michelle Bossy, and Andrew Leynse
Andrew Leynse, Erin Daley, Clarence Coo, Zi Alikhan, and Ted Snowdon
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Elliot Fox, Casey Childs, Michelle Bossy, and Andrew Leynse,
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Andrew Leynse in bunny suit
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Cynthia Harris and Andrew Leynse
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Andrew Leynse and Elizabeth Ashley
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Andrew Leynse
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Casey Childs, Andrew Leynse, Michelle Bossy, and Elliot Fox
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Shane Hudson, Aasif Mandvi, Kimberly Senior, Ellen Zerkin, Sue Breger, and Andrew Leynse
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Gala Auctioneer Will Roland and Andrew Leynse
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Marla Persky, Sharon Washington, Andrew Leynse
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Andrew Leynse and Erin Daley
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Shane Hudson and Andrew Leynse
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Tim Daly, Tyne Daly, Andrew, and Jim Leynse
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Andrew Leynse and Shane Hudson
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Duane Boutte, Thom Sesma, Andrew Leynse, and Michael Laurence
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Erin Daley, Andrew Leynse, and Alex Marrs
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Julia Chen, Andrew Leynse, and Alex Marrs
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Andrew and the Primary Stages Staff
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Thom Sesma, Duane Boutte, Kimberly Senior, Claudia McCoy, Michael Laurence, Alex Marrs, and Andrew Leynse
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Andrew Leynse and Shane Hudson
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Andrew Leynse, Jamie deRoy, Michelle Bossy, Shane Hudson, and Casey Childs
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Andrew and Oreo
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Andrew Leynse with his wife Mary, son Abadi, and Oreo
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Andrew Leynse, Stephanie Klapper, and Erin Daley
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Andrew and Abadi Leynse
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Andrew Leynse
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Andrew Leynse and Mary Bacon
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Andrew Leynse
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Andrew and Abadi Leynse
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Andrew with his wife Mary, son Abadi, and Oreo
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Mêlisa Annis, James Inverne, and Andrew Leynse
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Andrew and Abadi Leynse, Michelle Bossy
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Andrew Leynse and Michelle Bossy
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