Barry Edelstein has been appointed as the new artistic director of the Old Globe in San Diego. Edelstein is currently the director of the Public Theater’s Shakespeare Initiative. He will assume his new position at the Old Globe on November 1.
“One of the country’s leading Shakespeareans” according to NPR, Edelstein’s work with the Public includes supervising King Lear, starring Sam Waterston and serving as associate producer for The Merchant of Venice with Al Pacino that transferred to Broadway in 2010. Edelstein will work with the Old Globe’s Managing Director Michael G. Murphy to lead San Diego’s flagship arts institution.
“I am deeply honored and beyond thrilled to be appointed artistic director of one of this country’s greatest theaters,” said Edelstein in a statement. “The Old Globe’s history is one of unparalleled excellence, and it will be my privilege to work alongside Michael Murphy to build on that history and guide the theater into a new period of excitement and achievement.”
The Old Globe won a Tony Award in 1984 for Best Regional Theater.