Horace Mann - Spring 2017 - 34

Alumni Journal

A grateful honoree
Coming to the podium to accept his award Haimes told his well-wishers
that Horace Mann School was not only where he discovered an interest
that would lead to his life's work, but where he found it possible to initiate another project of importance to him-founding HM's student photography publication Insight-because HM was the kind of school where
students could find teachers to support their interests. He recounted
being surprised to learn, years later, when his children were students
at HM, that Insight was still being published, as it is today. Regarding his
HM theater experience Haimes said "there was something about being
backstage, the energy of being backstage for 'How to Succeed' that
turned me on like nothing I ever did before." But, he added, "the greatest
gift Horace Mann gave me" was the experience the school provided his
children. Recounting how he and Dr. Allison Haimes debated whether
or not to send their children to HM because of the reputation it had for
being competitive and grade-focused, the honoree told the guests that
he and Dr. Haimes found the school to have "the most nurturing environment. Those years, for our kids, were the greatest years of their lives.

Todd Haimes HM Class of 1974
2016 HM Alumni Association Award
for Distinguished Achievement Honoree

photo by Barry Mason

ince 1983, Todd Haimes '74 has transformed Roundabout
Theatre Company from a small off-Broadway theater into
one of the leading cultural institutions in New York City. Mr.
Haimes has been Artistic Director/CEO of the Roundabout Theatre
Company since July 1, 1990. From 1983 to 1990, Mr. Haimes served as
the theater's Executive Director, overseeing the company's finances,
marketing, and fundraising. During the extraordinary years that
followed, he also oversaw the biggest period of growth in the company's history. Today, Roundabout is the largest not-for-profit theater
in the country, producing award-winning revivals, musicals, and new
works on five stages both on and off Broadway.
Under Haimes' leadership, Roundabout opened the doors of its
first Broadway home at the Criterion Center with Harold Pinter's The
Homecoming in October 1991. By 1993, Roundabout was enjoying
tremendous artistic success with critically acclaimed productions,

HM Head of School Dr. Tom Kelly, Distinguished Alumnus Todd Haimes '74, and Alumni
Council President Wesley Mittman LePatner '99

Horace Mann Magazine Spring 2017

photo by Barry Mason

year, he included the quote 'Put all your eggs in one basket and WATCH
THAT BASKET.' You could say he did just that, and what an incredible
basket he has created!"

HMAA 2015 Award for Distinguished Achievement honoree the Hon. Milton A. Tingling '71,
Alumni Council Award for Distinguished Achievement Committee Co-Chairs Mickey
Littmann '52, Bill Nightingale '49 (seated) and Ephram Lustgarten '96 with 2016 awardee
Todd Haimes '74 (center)

They had the best experiences and made the best friends." Haimes went
on to praise "the composition and quality of the teaching faculty that
obviously comes from the top.
"I'm honored to accept this honor from what I think is just about the
best school in the country," Todd Haimes concluded. $
including Friedrich Durrenmatt's The Visit and Eugene O'Neill's Anna
Christie gracing the Roundabout stage.
In 1994, Haimes jumped at the chance to transform the cabaret
space next to its mainstage into an intimate off-Broadway theater.
With the extraordinary support of Laura Pels and Cory and Bob
Donnalley, the 399-seat Laura Pels Theatre opened in 1995 with the
American premiere of Harold Pinter's Moonlight, the first production
in Roundabout's newly established New Play Initiative.
When Roundabout was evicted from the Criterion Center in
1999, Haimes led the search for the company's new Broadway and
off-Broadway homes. Roundabout embarked on a $24 million capital
campaign to renovate Broadway's Selwyn Theatre into the renamed
and restored American Airlines Theatre, which opened in 2000.
In 2002, Haimes signed a long-term lease on the former American
Place Theatre, the future home of the Harold & Miriam Steinberg
Center for Theatre and the Laura Pels Theatre. After an extensive
renovation, the Pels opened with Lynne Nottage's Intimate Apparel in
2004. In 2007, Roundabout completed a new Black Box Theatre for
readings, workshops, and the acclaimed Roundabout Underground
program, which opened with Stephen Karam's Speech & Debate.
In 2003, Roundabout purchased Studio 54, the unique theater
then featuring the company's award-winning, long-running production of Cabaret. In 2009, Roundabout opened the newly restored
and LEED certified Henry Miller's Theatre, renamed The Stephen
Sondheim Theatre in 2010.
In addition to settling Roundabout into five permanent homes,
Haimes has continued its acclaimed artistic legacy. Since 1990,
under Haimes' artistic leadership, Roundabout has been nominated
for 36 Tony Awards, 50 Drama Desk Awards, 59 Outer Critics' Circle
Awards, and 11 Obie Awards.
Todd Haimes has a Bachelor's Degree from the University of
Pennsylvania and a Master's Degree in Business Administration from
the Yale School of Management. $

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Horace Mann - Spring 2017