Public Memorial Tribute for Roger Rees to Be Held September 21

A memorial tribute will be held for Roger Rees — a Tony-winning actor and Tony-nominated director — on September 21 at 1pm at the New Amsterdam Theatre. General admission seating will be available to the public. Rees died on July 10 at the age of 71 due to brain cancer.

Rees, who began his career with the Royal Shakespeare Company, is remembered for creating the title role in the original production of The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, David Edgar's stage adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. He won both an Olivier Award and a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1982. He later starred in the original production of The Real Thing by Tom Stoppard in London in 1984, and in 1995 he was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his role in Indiscretions. Rees also achieved acclaim as a stage director for works including Peter and the Starcatcher, for which he received a Tony Award nomination for Best Director.

His final Broadway appearance was in the role of Anton Schell in The Visit, which opened April 23 under the direction of John Doyle and also starred Chita Rivera.

Rees is survived by his husband, playwright Rick Elice.