The South Florida theater world is mourning the loss of one of its giants.
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Theater and film director Joseph Adler passed away Thursday, after a long battle with cancer. He was 79.
The announcement was made by GableStage at the Biltmore in Coral Gables, where Adler served as producing artistic director for the last 20 years.
Adler was "larger than life," his friend and colleague Michael Spring told the Miami Herald.
"His moral and artistic compass was infallible. He helped shape the theater scene in South Florida and it was Joe’s belief in, and insistence in using, the talent in our community that helped his company get where it was,” said Spring, who is also the director of the Miami-Dade Cultural Affairs Department.
Adler had previously directed at many other South Florida theaters including New Theatre, Area Stage, Hollywood Boulevard Theatre and Florida Shakespeare Theatre.
“Joe was, in so many ways, the godfather of edgy, serious theater in South Florida,” said Christine Dolen, the Miami Herald’s former longtime theater critic. “An uncounted number of the region’s finest actors worked with him. The experience wasn’t always easy; Joe loved to push, prod and debate, and rehearsals could be an intense experience. But his gifts as a director, his often cinematic staging style, resulted in highly impactful theater and numerous Carbonell Awards.”
Under Adler’s leadership, GableStage won 59 Carbonell Awards, South Florida's equivalent of the Tony Awards.
Adler was also extremely active in efforts to revive South Florida's legendary Coconut Grove Playhouse.
