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Biography
Actor/director Dorothy Lyman is the real deal. Ask any of the scores of actors, directors and producers who have worked with her. She makes good on the cliché "consummate professional." Ms. Lyman's intelligence, discipline and unclouded view of the human condition have kept her at the forefront of her craft for three decades.
A native of Minneapolis, Ms. Lyman began her acting career in New York in the late 1960s as a member of Joseph Chaikin's Innovative Open Theatre. Her talent and range won her varied and challenging roles in London, New York and Los Angeles theatrical productions, including Shrivings with Sir John Gielgud, Fefu and Friends, House of Mirth and Niagara Falls.
Along the way, Ms. Lyman created some unforgettable American women characters. She earned two Emmy Awards for her portrayal of the flinty but engaging Opal Gardner on the ABC daytime drama All My Children. Her 15 year stint on various daytime dramas led to 136 episodes on the Lorimar sitcom Mama's Family portraying Vicki Lawrence's sartorially spirited daughter in law, Naomi. She has appeared in numerous feature films, winning praise for her work in such movies as Victor Nunez's Ruby in Paradise.
Not the content to limit herself to acting, Ms. Lyman plunged into directing early in her career, bringing the work of our generation's most noteworthy playwrights to the American stage, including the original off-Broadway production and subsequent national tour of John Ford Noonan's offbeat A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking and Snoo Wilson's Loving Reno at New York Theatre Studio.
Ms. Lyman's energy is obvious in the sheer number of outstanding theatrical productions she has mounted in the past two decades. Moreover, her versatility and artistic daring are evident in her choice of material. Unafraid of provocative subject matter or tone, Ms. Lyman has brought numerous controversial productions before audiences in Los Angeles and New York. Her startling 1984 production of Vicious, a meditation on violence, drugs, love and rock and roll, stirred Los Angeles critics and audiences alike. As director of Jane Chambers' ensemble piece, Last summer at Bluefish Cove, Ms. Lyman took on the subtleties of same-sex relationships with openness and wit.
Always endeavoring to extend her creative reach, Ms. Lyman wrote and starred in A Rage in Tenure, an unflinching look at marriage and identity. The play, p4roduced at Los Angeles' Theatre Geo, was a critical and box office success, earning Ms. Lyman and her play four Drama Logue Awards.
In 1990, Ms. Lyman was tapped to direct the NBC daytime drama, Generations. In 1995, her considerable gifts as a comic actress and her reputation as a "can-do" director came to the attention of Fran Drescher, who brought her on as a producer/director of the hit CBS comedy, The Nanny. Other television directing assignments included The Simple Life for Sternin and Frasier Ink, Inc. and the recent CBS four-camera film comedy, Payne starring John Laroquette and JoBeth Williams.
New audiences will be galvanized by Ms. Lyman's story-telling talent as she brings film production and directing projects to the screen with her trademark style and verve. She has a first-look deal at ChickFicks, Sara Risher's newly formed production company at New Line Cinema. She also has several film projects in development.
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