Two-time Tony Award-winning director Des McAnuff grew up in Canada and moved to NYC in the mid-1970s, co-founding the Dodger Theatre Company and directing their first production "Gimme Shelter" in 1978. His production of "The Death of Von Richthofen as Witnessed From Earth" (1982), complete with special effects like a flying piano, got him tagged a "wunderkind" in Newsweek and convinced La Jolla Playhouse board members to hire him as artistic director. During his tenure at La Jolla, he directed four shows that he eventually brought to Broadway, beginning with "Big River" (1985), Roger Miller's
