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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 01/10/2026

Rehearsals onstage today with the great Lyric Opera of Chicago orchestra!

Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 26/09/2026

Technical rehearsals, piano dress, and orchestra begin next week. Ready to bring Don Giovanni back to the stage at Lyric Opera of Chicago.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 12/09/2026

Irish President Catherine Connolly. No caption really improves on the body language.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

Ah, the final days of summer. Finisce l’estate, comincia l’opera. Don Giovanni.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 21/08/2026

Now that I have your attention… My 2013 production of Don Giovanni returns to open Lyric Opera of Chicago’s new season. A favorite production, a terrific new cast, and the great pleasure of spending my days in a rehearsal room surrounded by Mozart. And yes—that’s the great soprano Marina Rebeka.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 15/08/2026

Now appearing as Nag in a new London production of Beckett’s ENDGAME.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 07/08/2026

don’t know why, but this photograph makes me enormously happy.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 28/07/2026

First impression: Twyla Tharp rehearsal. Actual caption: something rather different.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

BOTD: Pina Bausch, artist extraordinaire. I can’t think of a theatre or opera director I admire who hasn’t been influenced by—or stolen from—her masterworks, The Rite of Spring and Café Müller. One of the most radical and influential artists of our time.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

When I was fifteen, my father knew I was obsessed with Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides, Now” and the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.” He surprised me with this Bing Crosby album, containing both songs, and a turtleneck dickie. I remain touched by the gift and fascinated by the pairing.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

“I have ten commandments. The first nine are: don’t bore. The tenth is: thou shalt have right of final cut.” —Billy Wilder BOTD 1906

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 19/07/2026

Today would have been Gena Rowlands’ birthday. I love watching Criterion Closet Picks, where actors and filmmakers choose the films that shaped them. Again and again, someone reaches for A Woman Under the Influence and speaks of Gena Rowlands’ influence. One of cinema’s greatest actors.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 17/07/2026

I’ve never actually read The Odyssey. I read the Classics Illustrated comic, and at seven, considered the matter settled.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

The Rolling Stones have a genuinely inspired new album, and somehow it made me think of Verdi. (Yes, I realize how absurdly pretentious that sounds.) Verdi was 79 when he wrote Falstaff. The best artists never really get old. They just keep surprising us.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

I’d been directing for many years before I read Mike Alfreds’ Different Every Night. I thought rehearsal was repetition in search of the appearance of spontaneity. Mike taught me to make room for true spontaneity. He’s 92, still teaching. I’m still learning.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 10/07/2026

Birthday posts are little doors back to unforgettable performances. On Fred Gwynne’s 100th, I remember not Herman Munster, but the wonderful stage actor who gave the best Big Daddy I’ve ever seen—and I’ve seen a great many of them.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

2) Brian’s greatness onstage is part of his legacy. My good fortune was knowing the man in the rehearsal room. Fiercely intelligent. Ferociously curious. Wickedly funny. Always searching for something deeper and truer. He made me a better director.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

Born this day in 1938: my friend and collaborator, Brian Dennehy. The quintessential interpreter of O’Neill and Miller, yet equally compelling in Beckett, Pinter, Shakespeare, and Brecht. Fortunate to work with him for more than 30 years. Photos: Salesman, Long Day’s Journey, Iceman, Desire

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

Congratulations to the great Nick Offerman on his two Emmy nominations. Then come see what he and Megan Mullally are up to onstage this summer in Iceman! The hilarious new musical at @goodmantheatre.bsky.social

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 08/07/2026

On Barbara Loden’s birthday, I’m thinking about Wanda—a film that’s haunted me since I first saw it. Her only feature as a director, yet it feels like the work of a fully realized artist. Few American films have ever seemed so honest or so quietly radical.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Remembering Shirley Knight on her birthday. Her performance in John Guare’s Landscape of the Body is still among the greatest I’ve ever seen. Years later, I was lucky enough to direct her in Horton Foote’s The Young Man from Atlanta. A remarkable artist—fearless, truthful, and unforgettable.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Just finished Patrick Radden Keefe’s London Falling, read by the author. What begins as a mysterious death becomes a fascinating portrait of wealth, class, power, and modern London. Keefe is one of our finest nonfiction storytellers. I was sorry when it ended.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

I understand the Kennedy Center removal crew may soon be available for freelance work. Asking for a city on the Chicago River.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Happy 75th birthday to the ageless Richard Thomas At a time when fewer stars are willing to hit the road, he’s spent years bringing great theater to audiences across the country. Always superb onstage, always a mensch off it. Here’s to Richard Thomas.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

David Hockney with Joni Mitchell.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

I am choosing, for the moment, not to seek additional context.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 03/06/2026

Sammy and Hazel enjoying a beautiful Chicago morning. Apparently I'm about 20 followers shy of 3,000. This means absolutely nothing, which is why I'm mentioning it. Feel free to repost for anyone who appreciates dogs more than social-media milestones. The dogs, naturally, remain indifferent.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

Authorities say the dog had no prior criminal record, though neighbors described him as ‘intense around fireworks.’

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 27/05/2026

He looks like he flatlined halfway through Splash Mountain.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 08/05/2026

On this day in 1962, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum opened on Broadway. A decade later, I saw the legendary revival with Phil Silvers. Still, without question, one of the funniest performances I’ve ever seen on a stage.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 07/05/2026

If Hazel in a sweater can’t get me to 3,000 followers, then frankly I’ve misunderstood the internet.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 06/05/2026

Celebrating Orson Welles today with one of his most underrated films,

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 21/04/2026

Happy Birthday Elaine May. The best. If you only know her comedies, do yourself a favor and watch this harrowing masterpiece.

Poster art for Elaine May’s film Mikey and Nicky and two drawings: peter Falk and John Cassavetes

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 15/04/2026

… and then there’s the 2025 Midnight Cowboy to contemplate

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Hazel’s enjoying a chilly—but sunny—day at the beach.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

Okay, someone in this crowd owns this album. Raise hands.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 10/02/2026

Hey, it opened last night and it’s pretty swell! You never know.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Celebrating Vanessa Redgrave, born today, 88 years old. Her Mary Tyrone. One doesn’t so much direct her as watch in awe as she takes the work somewhere fearless and uncompromising. A life spent taking risks. An artist who believes the work matters more than approval.

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Robert Falls @robertfalls.bsky.social · 19/12/2025

Haven’t finished your Xmas shopping? May I suggest a trip to @steppenwolfthtr.bsky.social to check out a little show running until the end of January.

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