Richard Ouzounian

Richard Ouzounian (born March 8, 1950) is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He was the chief theatre critic for the Toronto Star and the Canadian theatre correspondent for Variety.

Early life, family and education[edit]

Ouzounian was born in New York City. He is of Scotch-Irish descent, and he was adopted by an Armenian-Italian-Finnish family.^[1]

Ouzounian was educated at Regis High School, and then in 1970 received his B.A. in English Literature from Fordham University. He completed his M.A. studies in Theatre and Creative Writing at the University of British Columbia in 1972.

: (Book/Lyrics): After a world premiere in Halifax's Neptune Theatre in October, 1998, a major production (directed by Ouzounian) played to record houses at the Stratford Festival for six months after its June 1999 opening. It was later televised for international sale, broadcast on CBC-TV and TVOntario and won a Gemini Award for its leading actor, Juan Chioran. It received its American premiere at the North Shore Music Theatre in Beverly, Massachusetts in October 2002, was seen at the Charlottetown Festival in the summer of 2003 and was recently revived by INNERChamber (Stratford) in October, 2017.

Dracula: A Chamber Musical

Emily (based on the trilogy by Lucy Maud Montgomery): (Book/Lyrics) Debuted in 1999 at Charlottetown Festival of Prince Edward Island, and returned for a second season in 2000. A new revised version of the show was produced by Talk Is Free Theatre, Barrie, Ontario in May 2006, directed by Ouzounian. "Emily" was also mounted by Gateway Theatre, Richmond, British Columbia, in December 2006 and was revived in Barrie in November 2007. Recent productions have included its U.S. premiere at the Bluff City Theatre in Hannibal, Missouri (June, 2017).

Emily of New Moon

Larry's Party (based on the novel by novel): (Book/Lyrics) Commissioned by the Canadian Stage Company of Toronto, starring Tony Award-winner Brent Carver, "Larry's Party" broke box office records in Toronto before enjoying equally successful runs in Ottawa and Winnipeg as well as being nominated for a Dora Award for Best New Musical.

Carol Shields

Honours and awards[edit]

He was made an honorary Doctor of Sacred Letters by Thorneloe University in 2003.

Personal life[edit]

Ouzounian lives in downtown Toronto and has been married since 1977 to his wife, Pamela. They have two children.

Are You Trying to Seduce Me, Miss Turner? Stars talk to the Star 978-1-55278-360-3

ISBN

Stratford Gold 978-1-55278-271-2

ISBN

at the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia

Richard Ouzounian

at IMDb

Richard Ouzounian

at The Toronto Star

Reviews and columns

at Variety