Daniel Sullivan, the Tony-winning director whose theater career has spanned 55 years, has announced his retirement, prompting an immediate change behind the scenes at Manhattan Theatre Club’s upcoming world premiere of David Hare’s Montauk.

Sullivan had been scheduled to direct the Broadway production, which stars Laura Linney. British theater and opera director Jonathan Kent will now take over the staging duties, MTC announced.

“It has been a privilege to bring stories to life alongside the most brilliant artists in the theatre, but I feel it’s time for me to step into a well-earned retirement,” Sullivan said in a statement.

The director added that he was “proudly passing the directorial honors” to Kent, calling him “a visionary of immense talent.” No specific reason was given for the timing of Sullivan’s retirement.

A 25-Year MTC Partnership

Sullivan’s association with Manhattan Theatre Club includes 20 Broadway and Off Broadway productions. He also served as the organization’s interim artistic director during Lynne Meadow’s 2007-08 sabbatical.

Meadow, MTC’s longtime artistic director who stepped down from the position last year, said she had worked more closely with Sullivan than with any other director during her five decades in the role. Their collaborations and friendship of more than 25 years, she said, were among the greatest joys and honors of her MTC tenure.

Although Sullivan is retiring from directing, Meadow said he “has been and will continue to be a special advisor” to the company.

Sullivan won the Tony Award for directing David Auburn’s Proof in 2001. The play received both the Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award. His other MTC productions include Donald Margulies’ Sight Unseen and Time Stands Still, David Lindsay-Abaire’s Rabbit Hole and Good People, Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes, and Auburn’s Summer, 1976.

His wider Broadway résumé includes I’m Not Rappaport, The Heidi Chronicles, Conversations with My Father, The Sisters Rosensweig, Ah, Wilderness!, A Moon for the Misbegotten, Morning’s at Seven, Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice and Glengarry Glen Ross.

Off Broadway, Sullivan directed Hare’s Stuff Happens for the Public Theater in 2006. The work drew on the actual words of members of the Bush and Blair administrations in its examination of the Iraq War.

Hare recalled Sullivan’s production at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park as one of his most unforgettable theatrical experiences, saying its depiction of the process leading to the war turned theater into a civic forum. While describing Sullivan’s departure as a sadness, the playwright said no one was better suited than Kent to take his place.

Jonathan Kent Steps Into Montauk

Kent served as joint artistic director of the Almeida Theatre from 1990 to 2002. His directing credits include Medea starring Diana Rigg, Hamlet starring Ralph Fiennes, Gypsy starring Imelda Staunton and Sweeney Todd. On Broadway, he has directed revivals of Long Day’s Journey into Night, Faith Healer and Man of La Mancha, as well as MTC’s The Height of the Storm.

Hare and Kent began collaborating nearly 30 years ago on plays by Pirandello, Chekhov, Ibsen and Brecht. Hare also praised Kent’s Young Chekhov project, which featured productions of Platonov, Ivanov and The Seagull at Chichester and later at the National Theatre.

Kent said returning to Hare’s work for a world premiere was “exhilarating” and described the opportunity to collaborate with Linney as “an exquisite gift.” He praised the actor’s emotional depth and its fit with Hare’s writing.

Montauk centers on Jared Speight, an abstract painter whose early success has left him revered but angry and living alone at the wilder end of Long Island. Linney plays Roxy Margaux, a popular essayist whose ability to explain complicated modern art has propelled her books onto bestseller lists.

After Roxy visits Jared’s studio, the pair begin a relationship that pushes their respective survival strategies to the limit. The play examines passion and the sacrifices people make in pursuing it.

ShowBiz Take

Sullivan’s retirement closes a major 55-year chapter while also reshaping one of MTC’s forthcoming productions. His history with the company extends beyond individual directing assignments: it includes 20 productions, a period as interim artistic director and an advisory role that Meadow says will continue.

The handoff also carries a clear connection to Hare’s theatrical history. Sullivan previously directed the playwright’s Stuff Happens, while Kent has collaborated with Hare for nearly three decades. That continuity gives Montauk an experienced new director even as Sullivan steps away.

What Happens Next?

Montauk is scheduled to begin performances Tuesday, March 30, 2027, before opening Monday, April 19, 2027, at MTC’s Broadway venue, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. Linney remains attached to star as Roxy Margaux, with additional casting set to be announced at a later date.