Martin Benson, the co-founder and longtime artistic director of the Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory regional theater in Costa Mesa, California, died November 30 of a probable heart attack at his home in Huntington Beach, California. He was 87.
His death was announced by the theater’s Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Director Suzanne Appel. The likely cause was reported to The New York Times by his stepson Justin Krumb.
Founded in 1964 by Benson and his San Francisco State University classmate David Emmes, South Coast Rep would go on to become of the country’s leading regional theaters, launching careers and an august roster of Broadway- and Off Broadway-bound plays. Among the latter: Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, Craig Lucas’ Prelude to a Kiss, Donald Margulies Sight Unseen, Richard Greenberg’s Three Days of Rain and The Violet Hour, Sam Shepard’s True West and Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel.
“Martin was a shining light for South Coast Repertory,” Ivers said in the announcement, “a pioneer here and in our field. Kind, thoughtful and deeply curious, Martin was always ready with a poignant word, a handshake of support and an appetite for the work. He will be sorely missed, but his fine example of craft and leadership endures. We owe him much and vow to honor his great legacy.”
Beginning with the company’s first production in 1964 – Moliere’s Tartuffe – Benson would eventually direct nearly a fifth of the theatre’s productions over the next six decades.
Under the leadership of Benson and Emmes, South Coast Rep received the 1988 Tony Award for Outstanding Resident Professional Theatre, and in 1995 they accepted the LA Ovation Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2011, the Rep’s Board of Trustees established the Emmes/Benson Founders Endowment in their honor.
Benson, who maintained an office at South Coast Rep until earlier this year, continued directing one play each season until 2020’s Outside Mullingar.
Born March 15, 1937, in Oakland, California, Benson is survived by his stepson. His marriage to Pam Krumb ended in divorce, and his first marriage to Wendy Wickstrom ended with her death.
South Coast Repertory will dedicate the Friday, December 20 performance of A Christmas Carol to Benson, dimming the theatre’s lights to celebrate his legacy, and the theater will also host a celebration of Benson’s life in the new year in collaboration with his family.