Luke Yankee

Luke Yankee is a writer, director, producer, actor and teacher. He is the author of the memoir, Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart (published by Random House, with a foreword by Mary Tyler Moore).  Critics have called it “One of the most compassionate, illuminating showbiz books ever written.”

His play, The Last Lifeboat is published by Dramatists Play Service and has had more than 40 productions in North America.  His other plays include The Lavender Mafia, and The Man Who Killed the Cure. His play The Jesus Hickey is the winner of the TRU Voices Award, as well as the Joel and Phyllis Ehrlich Award, given for “a socially relevant, commercially viable, new work of theatre.”  He directed the Los Angeles premiere at the Skylight Theatre, starring Harry Hamlin. Luke’s first play, A Place at Forest Lawn has been produced at several regional theatres around the country. It is the recipient of the New Noises Award as well as the Palm Springs International Playwriting Festival. It was developed in workshops in New York and Los Angeles featuring Betty White, Marion Ross, Tony Goldwyn, Marcia Cross, Barbara Rush, Pat Carroll, Frances Sternhagen, John Glover and Millicent Martin.

Luke has served as the Producing Artistic Director of the Long Beach Civic Light Opera (one of the largest musical theatres in America) and the Struthers Library Theatre (an historic opera house in Northwestern Pennsylvania). He has assistant directed six Broadway plays, including The Circle starring Sir Rex Harrison, Light Up the Sky with Peter Falk, Grind starring Ben Vereen (directed by Harold Prince) and has directed and produced Off-Broadway and at regional theatres throughout the country and abroad.

For several years, he wrote, directed and produced the Los Angeles Actors Fund Tony Awards gala, honoring some of the biggest names in show business, including Barbara Cook, Tim Curry, Joe Morton, Jason Alexander, June Lockhart and Theodore Bikel.  Celebrity hosts and presenters have included Sean Penn, Tommy Tune, Martin Sheen, Bryan Cranston, Kate Burton, Florence Henderson and Annie Potts.

He has taught and guest directed extensively at colleges, universities and conservatories throughout the U.S. and abroad. He holds an MFA in Playwriting and Screenwriting from UC Riverside. He is currently an adjunct faculty member at Cal State Fullerton and Chapman University. Luke also studied at the Juilliard School of Drama, NYU, Circle in the Square and Northwestern.