Douglas Cox has been a lighting Designer for the Theater, Opera, Dance, Television, Architecture for over 25 years.
Designs include Rigoletto and Elektra for Baltimore Opera, Otello, Macbeth and Aida for Syracuse Opera, Lucia di Lammermoor, La Boheme and Il Tabarro/Gianni Schicchi for Connecticut Grand Opera, the New York premiere of Kirke Mechem’s Tartuffe, the Con Man, Il Camponello di Notte/L’Aio dell Imbarazzo at the Manhattan School of Music and the co-design of Andrew Lloyd Webber's Starlight Express at the Las Vegas Hilton. He designed the Off-Broadway revival of Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love and Romeo and Juliet for Shakespeare and Company. For Making Books Sing, which is dedicated to promoting Theater and Literacy to NYC schoolchildren, he has designed nine productions, most recently Tea with Chachaji and Sky Boys. He has designed countless benefits and charitable events, featuring headliners such as Petula Clark, Leslie Uggams, Ronnie Spector, Darlene Love, Lesley Gore, Gloria Gaynor, Ben Vereen, Melba Moore, Lillias White, Lainie Kazan, Bo Diddley, Tom Wopat, Faith Prince, Anne Hampton Calloway, Heather Macrae, Kitty Carlisle Hart and many others.
On Broadway, he was Associate / Assistant Designer for 16 productions, including the Tony Award winning Best Musicals Avenue Q and Titanic, and the Pulitzer and Tony Award winning Best Play, Neil Simon’s Lost in Yonkers. He has assisted such noted Designers as Tharon Musser, Don Holder, David Hersey, Paul Gallo, Neil Peter Jampolis, Jane Reisman, Beverly Emmons, Dennis Parichy, Frances Aronson, Marc Weiss, Paul Pyant and many others.
His credits in television as a Lighting Designer/Director with the Lighting Design Group include an Emmy Nomination for NBC’s 2004 “Election Night on Democracy Plaza”. He was also Lighting Director for the “Today Show” at Denver’s Invesco/Mile High Stadium covering Barack Obama’s historic Acceptance Speech at the 2008 Democratic Convention. Other television credits include “Sesame Street”, ABC’s “Good Morning America - Outdoor Summer Concert Series” (featuring Artists from the Broadway cast of “Rent” to Kid Rock/Lynyrd Skynyrd to Gloria Gaynor). He has also worked on News Programs such as CNN’s “Larry King Live”, “Anderson Cooper 360”, “American Morning” and “CNN Election Center”, HLN’s “Nancy Grace” and “Joy Behar”; MSNBC’s “Hardball” and “Deborah Norville Tonight”, along with NY1’s Democratic Debate for Manhattan District Attorney and Bloomberg Television. Other work includes the Montel Williams Show and the Television Studio Design for The Economist in New York and London.
His work in Architectural Lighting with Focus Lighting includes Project Designer for the Mohegan Sun Casino and Wolf Den Theater and also the Planet Hollywood Restaurants. At Focus, he was Project Designer for the exterior lighting of the 40 story Entel Tower in Santiago, Chile, which received the Lumen Award, IESNA Waterbury Award and IALD Citation. Related experience in Theater and Architecture includes work with Theater Consultant Sachs Morgan Studios on the renovation of the Kennedy Center.
He has a BA from Fordham University and studied Design at New York University, the Studio and Forum of Stage Design and the Art Students League. He has also been a Guest Speaker at the annual Conventions of USITT and LDI. He has been published in LD+A Magazine and his work covered in Lighting Dimensions, Lighting and Sound America and other industry journals.
He is active off-stage in the Theatrical Community as Lighting Design Trustee for United Scenic Artists, Local USA-829, IATSE, the National Labor Union representing Designers and Scenic Artists for the American Theater and has co-chaired their Lighting Design Exam Committee for many years.