Jay Berkow
jay.berkow@wmich.edu
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Director, Music Theatre Performance
Dartmouth College, B.A.; Purdue University, M.F.A. | Joined WMU: 2004

Jay Berkow has been the Director of Music Theatre Performance at WMU since 2004. A much sought after professional director and playwright, he is the co-author and director/choreographer of the Off-Broadway hit Jolson & Co. which ran for two seasons in NY, has received regional productions in Chicago, New Jersey, Cleveland, Buffalo, and Miami, as well as a commercial tour across Great Britain. Jay has worked with Terrence McNally, John Kander and Fred Ebb as the director of the Off-Broadway revival of The Rink, as well as directing the Off-Broadway productions of Red Hot Mama and The Lady In Penthouse B. Jay’s regional credits include Florida Studio Theatre, Indiana Repertory, Theatre South Carolina, Playhouse on the Square, Gateway Playhouse, Virginia Repertory, Connecticut Repertory, Coconut Grove Playhouse, American Stage, Florida Repertory Theatre, Theatre Works, the Burt Reynolds Theatre, Riverside Theatre, Circa ‘21 Playhouse, and many others. As a playwright, Jay is involved in the creation of numerous original works, including The Cure For Love at the Barter Theatre in Virginia, The Right To Privacy at Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Sherwood Forest, a musical based on Robin Hood. His work What A Glorious Feeling opened at the Mason Street Warehouse Theatre and was selected for presentation by the New York Musical Theatre Festival. For ten years Jay served as Producing Artistic Director for the Clinton Area Showboat Theatre in Iowa. He holds an M.F.A. from Purdue University and a B.A. from Dartmouth College.