Richard Currie's Obituary
With great sadness, we announce the passing of Richard Currie, a masterful lighting designer, gifted theater director, and beloved mentor who illuminated not only stages but countless lives.
Richard passed away peacefully at 87 at the Actors Fund Home in Englewood, New Jersey, where he was an admired member of the community for the past two years, known for his wry and ready wit.
Born in Rochester, New York, Richard discovered his passion for theatre at an early age. At Kalamazoo College, where he earned a BA in psychology in 1959, he converted a science lecture hall into a theatre. His skill at transforming unconventional spaces would later inform his Off and Off-Off Broadway career as a lighting designer.
Freshly graduated with an MA in theatre from Ohio State in 1962, Richard spent his first season at the Brown Ledge Theatre in Colchester, Vermont, which would become his summer home for over five decades. He became the director of the Brown Ledge Camp theater program, producing scores of memorable plays and musicals at the girls’ camp every season.
Under his tutelage, generations of young women discovered their talent, confidence, and artistic vision. Several of his former students went on to successful careers on Broadway, in Hollywood, and on television, carrying his mentorship with them into the professional world.
Richard’s career in New York City began in television and expanded to include iconic countercultural moments of the ’60s and ’70s. He was one of the four underground artists who founded Cerebrum in 1968, an immersive sensory experience in a SoHo loft where art, technology, and theatre melded to create a new form of psychedelic entertainment. Richard was also a founding member of the New World Sound Machine, a groundbreaking “synthedelia” group, creating environments for the group’s theatrical concert events.
As the longtime resident lighting director of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company—where he also appeared occasionally as an actor—Richard lit most of Charles Ludlam’s exuberantly experimental comic plays, including Camille, Bluebeard, and Der Ring Gott Farblonjet. Greatly valued for his resourcefulness in illuminating Ludlam’s groundbreaking work in often-makeshift, downtown theatre spaces, Richard also toured with the Ridiculous throughout the US and Europe.
Friends and colleagues remember Richard for his unstinting generosity, humor, and enduring loyalty. He approached each project with the same care and attention, whether a play-reading with friends or an Off-Broadway or regional theatre premiere. All would agree that Richard excelled in the art of taking fun things seriously and serious things lightly.
Richard is survived by his brother and sister-in-law, William and Betty Currie; nephew Michael Currie, and niece Katie Currie Mitchell.
Details for a celebration of life will be shared later. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Brown Ledge Camp, with the comment “In honor of Richard Currie.” https://bit.ly/IMO_R_Currie
The lights may dim, but the brilliance Richard brought to our world will continue to shine through the work and lives of all those he touched.
What’s your fondest memory of Richard?
What’s a lesson you learned from Richard?
Share a story where Richard's kindness touched your heart.
Describe a day with Richard you’ll never forget.
How did Richard make you smile?