Brian Kite

Brian Kite is an acclaimed director known for his work in live theater across the United States and internationally. His notable roles have included serving as the producing artistic director of La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, where he directed several productions co-produced by McCoy Rigby Entertainment. His work has garnered critical acclaim for productions such as American Idiot, Billy Elliot, Les Misérables, Miss Saigon, Little Shop of Horrors, and Dinner With Friends, among others. His direction has starred renowned actors like Cathy Rigby in Steel Magnolias and Michael Learned in Driving Miss Daisy.

Kite’s distinguished achievements in musical theater have earned him the Joel Hirschhorn Award from the Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle and a Los Angeles Ovation Award for Best Direction of a Musical for Spring Awakening. He was also nominated for his direction of Les Misérables and American Idiot.

His international work is notable for directing the national tours of Judgment at Nuremberg, In the Heat of the Night, The Graduate, and Pride and Prejudice for L.A. Theatre Works. He was the first to direct a production of Miss Saigon in China, closing the Macau International Music Festival, and directed Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers across Mainland China, which was the first U.S. play seen at Beijing’s National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA).

Kite’s recent projects include directing the premiere of the musical Irena in Poznań and Warsaw, Poland, and Cabaret in Bermuda under the patronage of the Queen’s Governor. His work extends to impactful collaborations, such as From Baghdad to Brooklyn with Michelle Azar, showcased at the United Solo Festival in New York City and continuing to tour nationally.

Beyond directing, Kite has contributed to the arts as chair emeritus of the L.A. Stage Alliance Board of Governors, visiting professor at the Shanghai Theatre Academy, and artistic director of the Buffalo Nights Theatre Company. His extensive career also includes directing over 20 productions at New York’s French Woods Festival and working with Tony Award-winning director Daniel Sullivan on the Geffen Playhouse production of Hedda Gabler, starring Annette Bening.