The Berkshires have lost a renowned theater director who put his stamp on the region and the people he touched.
Steve Lawson met Nicholas Martin, known by most as Nicky, when the Broadway actor and director joined the Williamstown Theatre Festival in 1996.
“Whenever the lights camp up at intermission at one of Nicky’s shows people didn’t just sort of sit there and say ‘Well lets go have a soda,” Lawson said. “There was buzz.”
Martin, 75, died Wednesday in New York City after a battle with throat cancer. Entering his 43rd season of involvement with the festival, Lawson experienced all of Martin’s 19 shows at Williamstown.
“As in say The Corn is Green whether he was in Ireland or in Dead End in the slums of Manhattan; you got the feeling that he had really done his homework, researched the play and had an approach to the play,” recalled Lawson.
Martin stayed connected to Williamstown Theatre Festival while he served as artistic director of Huntington Theatre Company in Boston from 2000 to 2008. The Tony nominee would take on the same role with Williamstown from 2008 until 2010. Jenny Gersten succeeded Martin in 2010 after the two formed what she calls an instant friends hip in 1996.
“He had a wonderful belly laugh,” Gersten said. “He always found humor in a situation. I found that a very valuable tool going forward in both life and business.”
While those who knew him say Martin left a personal stamp on his productions, he also left a mark on those he worked with. Joe Finnegan served as Williamstown’s general manager during Martin’s final season.
“I saw him talking to the local kids in Williamstown that had the walk-on parts where they literally walked across the stage for 30 seconds,” Finnegan said. “They’re in the show for less than 90 seconds and he treated with them as much care and passion as he did the seasoned actors.”
Martin took over as artistic director in Williamstown while a global economic recession was lurking in the shadows. Finnegan says it would have been easy to produce simple, more fiscally responsible shows during that time, but that wasn’t Martin.
“He went for the ‘We’re going to raise the money we need. We’re going to put on the phenomenal productions we’ve always put on and the audience will return,” Finnegan recalled. “And they have.”
The Berkshire cultural family also felt the impacts of Martin’s body of work and personality. Kate Maguire is entering her 20th year as artistic director of the Berkshire Theater Group.
“I just want to give honor to one of the great directors in the American theatre who’s had so much influence on so many young directors as well,” Maguire said. “He was so generous with his time. We had a lot of directors that would come to us when they were younger and they were associates of his.”
Even after suffering a stroke in 2008, Martin continued his steadfast loyalty to his crew; showing up at productions directed by apprentices presented on stage at 11 o’clock at night, according to Finnegan.
“He as the leader always tried to get to everything so that everybody that they’re work was being seen and valued because he knew how important it was,” Finnegan said. “Even though it was a hell of a struggle for him, he didn’t stop.”
Martin recently withdrew from a production at Huntington Theatre Company, citing personal reasons. Williamstown Theatre Festival is going through a transition as Gersten created the summer’s programming while incoming director Mandy Greenfield looks to take the reins in September.