ABOUT
 

American director, producer, and librettist Edwin Cahill’s unique background as a concert pianist and Broadway actor “a talented pianist, a first-rate singer, and an engaging stage presence” (New York Times), and linguist with studies at the University of Paris Sorbonne-Nouvelle who served as a French/Italian Political Analyst for Medley Global advisors, informs his “joyful and passionate directing” (onmilwaukee.com) that is “light, effortless, and fits the space like a glove” (Music4awhile), leading to a body of work in theater, musicals, and operas that “will make hearts melt” (Broadway World), is “seamless…completely engrossing the patron in the idiosyncrasies of Mozart’s music” (dosavannah.com), “achieved the nearly impossible...and staged every scene with urgency, inventiveness and most importantly, a reverence for the music” (The Huffington Post), and reached the pop culture breakthrough of the “brilliant and highbrow approval matrix” (New York Magazine). His work has led critics to acclaim that “Cahill has perhaps invented a new style of opera…punk opera comique” (dosavannah.com) and that he created “by far the most enjoyable and thought-provoking Don Giovanni New York has heard in many a year.” (Opera News)

Edwin is the co-founder & director of Hogfish, a regenerative arts production and artist residency company in Maine and New York City. Hogfish’s mission is to build an artist sanctuary and body of work dedicated to restoring creative and physical health to individuals, our communities, and our earth. For Hogfish’ inaugural season in 2022, Edwin directed and wrote updated English language dialogues for a new adaptation of Gluck’s wild farce L’Arbre Enchanté called The Magic Tree. In summer 2023, Edwin conceived, directed, and edited a devised new libretto with the cast for CarmXn, a new adaptation of the classic opera Carmen based on Bizet’s Opera Comique version and Merimée’s original short story exploring borders of gender, genre, and geo-politics. For summer 2024 he is developing Queen Marinette, a new musical collaboration between indigenous and non-indigenous story-tellers, with Laughing Fox, a Native American flute player, story-teller, and poet, and Evan Premo, a non-indigenous composer. The story interweaves vignettes of the title character, a 19th century business-woman of Ojibwe, Menominee, and French heritage with the contemporary search of descendants, both indigenous and non, to understand how best to honor her legacy.

Recent highlights of his directing career outside of Hogfish include Into the Woods in Milwaukee at the Skylight Theatre; Carmen starring Jennifer Johnson Cano for Sherrill Milnes’ Savannah Voice Festival; Poulenc’s Les Mamelles de Tirésias in his directing debut in Tel Aviv; a new Off-Broadway adaptation/workshop of Chekhov’s The Seagull starring Tony award-winner Judy Kaye; the Off-Broadway world premiere of the new play Fire On Babylon; Don Giovanni and La Bohème with Savannah Voice Festival; and as founding artistic director of the Fire Island Opera Festival: the east coast premier of Kurt Weill’s The Protagonist, L’Arbre Enchanté for which he also adapted a new American libretto, Un Amour de Proust, and a touring residency with Marfa Live Arts in Marfa, Texas.

As an actor, Edwin won a Kevin Kline award for his portrayal of Cosme McMoon in the play Souvenir, co-starred in the feature film My Dead Boyfriend directed by Anthony Edwards starring Heather Graham, and co-starred in the CBS TV series Person of Interest. Broadway productions include LoveMusik, directed by Harold Prince and the national tour of the Tony award-winning revival of Sweeney Todd directed by John Doyle. He has appeared in over ten productions Off-Broadway and his regional appearances include the major theatres of America and Canada. He holds a B.A. in French - Magna cum Laude from Tufts University, a B.M. in voice from New England Conservatory, and has pursued master’s studies in voice at the Manhattan School of Music and in French Literature of the 19th Century at the University of Paris Sorbonne-Nouvelle. He is originally from Maine and lives in New York City with his husband Matt Cahill and dog Thisbe.