Cody Lassen

Cody Lassen is an American Tony Award-winning and Grammy nominated theater producer and consultant. He is best known for producing the revival of Spring Awakening, which won him an Ovation Award and a Tony nomination.

Career

Lassen was born in Kenosha, Wisconsin. He earned his MBA from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from DePaul University.

He held live entertainment management positions with Nielsen and NBCUniversal. While at NBCUniversal, Lassen was active in their corporate diversity initiatives and was part of the team that led the company to be named one of the best places to work for LGBT employees.

His Broadway productions include Indecent and revival of Spring Awakening and co-productions include Macbeth starring Alan Cumming, "Significant Other", The Band's Visit, and Torch Song.

When Lassen joined the production of the Deaf West Theatre revival of Spring Awakening in 2015, it premiered at Inner-City Arts' Rosenthal Theater in L.A. Under his production management, the show went on to win six Ovation Awards (with 15 nominations), including best musical in two categories, intimate theater and large theater. The latter was won by Lassen together with the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts and Deaf West Theatre. The production opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre in September 2015. For the show, performed in both American Sign Language and spoken English, the producers were honored with the Champion of Change Award by the New York Mayor's Office for People with Disabilities for their "efforts to increase diversity and inclusivity on Broadway." The show was a success on Broadway and was even performed at the White House.

He partnered with Daryl Roth to transfer the critically acclaimed Paula Vogel play Indecent to Broadway in the 2016/17 season where it was honored with two Tony Awards for Best Direction and Best Lighting, and nominated for Best Play.

Lassen's upcoming projects include How I Learned To Drive, a Pulitzer-winning play by Paula Vogel opening on Broadway in 2021, with much of the original cast and creative team from its off-Broadway debut 23 years prior, Alice By Heart, a new musical by Duncan Sheik, Steven Sater and Jessie Nelson, premiering at MCC Theater in February 2019; and Some Lovers, a new musical by Burt Bacharach and Steven Sater opening at the Adirondacks Theatre Festival in June 2018.

Other activities

Cody serves on the board of New York's Vineyard Theatre and is a member of The Broadway League, The Recording Academy, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, the National Association of Musical Theatre and the Off-Broadway League.

He serves as vice-chair of the board of GLAAD, an LGBT advocacy organization.

Private life

Lassen lives in New York.

Productions

2013, Macbeth (Broadway) 2015, revival of Spring Awakening (Broadway) 2024, The Match (from Rutka: a new musical), Producer 2024, Picking Up Speed (World Premiere Recording), Producer 2022, A Commercial Jingle for Regina Comet (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording), Producer 2021, Some Lovers (musical) (Concept Album), Producer 2019, Alice by Heart (musical) (Original Off-Broadway Cast Recording), Executive Producer 2017, Indecent (Original Broadway Cast Recording), Executive Producer

Film and television 2025, Actual Nobodies (feature film), Producer 2023, Summoning Sylvia (feature film), Producer 2020, Indoor Boys (digital series), Executive Producer

Awards and nominations 2015: winner of a Champion of Change Award for Spring Awakening Year Award Category Nominated work Result 2015 Ovation Award Best Musical – Intimate Theatre Spring Awakening 2015 Ovation Award Best Musical – Large Theatre Spring Awakening 2016 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Revival of a Musical or Revue Spring Awakening 2016 Tony Award Best Revival of a Musical Spring Awakening 2017 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical or Revue Indecent 2017 Tony Award Best Play Indecent 2018 Tony Award Best Musical The Band's Visit 2019 Tony Award Best Play What The Constitution Means To Me 2019 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play What The Constitution Means To Me 2019 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play Torch Song 2019 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Musical Tootsie 2019 Tony Award Best Musical Tootsie 2021 Grammy Award Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album Burt Bacharach & Steven Sater's Some Lovers 2022 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play How I Learned to Drive 2022 Tony Award Best Revival of a Play How I Learned to Drive