Anna Louizos, a prolific, three-time Tony nominated Broadway scenic designer whose work brought vivid life to such productions as Avenue Q,  Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights, School of Rock, Steel Magnolias and the 2012 revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood, died Wednesday, May 25, in New York City of multiple myeloma. She was 69.

Her death was announced by her wife, producer Robyn Goodman, who noted that Louizos’ death followed a series of health challenges stemming from a horseback riding accident while on vacation in Greece last year.

Born June 24, 1957, in Marysville, California, Louizos moved to New York City to pursue a degree in acting at NYU. As her talent for the visual arts emerged, she shifted her studies to Scenic Design, graduating with an MFA from Tisch School of the Arts.

One of her first major assignments was to serve as art director of the Tony Awards telecast in 1993, for which she received an Emmy Award nomination. Her early years as associate scenic designer on Broadway during the 1990s and early 2000s included such shows as The Red Shoes, Scarlett Pimpernel and, under the tutelage of her beloved mentor Tony Walton, Taller Than a Dwarf and Uncle Vanya.

She was the principal scenic designer on the 2003 breakout hit and surprise Tony winner Avenue Q, and her designs would continue with the show as it moved to Off Broadway, London, Las Vegas and on tour. Her design of a rundown outer borough NYC city block would become a visual staple of Avenue Q, and can currently be seen in the West End revival.

Louizos was nominated three times for the Tony Award – High Fidelity (2006), In The Heights (2008) and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (2012). For those productions, she created, respectively, an old-school vinyl record store, the vibrant streets of contemporary Washington Heights, and a 19th Century English cathedral city.

In a social media post, Miranda, wrote, “I will never forget the first time [his wife] Vanessa saw the set of In The House, tears streaming down her face: ‘How did you get MY block on that stage?’ It was a refrain I would hear again and again from Washington Heights residents AND people all over the world: That’s MY block. That’s MY home. That was the gift of Anna Louizos, our unforgettable and brilliant set designer and friend….She built us a set and a home so real that it still reverberates in every production since.”

He added, “And I’m looking out my window this morning, on the same block where my wife grew up, still in awe that she got it all on that stage. She built our home. Thank you, Anna. Alabanza. Para siempre.”

Her other Broadway credits included included fairy tale glamour of the Rodgers & Hammerstein musical Cinderella, Honeymoon in Vegas, Curtains, White Christmas, Steel Magnolias, Holiday Inn, Golda’s Balcony, The Performers, Dames at Sea, All About Me, Baby It’s You, To Be Or Not To Be and It Shoulda Been You, all during the first two decades of the 2000s.

She also was art director in 2003 for several episodes of Sex and the City.

Louizos also designed for regional theater and Off Broadway, including Jonathan Larson’s Tick, Tick…Boom!, Sons of the Prophet, Olive and Charles Busch’s The Bitter Herbs, Crimes of the Heart and The Foreigner.

Most recently Louizos designed the set for the Broadway-bound musical Regency Girls in its world premiere this year at the Old Globe in San Diego. Other recent regional productions include Fiddler on the Roof with Jason Alexander, West Side Story, Peter Pan and 18 shows at Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Pennsylvania

In 2011, Louizos created the Broadway Design Exchange, a space where artists, designers, artisans and craftspeople of the entertainment community could share their work. The organization paid tribute to Louizo on its Instagram page: “Fifteen years ago, Anna had a dream: to create a place where the incredible artists, designers, artisans, and craftspeople of our entertainment community could share their work with the people who love it. That dream became Broadway Design Exchange. But Anna created so much more than a marketplace. She created a community. A place where designers could be celebrated for the extraordinary work that so often happens behind the scenes. A place where fans and collectors could own a little piece of the magic. And, perhaps most importantly, a place that felt like family.

“Anna was our fearless leader,” the statement continues, “our champion, our creative force, and our friend. Her generosity, humor, talent, and enormous heart touched so many people. We are devastated by this loss.”

Louizos and Goodman, a couple for 29 years, were married in 2013. In addition to her wife, Louizos is survived by mother Diana Louizos, brother Nikolas Louizos and sister Justina Woltman.

EXCLUSIVE: Cloverfiel and The Unborn star Odette Annable is leading cast in horror Postmortem alongside Allegra Leguizamo (Tin Soldier), Julio Cesar Cedillo (Sicario), Andres Londono (Fear the Walking Dead) and Tony Revolori (Scream VI).

Ahead of the TIFF market, LA-based Sublimity Entertainment is launching international sales on the under-the-radar feature written and directed by Colombian genre filmmaker Andrés Beltrán (Quicksand).

The film, currently in post-production, follows “Helena (Annable), a forensic medical investigator overwhelmed by grief following the death of her husband Richard (Andres Londono). When she becomes obsessed with a disturbing new case, Helena begins to believe she can bring Richard back, setting in motion a series of terrifying consequences.” Below is a first-look image.

Annable is also known for her key roles in popular TV series including Walker, Supergirl and House.

Beltrán previously directed English-language survival thriller Quicksand, released by Shudder and AMC+, and Colombian horror film Tarumama, which played the Sitges International Film Festival. His TV credits include Netflix’s Wild District, Amazon’s Primate, and Vix horror anthology La Hora Marcada. He won Best Director at Colombia’s India Catalina Awards for historical drama Bolívar, which also earned him a Best Director nomination at the Seoul International Drama Awards.

Postmortem is produced by Jason Cherubini, Roberto Urbina and Martin Ramos of Cinestesia Films. Luisa Velosa, Alma Hernandez-Hercules, John Harris, J. Todd Harris, Marc Marcum and Thomas Pettinelli serve as executive producers.

“Postmortem combines an emotional story about grief and loss with elevated genre filmmaking. Andrés brings a distinctive voice and visual style to an eerie and suspenseful story about the terrifying places love can take us,” said Sublimity Entertainment CEO Ryan McCombs.

Sublimity Entertainment is led by CEO and co-founder Ryan McCombs and COO and co-founder Alfredo Lara Orbezo.

Beltran is repped by Kiraco; Annable is repped by UTA and Mosaic; and Leguizamo is repped by Mosaic and the Kohner Agency; Cedillo is repped by Buchwald, the Mary Collins Agency and Spellbound Entertainment; Revolori is with Verve and Circle Management and Londono is with Global Artists Agency.

‘Postmortem’, credit: Sublimity

EXCLUSIVE: Michael Mann looks to have found his Charlene for his upcoming sequel to Heat, as sources tell Deadline the director has tapped Odessa Young to play the character in Heat 2. Sources say it is unknown where things stand in negotiations but add she is the choice for the role originally played by Ashley Judd in the 1995 crime saga. Insiders also say Mann’s top choice to play Gabi is newcomer Maria Cid.

Reps for Amazon and the actor declined comment.

A recent report speculated Obsession star Inde Navarrette had landed the Charlene role but passed. Sources close to the production say Navarrette actually auditioned for the role of Gabi along with many other actresses and contrary to the rumors, Cid was Mann’s first choice for the Gabi part with Young being the first choice for Charlene.

If deals close, Young and Cid would join Leonardo DiCaprio, Christian Bale, Adam Driver, Stephen Graham and Jason Clarke in the upcoming pic.

Mann will direct Heat 2 from his own script, based on his and Meg Gardiner’s #1 New York Times bestselling novel. Producers include Mann, Jerry Bruckheimer Films’ Jerry Bruckheimer and UA’s Scott Stuber and Nick Nesbitt. Eric Roth and Shane Salerno will exec produce, with Amazon MGM to release the film in theaters.

Mann’s classic 1995 crime thriller Heat follows master thief Neil McCauley (Robert De Niro) as he plans one last score while obsessive LAPD detective Vincent Hanna (Al Pacino) closes in, with both men wrecking their personal lives in service of the job.

Mann wrote and directed that one and produced alongside Art Linson, with the film grossing over $187 million — what would be close to the $400 million range if released today — at the worldwide box office. Also starring Val Kilmer, Jon Voight, Tom Sizemore, and more, the film from Warner Bros. and New Regency has influenced generations of filmmakers and retained major viewership on streaming and home entertainment for decades.

Published in 2022, Heat 2 is both prequel and sequel — examining Vincent Hanna’s Chicago years, Neil McCauley’s earlier criminal life, and the survival of Kilmer’s Chris Shiherlis after the original film’s bank-robbery climax.

Young most recently starred opposite Jeremy Allen White in the Bruce Springsteen biopic Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere. She recently wrapped production on the upcoming Netflix crime series Rabbit, Rabbit, starring Adam Driver.

Young is repped by CAA, Echo Lake Entertainment and Sloane, Offer, Weber & Dern. Cid is repped by Lumo Artists Agency.