Brokaw was raised in Aledo, Illinois, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama. He received a Drama League fellowship and was initially given directing work through Carole Rothman and Robyn Goodman, artistic heads of the Second Stage Theatre.
He has directed many off-Broadway productions, and his New York work includes premieres by Lynda Barry (The Good Times Are Killing Me), Douglas Carter Beane (As Bees in Honey Drown), Neal Bell, Eric Bogosian, Keith Bunin, Charles Busch, Kevin Elyot, Lisa Kron (2.5 Minute Ride), Lisa Loomer, Kenneth Lonergan (This Is Our Youth, Lobby Hero), Craig Lucas (Dying Gaul), Eduardo Machado, Patrick ... read more
Jess received the 2005 Tony Award for Lincoln Center's The Rivals. Other selected New York credits include Julius Caesar with Denzel Washington, Henry IV; Take Me Out; Enchanted April; Proof; Love! Valour! Compassion! ; The Most Happy Fella; Dinner With Friends; How I Learned To Drive; NYSF's Much Ado About Nothing; Buried Child and The Mineola Twins (Lortel and Hewes Awards). He will make his Met debut with Jack O'Brien's 2007 production of Il Trittico. Designs for film include A Walk On The Moon; Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Substance Of Fire. He is an Associate Professor at the ... read more
Broadway credits include: The Lyons, Lysistrata Jones, Grey Gardens (Tony and Drama Desk Nominations, Henry Hewes Award), Thurgood, The Little Dog Laughed, The Constant Wife, Twelve Angry Men. Off-Broadway credits include: Log Cabin (Playwrights Horizons), Giant (The Public Theater) and four seasons of Encores! (New York City Center). Extensive opera credits include Orfeo ed Euridice for the Metropolitan Opera and productions for New York City Opera, Santa Fe Opera, Canadian Opera Company, English National Opera, Welsh National Opera, Scottish Opera, Houston Grand Opera, San Francisco Opera, Washington National Opera and Opera Theater of St. Louis. Also, Romeo and Juliet; On ... read more
