Adam Epstein, who won a Tony Award for his production of “Hairspray” on Broadway and was also known for his work on revivals of “Amadeus” and “The Crucible” as well as adaptations of “The Wedding” and “Cry-Baby,” has died at the age of 49.
Epstein died Tuesday morning at Adventist Health Hospital in Glendale after battling a brain tumor for months, his younger brother Brett Epstein confirmed to the Los Angeles Times.
He was hosting his podcast “Dirty Moderate with Adam Epstein” when he became ill.
“He’s someone who came into the world and experienced in 49 years what someone would experience in 100 years,” Brett Epstein told the Los Angeles Times in a phone call. “He just had this spirit of having been here before and knowing a lot and an undeniable, delusional positive attitude about everything. I just think that was his gift.”
Brett Epstein mourned his loss on Facebook on Thursday, writing: “I can’t imagine a world I live in without him.”
His younger brother also told the Los Angeles Times that the elder Epstein was “on the verge of breaking into a whole new career.”
Epstein was born on September 7, 1974, in Miami Beach, Florida, and attended New York University and Brown University. He began working on Broadway in the late 1990s. He produced a number of shows throughout his career, but was best known for his work on the Tony-winning 1988 adaptation of John Waters’ film Hairspray at the age of 28.
“Hairspray” was nominated 13 times for the 2023 Tony Awards and won eight awards, including the coveted award for “Best Musical.”
The show, which originally starred Harvey Fierstein, ran over 2,600 times by 2009 and was also used as inspiration for a film adaptation in 2007, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
His other productions, including “The Life,” “A View From the Bridge” and others, received 12 Tony Awards and 46 nominations, according to Playbill.
After his time on Broadway, Epstein shifted his focus to political commentary, launching the YouTube channel “The Dispatch With Adam Epstein” in July 2020. A year later, he also launched his podcast “Dirty Moderate,” which aimed to promote “in-depth analysis and spirited debate with individuals from both sides of the aisle and beyond.”
The latest episode of the podcast aired on August 8 and featured former Missouri Secretary of State Jason Kander. Back in May, Epstein was a guest on the podcast of Michael Steele, a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and political analyst at MSNBC.
Epstein leaves behind his brother, his parents, a sister, a sister-in-law, three nieces and a nephew.
A memorial service will be held later this week in Florida.
The family is asking for donations to the UCLA Brain Cancer Research Center.
