An early success with Royal Shakespeare was Christopher Hampton's adaptation of Les Liaisons Dangereuses, which earned him his first Tony nomination (in association with Beverly Emmons). The production established him as a major designer at the RSC, and was followed by such productions as The Plantagenets, which combined Shakespeare's three Henry VI plays and parts of Richard III, The Blue Angel, and A Midsummer Night's Dream, which also transferred to Broadway, where he earned another Tony nomination. The rest of his Broadway career included The Who's Tommy, for which he won the Tony, and Not About Nightingales, a National Theatre production for which he received another Tony nomination. His last Broadway production was the drama Brooklyn Boy, which ran at Manhattan Theatre Club in February and March 2005. Off-Broadway, he lit the two-part show Talking Heads by Alan Bennett, in 2003.
He also won a Drama Desk Award for The Who's Tommy and was nominated for A Midsummer Night's Dream and Not About Nightingales. He also received the LDI Award in 1993, and the Helen Hayes Award, for lighting Don Carlo at the Shakespeare Theatre, in 2002.
While touring in the mid-80s, he fell in love with California, and replaced Richard Riddell as a teacher at University of California, San Diego for three months in 1988. He became a regular faculty member there in 1989 and essentially remained there ever since. In an interview, he said, "I try not to turn out clones of me. I say things like, 'Have you thought about this?' not 'I think you should do that.' I try to lead them forward, and help them find their own style."
Despite his New York success, he didn't enjoy designing musicals and preferred to work in the resident theatre system. Among the theatres that saw his designs were Shakespeare Theatre in Washington, D.C., South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California, La Jolla Playhouse, A Contemporary Theatre in Seattle, Washington, the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas, and Berkeley Repertory Theatre. He continued to work at Royal Shakespeare Company, having designed a production of The Secret Garden there a few years ago.
Previously married, he came out as a gay man in the early '90s, and married his partner in a ceremony at Metropolitan Community Church (the relationship later came to an end). Discussing his identity and its effect on his career, he said, "I think it gives you a different perspective on what's important in your life. Before I came out, I used work to bury my feelings. I used to be a workaholic. After I came out, I became much more aware of the need to have fun. I'm now trying to balance how much work is okay and how much fun time is okay." He became an American citizen in 2002. "I felt right from the start that the U.S. would eventually be the place I called home."
A highly original designer, with a notably flexible style, he was known as a proponent of unusual lighting units not necessarily found in the inventories of resident lighting theatres. Despite his professed lack of interest in musicals, he lit a wide range of productions. A dedicated teacher, he also spoke at a wide variety of events, including the Broadway Lighting Master Classes, LDI, and Selecon's lighting master class.
Parry was also a partner in Axiom Lighting, working with associate designer Trevor Norton. Among the company's projects as an ongoing renovation to the thea
