Alfred Uhry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Alfred Fox Uhry (1936-12-03)December 3, 1936 (age 88) |
| Education | Brown University (BA) |
| Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1988) |
| Spouse | Joanna Kellogg |
Alfred Fox Uhry (born December 3, 1936) is an Americanplaywright andscreenwriter. He is the recipient of twoTony Awards and thePulitzer Prize for Drama forDriving Miss Daisy, as well as theAcademy Award for the1989 film adaptation of the play. He is a member of theFellowship of Southern Writers.
Uhry was born inAtlanta, Georgia, the son of Alene (Fox), a social worker, and Ralph K. Uhry, a furniture designer and artist. He was born into aGerman Jewish family with one sister, the author Ann Uhry Abrams.[1] Uhry graduated fromDruid Hills High School in 1954 and went on to graduate fromBrown University in 1958[2] where he wrote two original musicals withBrownbrokers. Druid Hills High School's Uhry Theater is named in honor of Uhry. During his first years in New York City, learning the craft of lyric-writing, Uhry received a stipend fromFrank Loesser;[2] after his eventual success, Uhry often praised Loesser's generosity and encouragement.
Uhry's early work for the stage was as a lyricist andlibrettist for a number of commercially unsuccessfulmusicals, including a revival ofLittle Johnny Jones starringDonny Osmond (1982) which ran for one performance onBroadway.[3]
His first collaboration withRobert Waldman was the 1968 musicalHere's Where I Belong, which closed after one performance (and 20 previews) on Broadway.[4] They had considerably better success withThe Robber Bridegroom, which premiered on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976,[5] had a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony Award nomination, for best book of a musical in 1976.[6]
America's Sweetheart, with music by Robert Waldman and with the book co-written by Uhry withJohn Weidman, ran at the Hartford Stage,Hartford, Connecticut in March 1985 to April 1985, and then at theCoconut Grove Playhouse, Miami, Florida, where it closed.[7]
The Robber Bridegroom was revivedOff-Broadway in March 2016 at theRoundabout Theatre Company and directed byAlex Timbers.[8] This production won threeLucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Revival.[9]
Driving Miss Daisy (1987) is the first in what is known as his "Atlanta Trilogy" of plays, all set during the first half of the 20th century. Produced Off-Broadway atPlaywrights Horizons, the play earned him the 1988Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[10] It deals with the relationship between an elderly Jewish woman and her blackchauffeur. The character “Daisy” was based on the friendship between Uhry’s grandmother and her driver. He adapted it into the screenplay for a 1989 film starringJessica Tandy andMorgan Freeman, an adaptation which was awarded theAcademy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay, in addition to the Academy Award to Tandy for best actress.[11]
The second of the trilogy,The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1996), is set in 1939 during the premiere of the filmGone with the Wind. It deals with a Jewish family during an important social event.[12] It was commissioned for theCultural Olympiad in Atlanta which coincided with the1996 Summer Olympics,[13] and received theTony Award for Best Play when produced on Broadway in 1997.[14]
The third is the 1998 musicalParade, about the 1913 trial of Jewish factory managerLeo Frank. Thelibretto earned him aTony Award for Best Book of a Musical.[15] The music was written byJason Robert Brown.[16]
Uhry's playEdgardo Mine is based on the true story ofEdgardo Mortara, an Italian child taken by police from his Jewish family in 1858 because one of their domestic servants had baptized him. The play, directed byDoug Hughes, opened at Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut in November 2002.[17]
TheManhattan Theatre Club produced Uhry's musicalLoveMusik on Broadway in 2007. The story depicts the relationship between composerKurt Weill and his wife,Lotte Lenya, using Weill's music.[18][19]
Apples & Oranges premiered on October 10, 2012, at theAlliance Theatre in Atlanta. This new play is about the rediscovery of a sibling relationship.[20]
Angel Reapers, a collaboration with director/choreographerMartha Clarke, ran Off-Broadway at theSignature Theatre from February 2 to March 20, 2016.[21] This production won theLucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience".[22]
Uhry wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film version ofDriving Miss Daisy[23] and for the 1992 filmRich in Love;[24] he co-wrote the screenplay for the 1988 filmMystic Pizza.[25]
Uhry was married to Joanna Kellogg, Ed.D., from 1959 until her death on August 26, 2019, at age 82 from complications ofParkinson's disease andLewy Body Dementia. Dr. Kellogg Uhry was a professor atFordham University.[26] They had four daughters and lived in New York City.[13]
Media related toAlfred Uhry at Wikimedia Commons
