Donald Margulies | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1954-09-02)September 2, 1954 (age 71) |
| Occupation | Playwright screenwriter academic |
| Education | State University of New York, Purchase (BFA) |
| Spouse | Lynn Street |
Donald Margulies (born September 2, 1954) is an American playwright and academic. In 2000, he won thePulitzer Prize for Drama for his playDinner with Friends.
Margulies attendedJohn Dewey High School inBrooklyn, New York, and graduated fromPurchase College where he received a BFA in Visual Arts.[1] Margulies lives with his wife, Lynn Street, a physician, and their son, Miles, inNew Haven, Connecticut.[2]
He is a Professor in the Practice of English and Theatre & Performance Studies atYale University.[3]
Margulies' notable works includeThe Country House (2014),Time Stands Still (2009) andBrooklyn Boy (2004).Sight Unseen andCollected Stories were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, in 1992, and 1997, respectively;Dinner with Friends was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 2000.
Margulies said ofSight Unseen, "It's about loss, like most of my plays, and about identity."[2]Ben Brantley noted themes in his works: "The central motifs inBrooklyn Boy have always been visible in Mr. Margulies's work, from the willed amnesia of the self-invented artist (Sight Unseen) to the hazy lines between fiction and reality (Collected Stories). And Eric's fractious, divided family, summoned in recollection inBrooklyn Boy, has been anticipated inThe Loman Family Picnic andWhat's Wrong With This Picture?[4]
The play was developed in connection with theNashville Repertory Theatre Ingram New Works Festival. The unfinished play was given a reading in May 2015 at the Festival. The play focuses on a "long-overdue reunion between two middle-aged brothers."[5]Long Lost opened Off-Broadway, produced by theManhattan Theatre Club, at New York City Center — Stage I on May 14, 2019 in previews, officially on June 4. Directed byDaniel J. Sullivan, the cast featuresKelly AuCoin,Annie Parisse,Lee Tergesen andAlex Wolff.[6]
The play takes place in theBerkshires, where Anna, an actress, is appearing at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival. She is entertaining her son, a failed actor, Elliot; a handsome famous actor, Michael; her son-in-law, Walter, who was married to her deceased daughter, and his girlfriend/fiancé, Nell and his daughter Susie.[7]
The Country House opened on Broadway on October 2, 2014, at the Manhattan Theater Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.[8] It was a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse, where it had its world premiere on June 11, 2014, directed by Daniel Sullivan and starredBlythe Danner ("Anna"),Eric Lange,David Rasche andSarah Steele;[9]Scott Foley andEmily Swallow originated roles played on Broadway byDaniel Sunjata andKate Jennings Grant. It won the 2014L.A. Ovation Award for Best Play (Large Theatre)[10] and was selected an Applause Books Best Play of 2013–14.
Time Stands Still opened onBroadway on January 28, 2010, at theManhattan Theatre Club'sFriedman Theatre for a limited engagement. It resumed performances on September 23, 2010, at theCort Theatre, where it ran until January 30, 2011; between its two runs, it played a total of 24 previews and 193 performances. It starredLaura Linney,Brian d'Arcy James,Eric Bogosian andAlicia Silverstone (later succeeded at the Cort byChristina Ricci), and was directed byDaniel Sullivan. The play was nominated for a2010 Tony Award for Best Play[11] and was a Burns Mantle Best Play of 2009–2010.[12] Linney was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.
Time Stands Still had its world premiere at theGeffen Playhouse (Los Angeles) in February 2009 which had commissioned it. Directed by Sullivan, the Geffen premiere featured Silverstone,Anna Gunn,David Harbour andRobin Thomas.[13] Its European premiere took place in Stockholm in 2009.
The play, set in the 19th Century, focuses on "Louis de Rougemont" who was shipwrecked on a Coral Sea Island and lived with Australian aborigines, or so he tells his listeners in England.[14]
The play made its world premiere in the September 2007Pacific Playwrights Festival at South Coast Repertory, where it starredGregory Itzin and was directed byBart DeLorenzo.[14] The play went on to productions at the Geffen Playhouse, where it again was directed by DeLorenzo and starred Itzin andLong Wharf Theatre in New Haven, directed by Evan Cabnet in February 2008.[15]
The play opened Off-Broadway atPrimary Stages, directed by Lisa Peterson, running from February 8, 2009 to March 7, 2009.[16][17] Michael Countryman appeared in the Long Wharf and Off-Broadway productions. It received the 2009 Outer Critics' Circle Award nomination for Outstanding New Play.[16]
Oil Lamp Theater inGlenview, IL off-Chicago producedShipwrecked: An Entertainment in summer 2021, which was the first production of the theater company to be produced outdoors.[18]
Brooklyn Boy began at the Pacific Playwrights Festival, in 2003, and was produced at South Coast Repertory in 2004,[19] on Broadway by Manhattan Theatre Club at theBiltmore Theatre in February 2005,[20][21] and in Paris at the Comedie des Champs-Élysées. It was an American Theatre Critics' Association New Play Award finalist, a 2005 Outer Critics' Circle nominee for Outstanding New Broadway Play[21] and aBurns Mantle Best Play of 2004–2005.[22]
The play was directed by Daniel Sullivan, and its original cast at the South Coast Rep wasAdam Arkin,Arye Gross,Allan Miller,Ari Graynor, Mimi Lieber, Kevin Isola andDana Reeve (whose role was played on Broadway byPolly Draper).[19]
Dinner with Friends, which received the 2000Pulitzer Prize for Drama,[23] was commissioned byActors Theatre of Louisville (Kentucky), where it had its world premiere at the 1998Humana Festival of New American Plays. A revised version was produced in October 1998 at South Coast Repertory inCosta Mesa, California.[24]
The play opened Off-Broadway at the Variety Arts Theatre in November 1999, where it played 654 performances.[25] In addition to the Pulitzer,Dinner with Friends received anAmerican Theatre Critics Association New Play Citation, The Dramatists' Guild/Hull-Warriner Award, theLucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play,[25] theOuter Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play[26] aDrama Desk Award nomination for Best Play[27] and was selected aBurns Mantle Best Play of 1999–2000.
It went on to have a long run in Paris at the Comedie des Champs-Élysées, and productions in London, Berlin, Vienna, Stockholm, Tokyo, Mumbai, Seoul, Tel Aviv and Istanbul.
In 2002 it was anEmmy Award-nominated film forHBO.[28]
Collected Stories was commissioned by South Coast Repertory, where it had its world premiere in 1996. It went on to have three New York productions: its premiere Off-Broadway at Manhattan Theatre Club's City Center Stage I, in 1997, with Maria Tucci andDebra Messing, directed by Lisa Peterson;[29] in 1998–99 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre withUta Hagen and Lorca Simons, directed by William Carden;[30] and on Broadway in 2010 at Manhattan Theatre Club's Friedman (formerly Biltmore) Theatre, starringLinda Lavin andSarah Paulson, directed byLynne Meadow. Lavin received a 2010 Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play for her performance.[31]
Lavin had previously played the role of Ruth Steiner in May - June 1999 at the Geffen Playhouse in a production co-starringSamantha Mathis, directed byGilbert Cates,[32] which was later re-produced for television broadcast by PBS Hollywood Presents in 2002.
The play has had many productions all over the country and around the world,[33] including one inLondon in 1999, at theTheatre Royal Haymarket, withHelen Mirren andAnne-Marie Duff, directed byHoward Davies.[34]
Collected Stories was a finalist for the 1997Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[35]
Sight Unseen was commissioned by South Coast Repertory, where it had its premiere in September 1991. The play premiered Off-Broadway in a Manhattan Theatre Club production, at City Center II on January 7, 1992 and transferred to the Orpheum Theatre on March 26, 1992 where it ran for a combined total of 293 performances. It was directed by Michael Bloom and starredDennis Boutsikaris, Deborah Hedwall, Jon DeVries and, in the supporting role of a German art critic, Laura Linney.[36]
Linney played "Patricia" in the play's Broadway premiere at Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre, running from May 6, 2004 (previews) to July 25, 2004. The cast featuredBen Shenkman, Byron Jennings and Ana Reeder, directed by Daniel Sullivan. Linney received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Play.[37]
The play was a finalist for the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[38]
The Loman Family Picnic was first produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) at City Center Stage II, from June 6, 1989 to July 2, 1989, withMarcia Jean Kurtz andLarry Block, directed byBarnet Kellman.[39] The MTC revival ran from October 28, 1993 to January 9, 1994 at New York City Center Stage I. Directed by Lynne Meadow, the cast featuredChristine Baranski andPeter Friedman, The play was nominated for the 1994-95 Drama Desk Award, Best Revival of a Play[40] and was a Burns Mantle Best Play of 1988–1989.
Lola and Max are in their 60s and areHolocaust survivors. They have moved from Brooklyn to a condominium in Florida. Debby is their overweight and messy daughter, late 30s. Neil is 15, a black young man who is Debby's boyfriend.[41]
The Model Apartment premiered at Los Angeles Theatre Center in November 1988, directed by Roberta Levitow featuring Chloe Webb as "Debby", Milton Selzer and Erica Yohn as her parents and Zero Hubbard.[42]
The play opened Off-Broadway atPrimary Stages, running from October 11, 1995 to November 12, 1995. Directed by Lisa Peterson, the cast featuredLynn Cohen (Lola), Akili Prince, Paul Stolarsky and Roberta Wallach. Margulies won the 1995-96 OBIE Award for Playwriting, and the play was a 1995-96 Drama Desk nominee for Best Play[43] and a Dramatists' Guild/Hull-Warriner Award finalist.
The play was revived Off-Broadway by Primary Stages, from September 24, 2013 (previews), officially on October 15. Directed by Evan Cabnet, the cast featured Mark Blum, Diane Davis andKathryn Grody.[44] It was nominated for two Lucille Lortel Awards (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play, Diane Davis and Outstanding Revival)[45] and for two 2014 Drama Desk Awards (Outstanding Revival of a Play and Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play, Diane Davis).[46]
Shirley, a Jewish housewife and mother from Brooklyn, returns from the dead to reconcile with her family. Her husband Mort is grieving and teen son Artie can't forgive her for leaving him.[47]
What's Wrong with This Picture? was first produced Off-Broadway by the Manhattan Theatre Club Stage 73, from January 29, 1985to February 23, 1985, directed by Claudia Weill and starringMadeline Kahn as Shirley.[48] It was next produced Off-Broadway by the Jewish Repertory Theatre from June 9, 1990 to August 5, 1990, directed by Larry Arrick.[49]
The play ran on Broadway at theBrooks Atkinson Theatre from November 15, 1994 in previews, officially on December 8, 1994 and closed on December 18, 1994. Directed byJoe Mantello, the cast featuredFaith Prince, Alan Rosenberg,Jerry Stiller, and David Moscow.[50]
Found a Peanut was first produced by Joseph Papp at the New York Shakespeare Festival in June 1984, where it was directed by Claudia Weill and starred Robert Joy, Evan Handler, Peter McNicol, Greg Germann, Robin Bartlett, Nealla Spano, Kevin Geer and Jonathan Walker.[51]
Gifted Children was produced by the Jewish Repertory Theater (New York City) in December 1983, directed by Joan Vail Thorne and starringDinah Manoff andZohra Lampert.[52]
Luna Park is a one-act play inspired by the short story "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities" byDelmore Schwartz and was his New York debut as a playwright. The play was commissioned by the Jewish Repertory Theater which produced the play in February 1982 with direction by Florence Stanley.[53][54][55]
His playGod of Vengeance, based on the Yiddish classic bySholem Asch, was produced atACT Theatre (Seattle) in April 2000, and in August 2002 at theWilliamstown Theatre Festival, directed byGordon Edelstein and starring Ron Leibman.[56][57]
Coney Island Christmas, adapted from the short story “The Loudest Voice” by Grace Paley, was commissioned and first produced by the Geffen Playhouse in November 2012.Directed by Bart DeLorenzo the cast featured Arye Gross and Isabella Acres in this "Jewish Christmas show".[58]
Margulies has written pilots and episodes of several television shows.[59] In the 1980s, he was under contract toNorman Lear's company to develop television pilots, and was a producer-writer for the television seriesBaby Boom.[2]
He has adapted a wide range of material for film and television, both fiction (includingMiddlesex byJeffrey Eugenides,Tom Wolfe’sA Man in Full,The Touchstone byEdith Wharton) and non-fiction (notablyAmerican Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House byJon Meacham,The Most Dangerous Book: The Battle for James Joyce’s “Ulysses" by Kevin Birmingham, and biographies ofDavid O. Selznick,Robert Capa andKeith Moon), all of which are unproduced.
Margulies adapted the memoirAlthough of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, byDavid Lipsky, as a feature film screenplay,The End of the Tour.[60] The film, released in 2015, was directed byJames Ponsoldt and starsJason Segel as Wallace andJesse Eisenberg as Lipsky.[61][62] The film received widespread positive reviews from critics, with a 92% rating onRotten Tomatoes.[63]
Margulies has received grants from theNational Endowment for the Arts, theNew York Foundation for the Arts, theJohn Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation[64] and a MacDowell Colony Fellowship.[65]
He was playwright-in-residence at the Sundance Playwrights Conference for three summers;Collected Stories was developed there,[66] as was an early version ofSight Unseen.[67]
Margulies is an alumnus of New Dramatists and serves on the council of theDramatists Guild of America.
English Department (2008)."Donald Margulies: Adjunct Professor of English". Yale University. RetrievedDecember 21, 2008.
