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'Craig Lucas' is an American playwright, screenwriter, theatre director, musical actor, and film director. He is currently Associate Artistic Director at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle.
Born on April 30, 1951, and abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Lucas was adopted when he was eight months old by a conservative Pennsylvania couple. His father was an FBI agent; his mother was a housewife. He graduated in 1969 from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lucas became interested in the political left and discovered an attraction towards men. He recalls that his coming out made it possible for him to develop as a playwright and as a person.
In 1973, Lucas left Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and creative writing. His mentor, Anne Sexton, urged him to try his luck in New York City. He worked in many day jobs while performing in Broadway musicals including ''Shenandoah'', ''On the Twentieth Century'', and ''Sweeney Todd''.
In 1991, he rewrote his play ''Missing Persons''. A friend showed it to director Norman Rene, who promised to produce it when it was finished. Thus began a fifteen-year collaboration. While working on ''Missing Persons,'' the two developed a musical revue called ''Marry Me a Little''. Based on the work of Stephen Sondheim, it follows two people who, though they live next to each other, never meet, all the while singing about the failure to connect with others.
After his early work on romantic comedies, Lucas began to write more serious works about AIDS, including ''Singing Forest'' and ''The Dying Gaul,'' the latter of which was made into a film that Lucas also directed. Lucas also authored the book for the musical ''The Light in the Piazza'', which garnered him a Tony Award nomination.
Lucas has also directed classic plays such as ''Miss Julie'' and ''Loot''. While some critics have divided his work into gay plays (''Blue Window'', ''Longtime Companion'') and straight plays (''Reckless'', ''Three Postcards'', ''Prelude to a Kiss''), Lucas has always written about human problems in a universal manner.
In 2001 Lucas received an OBIE Award for his direction of Harry Kondoleon’s ''Saved or Destroyed''. He won the 2003 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for ''The Secret Lives of Dentists''. His ''Small Tragedy'' was awarded an Obie as Best American Play in 2004. Lucas's other awards include the Excellence in Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the PEN/Laura Pels Mid-Career Achievement Award; and Outer Critics Circle, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Drama-Logue and Lambda Literary Awards. He has also received a Tony Award nomination (for the book of ''Light in the Piazza''). Fellowships include those from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Perhaps most notably, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Prelude to a Kiss''.
★ ''Shenandoah'' (1975) - musical - actor
★ ''Rex'' (1976) - musical - actor
★ ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978) - musical - actor
★ ''Sweeney Todd'' (1979) - musical - actor
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1990) - play - playwright - Pulitzer Prize for Drama Nomination, Tony Award Nomination for Best Play, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding New Play
★ ''The Dying Gaul'' (1998) - play - playwright
★ ''Reckless'' (2004) - play - playwright
★ ''The Light in the Piazza'' (2005) - musical - bookwriter - Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (2007) - revival of a play - playwright
★ ''Missing Persons'' (1995) - play - playwright - Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Play
★ ''Blue Window'' (2001) - play - playwright
★ ''Small Tragedy'' (2004) - play - playwright
===Regional===
★ ''Reckless'' (1984) - play - playwright
★ ''Blue Window'' (1984) - play - playwright - George and Elizabeth Marton Award for Best New Play of 1984
★ ''Three Postcards'' (1987) - play - playwright - Premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California
★ ''Marry Me A Little'' (1988) - musical revue - Songs by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1988) - play - playwright - Commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California
★ ''Singing Forest'' (2004) - play - playwright - Premiered at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
★ ''The Dying Gaul'' (2005) - screenwriter and director
★ ''The Secret Lives of Dentists'' (2002) - screenwriter
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1992) - screenwriter
★ ''Longtime Companion'' (1990) - screenwriter
★ Biography at ''Playbill'' Online
★ Biography from the Intiman Theatre website
★ Biography at the Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Culture.
★ ''Cast Out: Queer Lives in Theater'' (U. Michigan Press, edited by Robin Bernstein) contains Lucas's essay "Making a Fresh Start."
★
★
★ Craig Lucas - ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
Born on April 30, 1951, and abandoned in a car in Atlanta, Lucas was adopted when he was eight months old by a conservative Pennsylvania couple. His father was an FBI agent; his mother was a housewife. He graduated in 1969 from Conestoga High School in Berwyn, Pennsylvania. In the 1960s and 1970s, Lucas became interested in the political left and discovered an attraction towards men. He recalls that his coming out made it possible for him to develop as a playwright and as a person.
In 1973, Lucas left Boston University with a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and creative writing. His mentor, Anne Sexton, urged him to try his luck in New York City. He worked in many day jobs while performing in Broadway musicals including ''Shenandoah'', ''On the Twentieth Century'', and ''Sweeney Todd''.
In 1991, he rewrote his play ''Missing Persons''. A friend showed it to director Norman Rene, who promised to produce it when it was finished. Thus began a fifteen-year collaboration. While working on ''Missing Persons,'' the two developed a musical revue called ''Marry Me a Little''. Based on the work of Stephen Sondheim, it follows two people who, though they live next to each other, never meet, all the while singing about the failure to connect with others.
After his early work on romantic comedies, Lucas began to write more serious works about AIDS, including ''Singing Forest'' and ''The Dying Gaul,'' the latter of which was made into a film that Lucas also directed. Lucas also authored the book for the musical ''The Light in the Piazza'', which garnered him a Tony Award nomination.
Lucas has also directed classic plays such as ''Miss Julie'' and ''Loot''. While some critics have divided his work into gay plays (''Blue Window'', ''Longtime Companion'') and straight plays (''Reckless'', ''Three Postcards'', ''Prelude to a Kiss''), Lucas has always written about human problems in a universal manner.
| Contents |
| Awards |
| Works |
| Broadway |
| Off-Broadway |
| Films |
| References |
| External links |
Awards
In 2001 Lucas received an OBIE Award for his direction of Harry Kondoleon’s ''Saved or Destroyed''. He won the 2003 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay for ''The Secret Lives of Dentists''. His ''Small Tragedy'' was awarded an Obie as Best American Play in 2004. Lucas's other awards include the Excellence in Literature Award from the American Academy of Arts and Sciences; the PEN/Laura Pels Mid-Career Achievement Award; and Outer Critics Circle, L.A. Drama Critics Circle, Drama-Logue and Lambda Literary Awards. He has also received a Tony Award nomination (for the book of ''Light in the Piazza''). Fellowships include those from the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. Perhaps most notably, he was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play ''Prelude to a Kiss''.
Works
Broadway
★ ''Shenandoah'' (1975) - musical - actor
★ ''Rex'' (1976) - musical - actor
★ ''On the Twentieth Century'' (1978) - musical - actor
★ ''Sweeney Todd'' (1979) - musical - actor
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1990) - play - playwright - Pulitzer Prize for Drama Nomination, Tony Award Nomination for Best Play, Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding New Play
★ ''The Dying Gaul'' (1998) - play - playwright
★ ''Reckless'' (2004) - play - playwright
★ ''The Light in the Piazza'' (2005) - musical - bookwriter - Tony Nomination for Best Book of a Musical
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (2007) - revival of a play - playwright
Off-Broadway
★ ''Missing Persons'' (1995) - play - playwright - Drama Desk Nomination for Outstanding Play
★ ''Blue Window'' (2001) - play - playwright
★ ''Small Tragedy'' (2004) - play - playwright
===Regional===
★ ''Reckless'' (1984) - play - playwright
★ ''Blue Window'' (1984) - play - playwright - George and Elizabeth Marton Award for Best New Play of 1984
★ ''Three Postcards'' (1987) - play - playwright - Premiered at South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California
★ ''Marry Me A Little'' (1988) - musical revue - Songs by Stephen Sondheim, conceived and developed by Craig Lucas and Norman Rene
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1988) - play - playwright - Commissioned and premiered by South Coast Repertory in Costa Mesa, California
★ ''Singing Forest'' (2004) - play - playwright - Premiered at the Intiman Theatre in Seattle, Washington.
Films
★ ''The Dying Gaul'' (2005) - screenwriter and director
★ ''The Secret Lives of Dentists'' (2002) - screenwriter
★ ''Prelude to a Kiss'' (1992) - screenwriter
★ ''Longtime Companion'' (1990) - screenwriter
References
★ Biography at ''Playbill'' Online
★ Biography from the Intiman Theatre website
★ Biography at the Encyclopedia of Gay, Lesbian, Transgender and Queer Culture.
★ ''Cast Out: Queer Lives in Theater'' (U. Michigan Press, edited by Robin Bernstein) contains Lucas's essay "Making a Fresh Start."
External links
★
★
★ Craig Lucas - ''Downstage Center'' interview at American Theatre Wing.org
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