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MARK O'DONNELL |
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Nationality: n/a Email: n/a Website: n/a |
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Literary Agent: n/a |
Mark O'Donnell received the 2003 Tony Award for Hairspray. His plays includeThat's It, Folks!; Fables for Friends; The Nice and the Nasty; Strangers on Earth; Vertigo Park; and the musical Tots in Tinseltown. He collaborated with Bill Irwin on an adaptation of Moliere's Scapin and co-authored a translation of Feydeau's A Flea in Her Ear. He has published two collections of comic stories Elementary Education and Vertigo Park and Other Tales (both Knopf) as well as two novels, Getting Over Homer andLet Nothing You Dismay (both in Vintage paperback). His humor, cartoons, and poetry have appeared in The New Yorker, The New York Times, The Atlantic, andEsquire. He has received a Guggenheim Fellowship and the George S. Kaufman Award.
Plays by Mark O'Donnell
Best Of Schools | ||
| 1st Produced: | UBU Repertory Theatre | 1993 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | UBU Repertory Theater (January 1, 1993) | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-0913745342 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #135603 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Translation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | Original Playwright - Jean-Marie Besset | |||||
| Dangerous liaisons among six students during their first term at a French Ivy League school | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Cry-Baby | ||
| 1st Produced: | Marquis Theatre, NY | 2008 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #82069 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Musical | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 4 | Female | 4 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | on the John Waters film of the same name. book by Mark O'Donnell & Thomas Meehan; music and lyrics by David Javerbaum & Adam Schlesinger | |||||
Synopsis: | Baltimore, 1954. Everyone likes Ike, nobody likes communism, and Wade "Cry-Baby" Walker is the coolest boy in town. He's a bad boy with a good cause-truth, justice, and the pursuit of rock n roll-and when he falls for a good girl who wants to be bad, her charm school world of bobby sox and barbershop quartets will never be the same. Wayward youth, juvenile delinquents, sexual repression, cool music, dirty lyrics, bizarre rejects. . .Finally, the '50s come to life! For real this time! | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Fables For Friends | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26217 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy Drama Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Consisting of nine related sketches, with each performer playing a variety of roles, the play highlights the trials and tribulations of growing up in modern America. The episodes range from a hilarious "secret society" ritual where two teenage boys initiate another (somewhat reluctant) boy into their select number, to a gently humorous examination of college students being very adult about things intellectual while fumbling a bit in their relations with the opposite sex; to a young bride panicked by the thought of actually going off to live with her new husband; to a marvelously perceptive study of young couples who periodically "freeze" in mid-conversation to tell the audience how secretly miserable they really are. Each scene is, in fact, a self-contained, complete playlet (perfect for scene work) but, taken together, they blend into a rich and dramatically vivid mosaic in which the whole is a great deal more than the sum of its parts. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Hairspray | ||
| 1st Produced: | Neil Simon Theatre, NY | 15 Aug 2002 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Applause Books (April 1, 2003) | ISBN/ASIN: | 978-1557835147 | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #61868 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Musical | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | large mixed cast | |||||
Notes: | lyrics by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman; music by Marc Shaiman; book by Mark O'Donnell and Thomas Meehan | |||||
| Set in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1962, Hairspray tells the story of Tracy Turnblad, a big girl with big hair and an even bigger heart who has only one passion--to dance. She wins a spot on the local TV dance program, "The Corny Collins Show," and overnight is transformed from outsider to irrepressible teen celebrity. But can a trendsetter in dance and fashion vanquish the program's reigning princess, win the heart of heartthrob Link Larkin, and integrate a television show without denting her 'do? | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Marred Bliss | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Contained in: "Take Ten II - More Ten Minute Plays" published by Vintage Books 2003 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #69729 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Ten minute play | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | n/a | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Nice And The Nasty, The | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26218 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Hyperbolic Potboiler | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 8 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Food Technology, a giant conglomerate, is being run by Cathexa Heitz, daughter of the aged founder, Hobart Heitz, (who has retreated to his enormous estate with his second wife, a teenaged ex-porn star) with the advice and counsel of the ruthless Blade Crevvis (who has an adjoining skyscraper torn down because it reflects the sun in his eyes). Into Cathexa's life comes an ingenuous young scientist, Junius Upsey, who has invented a cellophane helmet that converts the sun's rays into nourishment, thereby obviating the need for conventional food. Cathexa and her father are taken with Junius and his invention, but Blade (who is secretly plotting to destroy mankind) definitely is not-which leads to the frantic hilarity that ensues as Blade and his evil assistant, Smurgison, seek to remove this obstacle to their nefarious plans. Happily all works out for the best, thanks to the last minute intervention of a deus ex machina and the diligent efforts of a ten-year-old reporter, who has become the most popular anchorman on TV because "everybody trusts a kid." | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Scapin | ||
| 1st Produced: | Seattle Repertory Theatre, 155 Mercer Street, PO Box 900923, Seattle, WA 98109 >>> | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, 1997 | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26219 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Adaptation | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 7 | Female | 3 | ||
Parts other: | flexible | |||||
Notes: | Original Playwright - Moliere. Written by Bill Irwin and Mark O'Donnell | |||||
Synopsis: | The crafty Scapin, servant to the household of Geronte, jumps into the story as he first promises to help in the affairs of his neighbor's son, Octave, then to aid in those of his own charge, Leander (Geronte's son). Both young men have fallen in love with unlikely, and penniless beauties, and both need money to help solve their dilemmas. Scapin knows a good ruse will always win the day and he drafts Sylvestre, Octave's servant, into his schemes. Convincing Sylvestre he's a wonderful actor (and allowing him to build characterizations using movie cliches), Scapin has him play characters who will deceive the family patriarchs into parting with large sums of money. The final scene of the first act is a vaudeville/music hall version of Moliere's famous scene in which Scapin spins a tale of kidnapping, foreigners and ransom. Once the money is obtained, however, Scapin pushes further in order to exact a little revenge on those he's served. Thinking Geronte has said something nasty about him, Scapin sets out to teach him a lesson. The roguish words, however, are Scapin's own lies and stories finally coming back to him, his revenge backfires and he must flee. In the end however, Scapin's schemes aid in revealing the penniless beauties to be the exact right mates for the young charges-being of high birth after all since they are discovered to be the missing children of both patriarchs-and Scapin returns to his post, with the pleasant punishment of having to marry the maidservant of one of the daughters. There is a final chase and dance among all the participants, which, inevitably, becomes the raucous, delightful curtain call. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Strangers On Earth | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26220 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Priss, a high-strung, beautiful Boston heiress, rents a rundown New York apartment with her sardonic Radcliffe roommate, Margaret. Each befriends Pony, a confused would-be actor and Mormon folk singer from Utah whose painfully repressed background leaves him vulnerable to imprinting romantically on anyone who takes an interest in him. The problem is that Pony really wants Hank, Priss' wanna-be-Republican boyfriend and boss. Hank is fond of Pony but finds little time to maintain a friendship with him, let alone a relationship with Priss. Though Hank and Priss finally go their separate ways, Hank and Pony achieve professional success while crossing paths along the way. On the other end of the spectrum is Margaret's edgy courtship with Mutt, a slobbish but engaging handy man who's been hired to remodel the apartment. Doubting even the minutest possibility that a worthwhile relationship exists, Margaret deliberately fences herself off from sex and emotional entanglement with a nonstop barrage of self-deprecating, intellectual banter whose withering effect almost succeeds in leaving her isolated and yearning for more. Mutt, constantly intrigued by Margaret, perseveres through his own emotional landmine, to win Margaret over to see his side and to start living with him. Through it all, these achingly recognizable characters display a bittersweet appreciation of half-happy endings and the truest survival skills of the socially satiric. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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That's It , Folks! | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | - - - | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Dramatists Play Service, NY, | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26221 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 6 | Female | 2 | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Set on "the last day on earth," this explosive farce details the reactions of a particularly zany household to the unexpected news that the world is about to end-first their disbelief and then their relief that they will no longer have to worry about refilling ice trays. Among those present are Eden, a pure-spirited girl who is trying to communicate with other planets so that she can exchange recipes; her boyfriend, Otis, a satanist who speaks in verse and aspires to become the Antichrist's personal secretary; a suicidal nymphomaniac who works for a fashion magazine which is all cover and no text; her last pick-up, Zed, a money-mad opportunist whose ambition is to be a magazine cover boy; and a senile ghost who cannot quite grasp the fact that he is dead. As promised the world does expire, with distant planets looming into view; ominous radio voices broadcasting doomsday reports; two hard-hatted angels industriously sweeping up the post-apocalypse detritus; and, in the end, one lone, dazed survivor (Zed) left behind trying to figure out what went wrong-and why. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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There Shall Be No Bottom (a bad play for worse actors) | ||
| 1st Produced: | Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY, United States) | 2005 | ||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | Playscripts, Inc - New York | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #90866 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | 10-20 min Comedy | |||||
| Parts: | Male | 3 | Female | 1 | ||
Parts other: | 3 males, 1 female | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Jeff misinterprets his lines, Joe skips large sections of dialogue, Jane tries to hold the production together, and the fourth actor's stuck in traffic. Poor acting is afoot as three actors and a stage manager attempt to perform a drawing room drama. | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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Tresspassions | ||
| 1st Produced: | - - - | |||||
Company: | n/a | |||||
| 1st Published: | I don't think it has been published. Try emailing Playwright or Agent where listed at top of page. | ISBN/ASIN: | - | |||
| Music: | - | doollee no | #26222 | |||
To Buy This Play: | If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies | |||||
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Genre: | Phone Play | |||||
| Parts: | Male | - | Female | - | ||
Parts other: | - | |||||
Notes: | - | |||||
Synopsis: | Audience members enter one of several phone booths, pick up the receiver and listen to a three-minute play unfold in conversation | |||||
Further Reference: | - | |||||
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