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Doug Wright

DOUG WRIGHT

  (1962 - )
Nationality:    USA
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Sterling Standard LLC  represented by Sarah Jane Leigh

Broadway: Books for the musicals Hands On a Hardbody (Drama Desk nomination), The Little Mermaid and Grey Gardens (Tony and Drama Desk Nominations). The play I Am My Own Wife (Pulitzer, Tony Award, Drama Desk, GLAAD Media Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Lucille Lortel Award.) Earlier in his career, Mr. Wright won an Obie Award for outstanding achievement in playwriting for Quills. He went on to write the screenplay adaptation, making his motion picture debut. The film was named Best Picture by the National Board of Review and nominated for three Academy Awards. His screenplay was nominated for a Golden Globe Award, and received the Paul Selvin Award from the Writer's Guild of America. For director Rob Marshall, Doug wrote the television special Tony Bennett: An American Classic, which received seven Emmy Awards. Directing credits include Strindberg's Creditors (Best Production, San Diego Critics Association) and acting work includes the films Two Lovers and Little Manhattan, as well as two episodes of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. For career achievement, Mr. Wright is a member of the Dramatists Guild, the Writer's Guild of America, East, the Screen Actors Guild and the Society of Stage Directors and Choreographers. Currently, he serves on the board of the New York Theater Workshop. He lives in New York with his partner, singer/songwriter David Clement.

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)

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below is a list of Doug Wright's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Baby Talk         Buzzsaw Berkeley         Dinosaurs         Grey Gardens         Hands on a Hardbody         I Am My Own Wife         Interrogating the Nude         Little Mermaid, The         Lot 13: the Bone Violin         On Facebook         Pavilion, The         Posterity         Quills         Stonewater Rapture, The         Unwrap Your Candy         War Paint         Watbanland         Wildwood Park
Baby Talk

Synopsis:
a woman is unwound when her precocious baby begins to speak early while still inside her womb.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Unwrap Your Candy: An Evening of One-Act Plays, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Buzzsaw Berkeley

Synopsis:
Someone is murdering stars in Hollywood

Notes:
Music And lyrics by Michael John LaChiUSA; book by Doug Wright

1st Produced:
Wpa Theatre, New York    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Dinosaurs

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Grey Gardens

Grey Gardens
based on the Maysles Brothers' documentary film of the same name. the story focuses on the reclusive Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, "Little" Edie, the real life aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. the following description is from the press release: "Grey Gardens concerns both the deliciously eccentric (and real-life) aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, who were once among the brightest names in the pre-Camelot social register, but became East Hampton's most notorious recluses, living in a dilapidated 28-room mansion. Set in two eras-in 1941 when the estate was in its prime and in 1973 when it was reduced to squalor-the musical tells the alternatively hilarious and heartbreaking story of two indomitable individuals."
nytheatre.com

Notes:
book by Doug Wright; lyrics by Michael Korie; music Scott Frankel

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: PS Classics (PS-642) 2006

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
150 min Musical

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Hands on a Hardbody

Hands on a Hardbody
Inspired by true events, and infused with a "fresh roots-rock vibe," this is the hilarious, hard-fought contest where only one winner can drive away with the American dream. 10 contestants. 4 days. 1 truck.

Notes:
Book by Doug Wright; Lyrics by Amanda Green; Music by Trey Anastasio and Amanda Green

1st Produced:
La Jolla Playhouse     12 May 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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:
Full Length Musical, Dramatic Comedy

Parts:
Male:  9            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Am My Own Wife

I Am My Own Wife
Based on a true story, and inspired by interviews conducted by the playwright over several years, I AM MY OWN WIFE tells the fascinating tale of Charlotte von Mahlsdorf, a real-life German transvestite who managed to survive both the Nazi onslaught and the repressive East German Communist regime.

Notes:
Winner of the 2004 Pulitzer Prize And the 2004 Tony Award

1st Produced:
Broadway, NY     2004

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Unwrap Your Candy: An Evening of One-Act Plays, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York, 2004   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay/Lesbian, historical characters

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Interrogating the Nude

Interrogating the Nude
After finishing his painting "Nude Descending a Staircase" Marcel Duchamp goes into a police station and confesses to chopping his model up. But is this a publicity stunt?

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "New American Plays 1" published by Heinemann 1992   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Absurdist

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Little Mermaid, The

Synopsis:
the Little Mermaid takes place in a magical kingdom beneath the sea, where a beautiful young mermaid named Ariel longs to leave her ocean home to live in the world above. But first, she'll have to defy her father, the king of the sea, escape the clutches of an evil sea witch and convince a prince that she's the girl with the perfect voice. the show features the classic songs "Part of Your World," "Kiss the Girl," and the Academy Award-winning "Under the Sea," along with 11 new songs by composer Alan Menken and lyricist Glenn Slater.
- press release

Notes:
book by Doug Wright; music by Alan Menken; lyrics by Howard Ashman And Glenn Slater

1st Produced:
Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, The     2007

Organisations:
Disney theatricals

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Lot 13: the Bone Violin

Synopsis:
a stunning young violin prodigy skyrockets to international prominence, only to meet a shocking and supernatural fate

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Unwrap Your Candy: An Evening of One-Act Plays, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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On Facebook

Synopsis:
A homophobe and her friend battle on Facebook with three gay men and a lesbian

Notes:
Part of "Standing On Ceremony: The Gay Marriage Plays"

1st Produced:
City Theatre, Toronto     Jun 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Gay and Lesbian short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Pavilion, The

Synopsis:
ailed by critics as an Our Town for our time, Peter returns to his twenty-year high-school reunion with dreams of winning back Kari, the girl he left behind. As the night progresses, both Peter and Kari are led, through their interactions with a host of characters all played by a virtuosic Narrator, to face the consequences of choices made long ago and start back into life with newfound strength.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
1St Stage, Mclean, Va     2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Posterity

Synopsis:
Norway's most celebrated sculptor is hired to create the last official bust of its most famous writer, but Henrik Ibsen proves to be an irascible, contentious sitter, as the two men wage war over both his legacy and his likeness. With his inimitable wit and insight, Doug Wright explores the nature of artistic success and the fear of being forgotten.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Linda Gross Theater, 336 W 20th St., NY     25 Feb 2015

Organisations:
Atlantic Theater Company

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2015)   

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Quills

Synopsis:
Doctor Royer-Collard, head of Charenton Asylum, is visited by Renee Pelagie, wife of the asylum's most notorious inmate, the Marquis de Sade. Furious that her husband's sadomasochistic pornography has tarnished her reputation, she offers the Doctor any amount of money, if only her husband can be kept from writing. After confiscating the Marquis' quills and paper, the Abbe de Coulmier is surprised to find lascivious new stories circulating in public. the source? A lusty young seamstress named Madeleine has been smuggling material out of the asylum. Immediately, the Abbe bars the girl from seeing the Marquis, but ever resourceful, the Marquis pens his stories on his bedclothes in wine, blood and worse. Driven to a fury, the Abbe strips bare the Marquis and his cell, leaving nothing but stone and straw. Undaunted, the Marquis devises a fantastic plan to whisper his stories from lunatic to lunatic, until Madeleine can pen them down-but the last lunatic, in whose cell Madeleine crouches, mutilates and kills the girl in response to the Marquis' grisly tale. A riot ensues, nearly destroying the asylum, and as the second act unfolds, the Abbe is driven to increasingly desperate acts to silence the Marquis: the removal of his hands, feet, genitals and eventually his beheading. Wracked by guilt, the once humane but now murderous and sexually deviant Abbe is committed to his own asylum where he finds himself crying out for a paper and pen with which to record his own newly arisen perversions. In the last scene, the boxes containing the body parts of the Marquis tremble with pleasure. One hand snakes loose from its box. . .and begins to write.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Comedy. - - Gay, theme/character full length

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Stonewater Rapture, The

Synopsis:
Set on the front porch and in the living room of a conservative Texas home, the play tells the story of two teenagers whose sexual awakening has been severely hampered by the fundamentalist fervor that runs like power lines through the Bible Belt. A comic first scene, set on the porch of Whitney's home, details his attempts to seduce the puritanical Carlyle after he's just been elected president of the Youth Ministry at the Church picnic. Carlyle coyly refuses his advances, citing everything from teen pregnancy to hellfire and damnation as reasons to abstain. In a Dramatic second scene, Carlyle seeks Whitney's help after she has been the victim of a sexual assault. Rather than face the grim reality of her experience, Carlyle transforms the attack from an act of violence to a vision of glory, in which the bodies of her assailants become the angels torn from the Sistine Chapel ceiling, and the alcohol they forced upon her becomes the blood of Christ. As Carlyle's delusions grow, Whitney must convince her of the unfortunate truth. Together they struggle to wed their simplistic religious doctrine with the often painful complexity of the real world.

Notes:
With its single set And youthful roles this play has been A favorite Among high school, college And Amateur groups. Concerned with the explosive combination of Adolescent sexuality And religious repression in A rural Texas town, the play traces the relati

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Unwrap Your Candy

Synopsis:
five actors portray actual members of the theatre audience and prove far more intriguing than the play they've come to watch

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Producers Club - The Grand Theatre, NY     2006

Organisations:
Phare Play Productions

1st Published:
in Unwrap Your Candy: An Evening of One-Act Plays, Dramatists Play Service, Inc., New York,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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War Paint

Synopsis:
The rivalry between Helena Rubenstein and Elizabeth Arden

Notes:
Music by Scott Frankel; lyrics by Michael Korrie; book by Doug Wright

1st Produced:
Goodman Theatre, Chicago     18 Jul 2016

Organisations:
-

1st Published:

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  10            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Watbanland

Synopsis:
Flo Stillman is a nursery school teacher, desperate to have children of her own. Her husband, Park, a bond trader on Wall Street, refuses to comply. Park carries an overwhelming secret: An affair he had with his secretary, a spirited young woman named Marilyn, already produced a baby. the child, brain-damaged, lies in a hospital incubator, the living manifestation of Park's infidelity to his wife. Now Park is terrified to procreate again, for fear of producing another handicapped infant. Flo, blissfully unaware of her husband's situation, still craves a child. She starts to compulsively adopt Third World children through late-night "infomercials" on TV. Soon, she is a foster mother of some renown. As she becomes increasingly obsessed with her responsibility to nurture the worlds' underprivileged, Flo's life takes a surreal turn. She experiences miraculous visits from Third World emissaries, and even endures a phantom pregnancy. Meanwhile, Marilyn's new boyfriend, Dash, a toll booth attendant with "super-human genes," decides to pirate Marilyn and her ailing baby away to the Midwest, where they can begin life anew. In a series of short, interconnected scenes, alternately comic and poignant, the play weaves an intricate web of conflicting desires. Written with the narrative logic of a late-morning dream, WATBANALAND is a haunting story about hunger in its very human manifestations: sexual, physical and spiritual.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Wildwood Park

Synopsis:
a neurotic real-estate agent shows a house filled with unspeakable secrets to a potential buyer who harbors an almost insatiable thirst for tabloid atrocities

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY,    

Music:
-

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

Booksellers:

Genre:
One Act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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