Michael Mitnick (born September 7, 1983) is an American playwright and screenwriter.

Early life

Mitnick grew up in

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

and attended

Fox Chapel Area High School Fox Chapel Area High School (Established in 1961) is a public school located in the Pittsburgh suburb of O'Hara Township, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States. It was recognized and honored as a National Blue Ribbon School twice. The ...

, a public school in the Allegheny Valley. His father is a professor and the co-originator of The Theory of Agency. His mother is a public librarian. As a high school student, he worked in the graphic design department of WQED Pittsburgh and Mister Rogers' Neighborhood. Mitnick attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...

, where he wrote or co-wrote four musical comedies, including one

Hasty Pudding Theatricals The Hasty Pudding Theatricals, known informally simply as The Pudding, is a theatrical student society at Harvard University, known for its burlesque crossdressing musicals. The Hasty Pudding is the oldest theatrical organization in the United Sta ...

show. His musical ''Snapshots'' had two off-Broadway performances in New York. He was a member of the

A capella ''A cappella'' (, also , ; ) music is a performance by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

group The Krokodiloes. After graduating in 2006, Mitnick worked at ''

The Atlantic Monthly ''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science. It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...

'' before earning his

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

degree in playwriting from The

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

Career

Plays

Film

Television

Music

Mitnick co-wrote the holiday song "Christmas You Go So Fast," which was featured on ''Vinyl'', an HBO series executive produced by

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominatio ...

and

Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...

. He also co-wrote, with Will Connolly and Kim Rosenstock, the musical, '' Fly By Night,'' which released a cast recording for its

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

run.

Honors

Variety magazine ''Variety'' is an American media company owned by Penske Media Corporation. The company was founded by Sime Silverman in New York City in 1905 as a weekly newspaper reporting on theater and vaudeville. In 1933 it added ''Daily Variety'', based ...

selected Mitnick as one of "10 Screenwriters to watch" in 2013. He received the 2012 Visionary Playwright Award from Theater Masters. He is a two-time winner of the Edgerton New American Foundation Award, for ''The Siegel'' (2017) and '' Fly By Night'' (2011), the latter of which was also nominated for four 2015 Drama Desk Awards including Best Musical.

Works in development

In May 2017,

Deadline Deadline(s) or The Deadline(s) may refer to: * Time limit, a narrow field of time by which an objective must be accomplished Arts, entertainment, and media Comics * Deadline (DC Comics), a fictional villain * ''Deadline'' (magazine), a British ...

placed Mitnick's original screenplay ''Some Are Born Great'' on its 2017 Cannes Hotlist, and he was slated to direct the film. In May 2019, it was announced that Mitnick is working on a stage musical adaptation of the film ''

Scotland, PA ''Scotland, PA'' is a 2001 film directed and written by Billy Morrissette. It is a modernized version of William Shakespeare's ''Macbeth''. The film stars James LeGros, Maura Tierney, and Christopher Walken. Shakespeare's tragedy, originally s ...

'', set to premiere at

Roundabout Theatre Company The Roundabout Theatre Company is a leading non-profit theatre company based in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. History The company was founded in 1965 by Gene Feist, Michael Fried and Elizabet ...

. Mitnick is reported to be writing the screenplay for a forthcoming Audrey Hepburn biopic. He is also currently working on a limited series about

Siegfried & Roy Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German-American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. It was composed of Siegfried Fischbacher (June 13, 1939 – January 13, 2021) and Roy Horn (born Uwe ...

, adapting the Judy Batalion novel ''Light of Days,'' and adapting the anthology series ''Dial M for Murder'' for

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitnick, Michael 1983 births Living people 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights Harvard University alumni Yale School of Drama alumni