David Lindsay-Abaire ( Abaire; born November 14, 1969) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

lyricist A lyricist is a songwriter who writes lyrics (the spoken words), as opposed to a composer, who writes the song's music which may include but not limited to the melody, harmony, arrangement and accompaniment. Royalties A lyricist's incom ...

and

screenwriter A screenplay writer (also called screenwriter, scriptwriter, scribe or scenarist) is a writer who practices the craft of screenwriting, writing screenplays on which mass media, such as films, television programs and video games, are based. ...

. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play '' Rabbit Hole'', which also earned several

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

nominations.

Early life and education

David Lindsay-Abaire was born David Abaire in Boston, Massachusetts and grew up in

South Boston South Boston is a densely populated neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, located south and east of the Fort Point Channel and abutting Dorchester Bay. South Boston, colloquially known as Southie, has undergone several demographic transformat ...

. He attended Milton Academy and concentrated in theatre at

Sarah Lawrence College Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York. The college models its approach to education after the Oxford/Cambridge system of one-on-one student-faculty tutorials. Sarah Lawrence scholarship, particularly ...

, from which he graduated in 1992. He was accepted into the

Lila Acheson Wallace Lila Bell Wallace (December 25, 1889 – May 8, 1984) was an American magazine publisher and philanthropist. She co-founded ''Reader's Digest'' with her husband Dewitt Wallace, publishing the first issue in 1922. Early life and education Born Li ...

American Playwrights Program at the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely ...

, where he wrote under the tutelage of playwrights

Marsha Norman Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and lyrics for such Broadway musicals as '' T ...

and Christopher Durang from 1996 to 1998.

Career

Lindsay-Abaire had his first theatrical success with '' Fuddy Meers,'' which was workshopped as part of the National Playwrights Conference at the

Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Aw ...

in 1998 under Artistic Director Lloyd Richards. The play premiered

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 th ...

at the

Manhattan Theatre Club Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) is a theatre company located in New York City, affiliated with the League of Resident Theatres. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has ...

, running from November 2, 1999 to January 2000 and transferred to the Minetta Lane Theatre on January 27, 2000, closing in April 2000 after 16 previews and 78 performances there. He returned to the Manhattan Theatre Club in 2001 with ''

Wonder of the World Various lists of the Wonders of the World have been compiled from antiquity to the present day, in order to catalogue the world's most spectacular natural features and human-built structures. The Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the o ...

'', starring

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

, about a wife who suddenly leaves her husband and hops a bus to

Niagara Falls Niagara Falls () is a group of three waterfalls at the southern end of Niagara Gorge, spanning the Canada–United States border, border between the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Ontario in Canada and the U.S. state, state ...

in search of freedom, enlightenment, and the meaning of life. Lindsay-Abaire also wrote '' Kimberly Akimbo'' (2000), ''Dotting and Dashing'' (1999), '' Snow Angel'' (1999), and ''A Devil Inside'' (Off-Broadway, 1997). Among his early short plays, he wrote ''The Li'l Plays'' (1997-1999) which are five comedic plays, each 10–15 minutes in length. His play '' Rabbit Hole'' premiered in 2006 on Broadway with Cynthia Nixon, Tyne Daly, and John Slattery, and won the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was nominated for a

for Best Play, as well as other Tony awards, and Cynthia Nixon won the 2006 Tony Award as Best Actress. He wrote the book for the

musical Musical is the adjective of music. Musical may also refer to: * Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance * Musical film Musical film is a film genre in which songs by the characters are interwo ...

'' High Fidelity'', which ran on Broadway in December 2006. He wrote the book and lyrics for the musical '' Shrek the Musical'' which ran on Broadway from November 8, 2008 (previews) to January 3, 2010, with Lindsay-Abaire receiving a 2009

nomination for Book of a Musical and in the West End in May 2011. The musical ran for 441 performances on Broadway. '' Good People'' officially opened on Broadway on March 3, 2011, with Frances McDormand and Tate Donovan in the lead roles. The play was nominated for the 2011

, Best Play and won the 2011 Tony Award, Actress in a Play for McDormand. His play ''Ripcord'' opened Off-Broadway on October 20, 2015 at the Manhattan Theatre Club in a limited engagement. Directed by

David Hyde Pierce David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and director of stage, film and television. He starred as psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom '' Frasier'' from 1993 to 2004, and won four Primetime Emmy Awards and a Scree ...

, the cast features Marylouise Burke, Rachel Dratch, Glenn Fitzgerald, and Holland Taylor. The play focuses on two roommates in a retirement home, who according to ''Variety'' "devise dirty tricks...to torment one another." Among his influences, Lindsay-Abaire said: "I love Chris's urangwork. And I don't think there's been a piece written about me that hasn't mentioned the fact that he and I live in the same world. But I think I've also been influenced by John Guare and Tina Howe and older folks like Feydeau and Ionesco and

Joe Orton John Kingsley Orton (1 January 1933 – 9 August 1967), known by the pen name of Joe Orton, was an English playwright, author, and diarist. His public career, from 1964 until his death in 1967, was short but highly influential. During this brie ...

." Lindsay-Abaire has received commissions from Dance Theater Workshop and the Jerome Foundation. He has received awards from the Berilla Kerr Foundation, the

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 milli ...

LeComte du Nuoy Fund,

Mixed Blood Theater The Mixed Blood Theatre Company is a professional multiracial theatre company in Minneapolis, Minnesota. It was founded in 1976 by artistic director Jack Reuler, to explore race via the use of theater. History Jack Reuler founded Mixed Blood in 19 ...

, Primary Stages, the

, the Tennessee Williams/ New Orleans Literary Festival, and the South Carolina Playwrights Festival.

Film

Lindsay-Abaire wrote the screenplay of the 2010

film adaptation A film adaptation is the transfer of a work or story, in whole or in part, to a feature film. Although often considered a type of derivative work, film adaptation has been conceptualized recently by academic scholars such as Robert Stam as a dia ...

of his play ''Rabbit Hole'', which starred Nicole Kidman. His other screenplays have tended to be in the children's fantasy and science fiction genres, including the animated film '' Robots'' (2005), written with Lowell Ganz and Babaloo Mandel, '' Inkheart'' (2008), based on the novel of the same name, the animated film '' Rise of the Guardians'' (2012), based on a story by co-director William Joyce, and ''

Oz the Great and Powerful ''Oz the Great and Powerful'' is a 2013 American fantasy adventure film directed by Sam Raimi and written by David Lindsay-Abaire and Mitchell Kapner from a story by Kapner. Based on L. Frank Baum's early 20th century ''Oz'' novels and set 20 y ...

'' (2013), written with Mitchell Kapner. He also wrote the screenplay for the 2015 horror remake ''

Poltergeist In ghostlore, a poltergeist ( or ; German for "rumbling ghost" or "noisy spirit") is a type of ghost or spirit that is responsible for physical disturbances, such as loud noises and objects being moved or destroyed. Most claims or fictional desc ...

.''

Personal life

Lindsay-Abaire and his wife,

Christine Christine may refer to: People * Christine (name), a female given name Film * ''Christine'' (1958 film), based on Schnitzler's play ''Liebelei'' * ''Christine'' (1983 film), based on King's novel of the same name * ''Christine'' (1987 fil ...

, live in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York. In 2016, Lindsay-Abaire was named co-director of Juilliard's

American Playwrights Program.

Theatre works (selected)

* ''A Devil Inside'' – 1997, Off-Broadway * '' Fuddy Meers'' – 1999, Off-Broadway * '' Snow Angel'' – 1999, Regional * '' Kimberly Akimbo'' – 2000, Off-Broadway * ''

'' – 2001, Off-Broadway * '' Rabbit Hole'' – 2006, Broadway * '' High Fidelity'' (musical) – 2006, Broadway * '' Shrek the Musical'' (musical) – 2008, Broadway * '' Good People'' – 2011, Broadway * ''Ripcord'' – 2015, Off-Broadway * '' Kimberly Akimbo'' (musical) – 2021, Off-Broadway

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lindsay-Abaire, David 1969 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Living people Milton Academy alumni Writers from Boston Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Sarah Lawrence College alumni Juilliard School alumni American male screenwriters American male dramatists and playwrights Animation screenwriters People from South Boston 20th-century American male writers Screenwriters from Massachusetts People from Brooklyn