The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in

Waterford, Connecticut Waterford is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. It is named after Waterford, Ireland. The population was 19,571 at the 2020 census. The town center is listed as a census-designated place (CDP) and had a population of 3,07 ...

, 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 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 ce ...

s, the 1979 Special Award and the 2010 Regional Theatre Award.

President Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

presented the 2015 National Medal of Arts to The O'Neill on September 22, 2016. The O'Neill is a multi-disciplinary institution; it has had a transformative effect on American theater. The O'Neill pioneered play development and stage readings as a tool for new plays and musicals. It is home to the National Theater Institute (established 1970), an intensive study-away semester for undergraduates. Its major theater conferences include the National Playwrights Conference (est. 1965); the National Critics Conference (est. 1968), the National Musical Theater Conference (est. 1978), the National Puppetry Conference (est. 1990), and the Cabaret & Performance Conference (est. 2005). The Monte Cristo Cottage,

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright and Nobel laureate in Nobel Prize in Literature, literature. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama tech ...

's childhood home in

New London, Connecticut New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States, located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, Connecticut. It was one of the world's three busiest whaling ports for several decade ...

, was purchased and restored by the O'Neill in the 1970s and is maintained as a museum. The theater's campus, overlooking Long Island Sound in Waterford Beach Park, has four major performance spaces: two indoor and two outdoor. The O'Neill is led by Executive Director Tifanni Gavin. The estate, also known as Walnut Grove or Hammond Estate, was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

on September 21, 2005, for its architectural significance, and its associations with Revolutionary War Colonel

William North William North (1755January 3, 1836) was an American soldier and politician. Early life William North was born in Pemaquid, Maine, to John North and Elizabeth Pitson in 1755. John was an Irish immigrant and Elizabeth a native of Boston. He had ...

and Edward Crowninshield Hammond, a wealthy railroad tycoon who frequently had the young O'Neill thrown off of the property when he owned it.Verde, Tom (October 7, 1996
"Eugene O'Neill Center May Get Remains of Tycoon Who Chased Him Off It"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

Major works

The following is a list of plays, musicals, and performance pieces first developed at the O'Neill that have gone on to further success. ; National Playwrights Conference * '' Slave Play'' -

Jeremy O. Harris Jeremy O. Harris (born ) is an American playwright, actor, and philanthropist, known for his plays ''"Daddy"'' and '' Slave Play''. The latter received 12 nominations at the 74th Tony Awards, breaking the record previously set by the 2018 reviva ...

(2018) * ''I'm Gonna Pray For You So Hard'' –

Halley Feiffer Halley Feiffer (born November 20, 1984) is an American actress and playwright. Early life and education Feiffer was raised in a Jewish family, the daughter of famed satirist and cartoonist Jules Feiffer, and writer, actor, and comedian Jenny Alle ...

(2014) * ''

The Nether ''The Nether'' is a sci-fi crime drama written by American playwright Jennifer Haley. The play received its world premiere at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in California in March 2013, after being first developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center ...

'' – Jennifer Haley (2011), Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, 2012 * '' The Receptionist'' –

Adam Bock Adam Bock (born November 4, 1961) is a Canadian playwright currently living in the United States. He was born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In the fall of 1984, Bock studied at the National Theater Institute at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. ...

(2006) * '' Fuddy Meers'' –

David Lindsay-Abaire David Lindsay-Abaire ( Abaire; born November 14, 1969) is an American playwright, lyricist and screenwriter. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2007 for his play '' Rabbit Hole'', which also earned several Tony Award nominations. Early ...

(1998) * ''Trueblinka'' –

Adam Rapp Adam Rapp (born June 15, 1968) is an American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, musician and film director. His play '' Red Light Winter'' was a Pulitzer Prize finalist in 2006. Early life Rapp was born in Chicago to Mary Lee (née Baird; di ...

(1997) * ''

Seven Guitars ''Seven Guitars'' is a 1995 play by American playwright August Wilson. It focuses on seven African-American characters in the year 1948. The play begins and ends after the funeral of one of the main characters, showing events leading to the funer ...

'' –

August Wilson August Wilson ( Frederick August Kittel Jr.; April 27, 1945 – October 2, 2005) was an American playwright. He has been referred to as the "theater's poet of Black America". He is best known for a series of ten plays, collectively called ' (or ...

(1994) * ''

The Piano Lesson ''The Piano Lesson'' is a 1987 play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the fourth play in Wilson's ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. Wilson began writing this play by playing with the various answers regarding the possibility of "acquir nga se ...

'' –

(1986) * ''

Joe Turner's Come and Gone ''Joe Turner's Come and Gone'' is a play by American playwright August Wilson. It is the second installment of his decade-by-decade chronicle of the African-American experience, ''The Pittsburgh Cycle''. The play was first staged 1984 at the Eu ...

'' –

(1984) * ''

Fences A fence is a barrier enclosing or bordering a field, yard, etc., usually made of posts and wire or wood, used to prevent entrance, to confine, or to mark a boundary. Fence or fences may also refer to: Entertainment Music * Fences (band), an Amer ...

'' –

(1983) * ''Danny and the Deep Blue Sea'' –

John Patrick Shanley John Patrick Shanley (born October 13, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and director. He won the 1988 Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for the film ''Moonstruck''. His play, '' Doubt: A Parable'', won the 2005 Pulitzer P ...

(1982) * ''

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom ''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'' is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, and the only one not set in Pittsburgh – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. The play is set in a recording stu ...

'' –

(1982) * '' Agnes of God'' –

John Pielmeier John Pielmeier (born February 23, 1949) is an American playwright and screenwriter. Life and career Pielmeier was born in Altoona, Pennsylvania, the son of Louise (Blackburn) and Len Pielmeier. He was raised Catholic. He earned a Bachelor of Art ...

(1979) * '' FOB'' –

David Henry Hwang David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is an American playwright, librettist, screenwriter, and theater professor at Columbia University in New York City. He has won three Obie Awards for his plays '' FOB'', '' Golden Child'', and '' Yell ...

(1979) * '' Bent'' –

Martin Sherman Martin Gerald Sherman (born December 22, 1938) is an American dramatist and screenwriter best known for his 20 stage plays which have been produced in over 60 countries. He rose to fame in 1979 with the production of his play '' Bent'', which e ...

(1978) * '' Uncommon Women and Others'' –

Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...

(1977) * ''A History of the American Film'' –

Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...

(1976) * ''

Madmen and Specialists ''Madmen and Specialists'' is a play by Wole Soyinka, conceived in 1970 during his imprisonment in the Nigerian Civil War. The play, Soyinka's eighth, has close links to the Theatre of the Absurd. Abiola Irele (in the Lagos ''Sunday Times'') ca ...

'' –

Wole Soyinka Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde Soyinka (Yoruba: ''Akínwándé Olúwọlé Babátúndé Ṣóyíinká''; born 13 July 1934), known as Wole Soyinka (), is a Nigerian playwright, novelist, poet, and essayist in the English language. He was awarded t ...

(1970) * ''

House of Blue Leaves ''The House of Blue Leaves'' is a play by American playwright John Guare which premiered Off-Broadway in 1971, and was revived in 1986, both Off-Broadway and on Broadway theatre, Broadway, and was again revived on Broadway in 2011. The play won ...

'' –

John Guare John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman ...

(1966) ; National Musical Theater Conference * ''

Tales of the City ''Tales of the City'' is a series of nine novels written by American author Armistead Maupin from 1978 to 2014, depicting the life of a group of friends in San Francisco, many of whom are LGBT. The stories from ''Tales'' were originally serial ...

'' (2009) * ''

In the Heights ''In the Heights'' is a musical with concept, music, and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda and a book by Quiara Alegría Hudes. The story is set over the course of three days, involving characters in the largely Dominican American neighborhood of ...

'' (2005),

, (2008) * '' Avenue Q'' (2002),

, (2004) * '' The Wild Party'' (1997) * ''

Nine 9 is a number, numeral, and glyph. 9 or nine may also refer to: Dates * AD 9, the ninth year of the AD era * 9 BC, the ninth year before the AD era * 9, numerical symbol for the month of September Places * Nine, Portugal, a parish in the ...

'' (1979),

, Best Musical, 1982 ; Cabaret & Performance Conference * '' The Story of My Life'' (2006) * ''

title of show '' itle of show' is a one-act musical, with music and lyrics by Jeff Bowen and a book by Hunter Bell. The show chronicles its own creation as an entry in the New York Musical Theatre Festival, and follows the struggles of the author and compos ...

'' (2005) ; National Critics Conference * '' Chelsea on the Edge: The Adventures of an American Theater'' – Davi Napoleon

Notable O'Neill alumni

; National Theater Institute * Emily Bergl *

('' The Receptionist'') *

Gordon Clapp Gordon Clapp (born September 24, 1948) is an American actor best known for playing Det. Greg Medavoy for all 12 seasons of the television series ''NYPD Blue'', winning an Emmy Award in 1998. Early life and education Clapp was born in North Con ...

('' NYPD Blue'') * Jack Coleman (''

Heroes Heroes or Héroes may refer to: * Hero, one who displays courage and self-sacrifice for the greater good Film * ''Heroes'' (1977 film), an American drama * ''Heroes'' (2008 film), an Indian Hindi film Gaming * ''Heroes of Might and Magic'' ...

'') *

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the A ...

Rachel Dratch Rachel Susan Dratch (born February 22, 1966) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. After she graduated from Dartmouth College she moved to Chicago to study improvisational theatre at The Second City and ImprovOlympic. Her breakthrough r ...

(''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'') * Chris Elliott (''

'') *

Michael Emerson Michael Emerson (born September 7, 1954) is an American actor who is best known for his roles as serial killer William Hinks on ''The Practice'', Benjamin Linus on ''Lost'', Zep Hindle in the first '' Saw'' film, Cayden James on ''Arrow'', and ...

Jennifer Garner Jennifer Anne Garner (born April 17, 1972) is an American actress. Born in Houston, Texas, and raised in Charleston, West Virginia, Garner studied theater at Denison University and began acting as an understudy for the Roundabout Theatre Compa ...

* Paul Hodes (US Congressman, New Hampshire) * Kristina Klebe * John Krasinski (''

The Office ''The Office'' is a mockumentary sitcom created by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, first made in the United Kingdom, then Germany, and subsequently the United States. It has since been remade in ten other countries. The original series o ...

'') *

Jeremy Piven Jeremy Samuel Piven (born July 26, 1965) is an American actor. He is best known for his role as Ari Gold in the comedy series '' Entourage'', for which he won a Golden Globe Award and three consecutive Emmy Awards. He also starred in the Britis ...

(''

Entourage An entourage () is an informal group or band of people who are closely associated with a (usually) famous, notorious, or otherwise notable individual. The word can also refer to: Arts and entertainment * L'entourage, French hip hop / rap collecti ...

'') * Michael Portnoy *

Josh Radnor Joshua Thomas Radnor (born July 29, 1974) is an American actor, filmmaker, author, and musician. He is best known for portraying Ted Mosby on the popular and Emmy Award–winning CBS sitcom ''How I Met Your Mother''. He made his writing and dire ...

('' How I Met Your Mother'') * Kate Robin ('' Six Feet Under'') *

Sam Robards Samuel Prideaux Robards (born December 16, 1961) is an American actor, best known for his role as Henry Swinton in the film ''A.I. Artificial Intelligence''. Early life and education Robards was born in New York City, the son of actor Jason Roba ...

* Britain Simons * Mark Teschner *

Rebecca Taichman Rebecca Taichman is an American theatre director. In 2017, she received the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play for ''Indecent''. Life and career Taichman attended McGill University, Montreal, and graduated from the Yale School of Drama. She w ...

Elizabeth Olsen Elizabeth Chase Olsen (born February 16, 1989) is an American actress. Born in Sherman Oaks, California, Olsen began acting at age four. She starred in her debut film role in the thriller ''Martha Marcy May Marlene'' in 2011, for which she wa ...

* Adam Shulman *

Cynthia Wade Cynthia Wade is an American television, commercial and film director, producer and cinematographer based in New York City. She has directed documentaries on social issues including '' Shelter Dogs'' in 2003 about animal welfare and ''Freeheld'' i ...

; Conference Playwrights *

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (born 1973) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and comic book writer best known for his work for Marvel Comics and for the television series '' Glee'', '' Big Love'', '' Riverdale'', '' Chilling Adventures of Sabrina' ...

* Edward Albee *

Lee Blessing Lee Knowlton Blessing (born October 4, 1949) is an American playwright best known for his 1988 work, '' A Walk in the Woods''. A lifelong Midwesterner, Blessing continued to work in regional theaters in and around his hometown of Minneapolis thro ...

* Julia Cho * Kathleen Clark *

Kia Corthron Kia Corthron (born May 13, 1961) is an American playwright, activist, television writer, and novelist. Early life and education Kia Corthron was born on May 13, 1961, in Cumberland, Maryland. Corthron's father worked at a paper mill in the ar ...

Joe DiPietro Joe DiPietro (born 1961) is an American playwright, lyricist and author. He is best known for the Tony Award-winning musical ''Memphis'', for which he won the Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score as well as for writi ...

* Jacob Aaron Estes *

Rebecca Gilman Rebecca Gilman (born 1965 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American playwright. Education She attended Middlebury College, graduated from Birmingham-Southern College, and earned a Master of Fine Arts from the Iowa Playwrights Workshop at the Univers ...

Gina Gionfriddo Gina Gionfriddo is an American playwright and television writer. Her play ''Becky Shaw'' was a 2009 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, and her play ''Rapture, Blister, Burn'' was a 2013 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. She has wr ...

* Willy Holtzman *

Israel Horovitz Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio a ...

* Samuel D. Hunter *

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

Regina Taylor Regina Annette Taylor
''Film Reference''. (born August 22, 1960) is an American

Lanford Wilson Lanford Wilson (April 13, 1937March 24, 2011) was an American playwright. His work, as described by ''The New York Times'', was "earthy, realist, greatly admired ndwidely performed." Fox, Margalit"Lanford Wilson, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Playwright ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eugene O'neill Theater Center Performing groups established in 1964 Theatre companies in Connecticut Drama schools in the United States Theatres in Connecticut Tony Award winners Buildings and structures in Waterford, Connecticut Tourist attractions in New London County, Connecticut Buildings and structures in New London County, Connecticut National Register of Historic Places in New London County, Connecticut Federal architecture in Connecticut Gothic Revival architecture in Connecticut 1820s architecture in the United States Historic districts in New London County, Connecticut 1964 establishments in Connecticut Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Connecticut Special Tony Award recipients

Major works

Notable O'Neill alumni

See also

References

External links