Jean-Claude van Itallie (May 25, 1936 – September 9, 2021) was a Belgian-born American playwright, performer, and theatre workshop teacher. He is best known for his 1966 anti-Vietnam War play ''

America Hurrah ''America Hurrah'' is a satirical play by Jean-Claude van Itallie, which premiered at the Pocket Theatre in New York City on November 7, 1966. Directed by Jacques Levy and Joseph Chaikin, the play was an early expression of the burgeoning 1960s ...

;'' ''The Serpent'', an ensemble play he wrote with

Joseph Chaikin Joseph Chaikin (September 16, 1935 – June 22, 2003) was an American theatre director, actor, playwright, and pedagogue. Early life and education The youngest of five children, Chaikin was born to a poor Jewish family living in the Borough Pa ...

Open Theatre The Open Theater was an experimental theatre group active from 1963 to 1973. Foundation The Open Theater was founded in New York City by a group of former students of acting teacher Nola Chilton, together with director Joseph Chaikin (formerly of ...

; his

theatrical adaptation In a theatrical adaptation, material from another artistic medium, such as a novel or a film is re-written according to the needs and requirements of the theatre and turned into a play or musical. Elision and interpolation Directors must make ar ...

of the ''

Tibetan Book of the Dead The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation ...

''; and his translations of Anton Chekhov's plays.

Early life and education

Van Itallie was born in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, Belgium on May 25, 1936, to Hugo Ferdinand van Itallie (an

investment banker Investment banking pertains to certain activities of a financial services company or a corporate division that consist in advisory-based financial transactions on behalf of individuals, corporations, and governments. Traditionally associated with ...

) and Marthe Mathilde Caroline Levy van Itallie. His family was Jewish. In 1940, when the

Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...

invaded Brussels, he fled with his family to France, where they received visas to

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...

from the Portuguese

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throu ...

Aristides de Sousa Mendes. They stayed in

Estoril Estoril () is a town in the Municipality of Cascais, Portugal, on the Portuguese Riviera. It is a tourist destination, with luxury hotels, beaches, and the Casino Estoril. It has been home to numerous royal families and celebrities, and has h ...

, at the Pensão Royal, between 8 July and 28 September 1940. On the same day, they boarded the ''S.S. Hakozaki Maru'' headed for New York City, arriving on 10 October. Van Itallie grew up in

Great Neck, New York Great Neck is a region on Long Island, New York, that covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Point, and Russell Gardens, and a number of unincorpo ...

, studied at Great Neck High School and

Deerfield Academy Deerfield Academy is an elite coeducational preparatory school in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Founded in 1797, it is one of the oldest secondary schools in the United States. It is a member of the Eight Schools Association, the Ten Schools Admis ...

Deerfield, Massachusetts Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachu ...

, and graduated from

Harvard College Harvard College is the undergraduate college of Harvard University, an Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636, Harvard College is the original school of Harvard University, the oldest institution of higher lea ...

in 1958. He has one sibling, his brother Michael van Itallie.

Career

After graduating from Harvard, van Itallie moved to

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

, studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse and film editing at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

, and wrote for the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

television program Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

Look Up and Live ''Look Up and Live'' was a 30-minute television anthology series. The series was produced in cooperation with the National Council of Churches and aired on CBS from January 3, 1954 to January 21, 1979. It was a non-denominational Sunday mornin ...

''. In 1963, van Itallie's short play, ''War'', was produced at the Barr Albee Wilder Playwrights Unit on Vandam Street, featuring

Gerome Ragni Gerome Ragni (born Jerome Bernard Ragni; September 11, 1935 – July 10, 1991) was an American actor, singer, and songwriter, best known as one of the stars and co-writers of the 1967 musical '' Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical''. On Jun ...

and Jane Lowry and directed by Michael Kahn. ''War'' was later produced alongside

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 ...

's ''Muzeeka'' at the Dallas Theater Center. Van Itallie joined director-actor Joseph Chaikin's Open Theater as Playwright-of-the Ensemble. Van Itallie's early plays were also produced at

Ellen Stewart Ellen Stewart (November 7, 1919 – January 13, 2011) was an American theatre director and producer and the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goo ...

's Café La MaMa, and at

Joe Cino Joseph Cino (November 16, 1931 – April 2, 1967), was an Italian-American theatre producer. The Off-Off-Broadway theatre movement is generally credited to have begun at Cino's Caffe Cino in the West Village of Manhattan. Caffe Cino and off-off ...

's Caffe Cino, "birthplace of gay theater." His 1966 anti-war trilogy, ''America Hurrah'' (''Interview'', ''TV'', and ''Motel''), ran for almost two years at the Pocket Theater Off-Broadway and at the Royal Court Theater in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. Two of the one-acts were first presented at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in 1964 and 1965. ''Interview'' was directed by Peter Feldman, and ''Motel'' was directed by Michael Kahn. ''Motel'' was revived at La MaMa in 1981, again directed by Kahn, for the theater's 20th anniversary. In 1972, he wrote the script for a gay pornographic film ''America Creams'' under a pseudonym, one of the first well-known writers to write a hardcore pornographic film. Van Itallie has written over thirty plays. He wrote the ensemble play ''The Serpent'' with Chaikin's Open Theater. ''The Serpent'' premiered at

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

's Teatro dell'Arte in 1968. Van Itallie's ''Tibetan Book of the Dead, or How Not to Do It Again'', based on the

Bardo Thodol The ''Bardo Thodol'' (, "Liberation Through Hearing During the Intermediate State"), commonly known in the West as ''The Tibetan Book of the Dead'', is a terma text from a larger corpus of teachings, the ''Profound Dharma of Self-Liberation ...

and with music by Steven Gorn, premiered at La MaMa in 1983. Other van Itallie plays include: *''Dream'' (produced at La MaMa in 1965) *''King of the United States'' (a musical written with composer

Richard Peaslee Richard Peaslee (June 13, 1930, New York NY – August 20, 2016) was a composer who worked in a variety of idioms, including chorus, orchestra, dance, and soundtracks for film and television, but he was most active as a composer for the theatre. Ed ...

; premiered at

Theater for the New City Theater for the New City, founded in 1971 and known familiarly as "TNC", is one of New York City's leading off-off-Broadway theaters, known for radical political plays and community commitment. Productions at TNC have won 43 Obie Awards and the P ...

, 1972) * ''Bag Lady'' (premiered at Theater for the New City, 1979) *''Naropa'' (produced at La MaMa in 1982 with music by Steven Gorn) * ''The Traveler'' (about a composer struck with

aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...

; premiered at Mark Taper Forum in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, 1987 produced at Almeida Theater in London with

David Threlfall David John Threlfall (born 12 October 1953) is an English stage, film and television actor and director. He is best known for playing Frank Gallagher in Channel 4's series '' Shameless''. He has also directed several episodes of the show. In A ...

, 1988) * ''Struck Dumb'' (written for and with

, premiered at Taper Too in Los Angeles, 1989; anthologized in ''Best American Short Plays, 1991–92'') * ''Light'' (about

Voltaire François-Marie Arouet (; 21 November 169430 May 1778) was a French Enlightenment writer, historian, and philosopher. Known by his ''nom de plume'' M. de Voltaire (; also ; ), he was famous for his wit, and his criticism of Christianity—es ...

, Emilie du Chatelet, and

Frederick the Great Frederick II (german: Friedrich II.; 24 January 171217 August 1786) was King in Prussia from 1740 until 1772, and King of Prussia from 1772 until his death in 1786. His most significant accomplishments include his military successes in the S ...

; premiered at Boston Court Theater in

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. ...

, 2003; received several Los Angeles critics awards) * ''Fear Itself, Secrets of the White House'' (premiered at Theater for the New City, 2006) In January 1967, van Itallie's ''Pavane'' was broadcast along with

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 ...

's ''Fourteen Hundred Thousand'' and Paul Foster's ''The Recluse'' as "La MaMa Playwrights" on

NET Playhouse ''NET Playhouse'' was an American dramatic television anthology series produced by National Educational Television. NET subsequently merged with WNDT Newark to form WNET, and was superseded by the Public Broadcasting Service, though the NET titl ...

. The program was re-broadcast on

NET Net or net may refer to: Mathematics and physics * Net (mathematics), a filter-like topological generalization of a sequence * Net, a linear system of divisors of dimension 2 * Net (polyhedron), an arrangement of polygons that can be folded up ...

in 1969 along with footage from the opening of La MaMa's new theater space. Van Itallie's translation of Chekhov's ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises th ...

'' was first produced at the MacArthur Theater in

Princeton Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ni ...

in 1973. It then premiered at the

Manhattan Theater 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 ...

and the American Repertory Theatre in

Cambridge, Massachusetts Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...

. His translation of ''The'' ''Cherry Orchard'' premiered at

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 ...

, featuring

Irene Worth Irene Worth, CBE (June 23, 1916March 10, 2002) was an American stage and screen actress who became one of the leading stars of the British and American theatre. She pronounced her given name with three syllables: "I-REE-nee". Worth made her Br ...

and

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

and directed by

Andrei Serban Andrei Șerban (born June 21, 1943) is a Romanian-American theater director. A major name in twentieth-century theater, he is renowned for his innovative and iconoclastic interpretations and stagings. In 1992 he became Professor of Theater at the ...

, in 1977. His translation of '' Three Sisters'' premiered both at the American Repertory Theatre and at the Manhattan Theatre Club, featuring

Sam Waterston Samuel Atkinson Waterston (born November 15, 1940) is an American actor. Waterston is known for his work in theater, television and, film. He has received a Primetime Emmy Award, Golden Globe Award, and Screen Actors Guild Award, and has receive ...

and

Dianne Wiest Dianne Evelyn Wiest (; born March 28, 1948) is an American actress. She has won two Academy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for 1986’s '' Hannah and Her Sisters'' and 1994’s ''Bullets over Broadway'' (both of which were directed by Wood ...

, in 1979. His translation of ''

Uncle Vanya ''Uncle Vanya'' ( rus, Дя́дя Ва́ня, r=Dyádya Ványa, p=ˈdʲædʲə ˈvanʲə) is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1898, and was first produced in 1899 by the Moscow Art Theatre under the dir ...

'' premiered at La MaMa, featuring

F. Murray Abraham F. Murray Abraham (born Murray Abraham; October 24, 1939) is an American actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he came to prominence for his acclaimed leading role as Antonio Salieri in the drama film '' Amadeus'' (1984) for which he wo ...

and Chaikin and directed by Serban, in 1983. In 1997, van Itallie performed with co-creators Kermit Dunkelberg and Court Dorsey in ''Guys Dreamin, as directed by Kim Mancuso and Joel Gluck. In 1999 and 2000, van Itallie performed his

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...

''War, Sex, and Dreams'' at Highways in

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 U.S. Census population was 93,076. Santa Monica is a popular resort town, owing to i ...

and at La MaMa. In 2012, he performed his one-man show ''Confessions and Conversation'' at La MaMa, as directed by Rosemary Quinn. His 2016 book, ''Tea with Demons - Games of Transformation'', includes

memoir A memoir (; , ) is any nonfiction narrative writing based in the author's personal memories. The assertions made in the work are thus understood to be factual. While memoir has historically been defined as a subcategory of biography or autobiog ...

and forty-nine

self-development Self-help or self-improvement is a self-guided improvement''APA Dictionary of Physicology'', 1st ed., Gary R. VandenBos, ed., Washington: American Psychological Association, 2007.—economically, intellectually, or emotionally—often with a subst ...

games for the reader to play. He taught writing and performance workshops, and has taught at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

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 high ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Sta ...

, Amherst College,

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, Middlebury College, the

University of Colorado The University of Colorado (CU) is a system of public universities in Colorado. It consists of four institutions: University of Colorado Boulder, University of Colorado Colorado Springs, University of Colorado Denver, and the University o ...

, Smith College, the New School for Social Research, Naropa University, the

Esalen Institute The Esalen Institute, commonly called Esalen, is a non-profit American retreat center and intentional community in Big Sur, California, which focuses on humanistic alternative education. The institute played a key role in the Human Poten ...

, the

Omega Institute for Holistic Studies Omega Institute for Holistic Studies is a non-profit educational retreat center located in Rhinebeck, New York. Founded in 1977 by Elizabeth Lesser and Stephan Rechtschaffen, inspired by Sufi mystic, Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan and his ecu ...

, th
New York Open CenterRowe Conference Center
an
Easton Mountain
among other universities and retreat centers. He lived on a farm in

western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...

, where he taught and directed th
Shantigar Foundation
for theatre and

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

, and in

and

NoHo NoHo, short for North of Houston Street (as contrasted with SoHo), is a primarily residential neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is bounded by Mercer Street to the west and the Bowery to the east, ...

. His papers are held i
Kent State University
Special Collections. The papers cover van Itallie's full career, and he would regularly deposit additional items to the collection.

Selected plays

*''War'' *''Almost Like Being'' *''I'm Really Here'' *''Hunter and the Bird'' *''

'' *''The Serpent'' *''King of the United States'' *''Ancient Boys'' *''Mystery Play'', premiered at Cherry Lane Theater, NYC, 1973'' *''The Traveler'' *''Struck Dumb'' (co-written with

)'' *''Bag Lady'' *''Tibetan Book of the Dead or How Not to Do It Again'' *''Light, Voltaire, the Mathematician, and the King of Prussia'' *''Fear Itself, Secrets of the White House'' *''A Fable'' *''Master and Margarita'' (from the Mikhail Bulgakov novel)'' *''The Mother's Return'' (premiered at La MaMa in 2010)'' Translations: *Chekhov's ''

'', ''

'', '' Three Sisters'', and ''

The Cherry Orchard ''The Cherry Orchard'' (russian: Вишнёвый сад, translit=Vishnyovyi sad) is the last play by Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. Written in 1903, it was first published by '' Znaniye'' (Book Two, 1904), and came out as a separate editio ...

'' * Jean Genet's ''The Balcony'' *

Eugene Ionesco Eugene may refer to: People and fictional characters * Eugene (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Eugene (actress) (born 1981), Kim Yoo-jin, South Korean actress and former member of the sin ...

's ''The Taming of Jacques'' *

Euripides Euripides (; grc, Εὐριπίδης, Eurīpídēs, ; ) was a tragedian of classical Athens. Along with Aeschylus and Sophocles, he is one of the three ancient Greek tragedians for whom any plays have survived in full. Some ancient scholars a ...

' ''Medea''

Books

*''Chekhov, the Major Plays''.

Applause Books Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group is an independent publishing house founded in 1949. Under several imprints, the company offers scholarly books for the academic market, as well as trade books. The company also owns the book distributing compa ...

, 1995. *''The Playwright's Workbook''. Applause Books, 1997. *''Tibetan Book of the Dead for Reading Aloud''.

North Atlantic Books North Atlantic Books is a non-profit, independent publisher based in Berkeley, California, United States. Distributed by Penguin Random House Publisher Services, North Atlantic Books is a mission-driven social justice-oriented publisher. Founded ...

, 1998. *''America Hurrah and Other Plays''. Grove Press, 2001. *''Tea with Demons - Games of Transformation''. Haley's Publishing, 2016.

Awards and recognition

* Rockefeller Foundation grant, 1962-1963 *''

Jersey Journal ''The Jersey Journal'' is a daily newspaper, published from Monday through Saturday, covering news and events throughout Hudson County, New Jersey. ''The Journal'' is a sister paper to ''The Star-Ledger'' of Newark, ''The Times'' of Trenton a ...

'' award for ''America Hurrah'', 1967 *

Outer Circle Critics Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for ''America Hurrah'', 1967 * Vernon Rice-Drama Desk Award for ''America Hurrah'', 1967 * Obie Award for ''The Serpent'', 1969 * Guggenheim Fellowship, 1973-1974 and 1980-1981 *Creative Artists Public Service Award, 1975 *

Honorary Doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or ''ad hon ...

in Philosophy,

Kent State University Kent State University (KSU) is a public research university in Kent, Ohio. The university also includes seven regional campuses in Northeast Ohio and additional facilities in the region and internationally. Regional campuses are located in ...

, 1977 *

Ford Foundation The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the stated goal of advancing human welfare. Created in 1936 by Edsel Ford and his father Henry Ford, it was originally funded by a US$25,000 gift from Edsel Ford. By 1947, after the death ...

grant, 1979 *Playwrights Award from the

National Endowment for the Arts The National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal ...

, 1986 *United Stroke Foundation achievement award for ''The Traveler'', 1987 * Last Frontier Theater Lifetime Achievement Award - Distinguished Service in the Theater, 1999 *New England Theater Conference - Outstanding Achievement in the American Theater, 2002

References

External links

van Itallie's official website

van Itallie's page on La MaMa Archives Digital Collections

Interview with van Itallie on Primary Stages' Off-Broadway Oral History Project

Interview by the Exiles Memorial Centre
{{DEFAULTSORT:van Itallie, Jean-Claude 1936 births 2021 deaths Jewish emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Harvard College alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Writers from Massachusetts Princeton University faculty New York University faculty Harvard University faculty Yale University faculty Amherst College faculty Columbia University faculty Middlebury College faculty University of Colorado faculty Naropa University faculty Belgian emigrants to the United States Belgian Jews 21st-century American Jews