Lucas Hnath ( ) 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 ...

. He won the 2016

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the ...

for excellence in playwriting for his plays ''Red Speedo'' and ''The Christians''. He also won a

Whiting Award The Whiting Award is an American award presented annually to ten emerging writers in fiction, nonfiction, poetry Poetry (derived from the Greek '' poiesis'', "making"), also called verse, is a form of literature that uses aesthetic and ...

Biography

Hnath grew up in

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

, Florida. He moved to New York City in 1997 to study pre-med, and then changed to dramatic writing at the

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

, 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 ...

, earning a BFA in 2001, and an MFA in 2002. He teaches at New York University. He is a resident playwright at New Dramatists. ''Red Speedo'' 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 New York Theatre Workshop from February 17, 2016 to March 27, 2016. The play, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, won the

, Playwriting and Performance for Lucas Caleb Rooney. The play involves Ray, a competitive swimmer at the start of the trials for the Olympic team. Jesse Green, in his review for ''Vulture'', wrote: "Hnath is never interested solely in the material repercussions of character... In Red Speedo, the underlying subject seems to be the cost of morality, which is generally too high for people like Ray... Hnath lightly suggests — he's too subtle to use the big hammer — that the immoral imbalance of our current economy is stripping us down to our animal skins. All we're good for is competition." The play opened at the Studio Theatre, Washington, DC, in 2013. The director of the production, Lila Neugebauer, explained: "...doping is just the arena for a conversation about what constitutes fairness, and the myth of equal opportunity." His play ''

A Doll's House, Part 2 ''A Doll's House, Part 2'' is a 2017 play written by Lucas Hnath. The play premiered at the South Coast Repertory, in April 2017, before transferring to Broadway at the John Golden Theatre. The play "picks up after Henrik Ibsen's 1879 play ''A D ...

'' premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

at the John Golden Theatre on April 1, 2017 in previews and closed on September 24, 2017. Directed by

Sam Gold Sam Gold is an American theater director and actor. He has directed both musicals and plays, on Broadway and Off-Broadway. He won the 2015 Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical for ''Fun Home''. Early life Gold was raised in Westchester and ...

, the cast featured

Laurie Metcalf Laura Elizabeth Metcalf (born June 16, 1955) is an American actress. Often described as a character actor, she's known for her complex and versitile roles across the stage and screen. She has received various accolades throughout her career sp ...

Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), '' October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' C ...

Jayne Houdyshell Jayne Houdyshell (born September 25, 1953) is an American, Tony-winning actress known for her performances on stage and screen. Houdyshell made her Broadway debut in the 2005 production of ''It's a Wonderful Life''. The following year she earn ...

, and

Condola Rashād Condola Phylea Rashad (born December 11, 1986) is an American actress best known for her work in the theatre. She first broke out with a critically acclaimed performance in Lynn Nottage's off-Broadway play ''Ruined'' (2009), which won a Pulitzer ...

. The play was commissioned by

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

, Costa Mesa, California, where it was running at the same time, directed by Shelley Butler, beginning April 9, 2017. This marked Hnath's Broadway debut. Hnath's play "picks up after

Henrik Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright and theatre director. As one of the founders of modernism in theatre, Ibsen is often referred to as "the father of realism" and one of the most influential pla ...

's ''

A Doll's House ''A Doll's House'' ( Danish and nb, Et dukkehjem; also translated as ''A Doll House'') is a three-act play written by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It premiered at the Royal Theatre in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 21 December 1879, having be ...

'' concludes." The play was nominated for the 2017

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 ...

for Best Play and Laurie Metcalf won the 2017 Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Play. His play ''

Hillary and Clinton ''Hillary and Clinton'' is a play written by Lucas Hnath that premiered in 2016 at the Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago. The play is set in an alternate universe and tells a story centering on Hillary Clinton's 2008 presidential campaign. ...

'' opened in previews on Broadway at the John Golden Theatre on March 16, 2019, officially on April 18. The play was directed by

Joe Mantello Joseph Mantello (born December 27, 1962) is an American actor and director known for his work on Broadway productions of ''Wicked'', '' Take Me Out'', and '' Assassins'', having gained notoriety in the 1993 cast of ''Angels in America''. Early l ...

and stars

and

John Lithgow John Arthur Lithgow ( ; born , 1945) is an American actor. Lithgow studied at Harvard University and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art before becoming known for his work on the stage and screen. He has been the recipient of numerous ...

. The play had pre-Broadway engagements starting in 2016 at the Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago. '' Dana H.'' premiered at the Kirk Douglas Theatre (Los Angeles) on May 26, 2019 in previews, officially on June 2, presented by the Center Theatre Group. The play relates a real-life incident in the life of his mother, Dana Higginbotham. The play is directed by Les Waters and stars

Deirdre O'Connell Eleanore Deirdre O'Connell (16 June 1939 – 9 June 2001) was an Irish American actress, singer, and theatre director who founded the Focus Theatre in Dublin, Ireland. Biography O'Connell was born in the South Bronx district of New York City, o ...

. The play was commissioned by

The Civilians The Civilians is an investigative theatre company in New York City founded in 2001 by Artistic Director, Steve Cosson. The Civilians artists pursue their inquiries using interviews, community residencies, research, and other methods. Working with ...

(New York) and the

Goodman Theatre Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the la ...

(Chicago), played at the Goodman later in 2019, and premiered on Broadway in 2021.

''The Christians''

His play ''The Christians'' concerns influence and faith in a megachurch, with much of the cast being a church "spirit-raising choir". The plot concerns a pastor who discards traditional fundamentalist Christianity in favor of a more inclusive and universalist Christianity, which affirms the goodness in other religions, and the impact this has on his congregation. It was produced at the Humana Festival of New American Plays (

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

) in 2014 and premiered

Playwrights Horizons Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. Under the ...

on August 28, 2015 (previews), closing on October 25, 2015. Directed by Les Waters, the cast featured Andrew Garman as "Pastor Paul", Larry Powell as "Associate Pastor Joshua", Linda Powell as "Elizabeth", Phillip Kerr as "Elder Jay", and Emily Donahoe as "The Congregant". The play made its

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

premiere at

Steppenwolf Theatre Company Steppenwolf Theatre Company is a Chicago theatre company founded in 1974 by Terry Kinney, Jeff Perry, and Gary Sinise in the Unitarian church on Half Day Road in Deerfield, Illinois and is now located in Chicago's Lincoln Park neighborhood on ...

on December 1, 2016, directed by K. Todd Freeman. The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' reviewer called it a "thought-provoking play".Weiss, Hedy
"At Steppenwolf, ‘Christians’ reveals a church in upheaval"
''Chicago Sun-Times'', January 3, 2017 Subsequently, it premiered in the

San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area G ...

at San Francisco Playhouse on January 24, 2017, directed by Bill English. The play was nominated for two 2016

Drama Desk Awards The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

: Outstanding Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play, Andrew Garman. The play was nominated for the 2016 Lortel Awards for Outstanding Play and Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Garman). The play won the 2016

Outer Critics Circle 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 newsp ...

, Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play.

Works

* ''Death Tax'', 2012, Humana Festival of New American Plays; Royal Court Theatre * '' A Public Reading of an Unproduced Screenplay About the Death of Walt Disney'', 2013, Soho Rep *''Isaac's Eye'', New York City, Ensemble Studio Theatre *''Red Speedo'', Overlook Press, ; 2013, Studio Theater, Washington, DC;Pressley, Nelson
"Studio Theatre’s ‘Red Speedo’ tests the waters on a current issue: doping"
''Washington Post'', September 27, 2013 2016, New York Theatre Workshop *''The Christians'', Overlook Press, 2015, , Actors Theatre of Louisville; Playwright's Horizons * ''

'', 2016, Victory Gardens Theater, Chicago; 2019, John Golden Theatre, Broadway * ''

'', 2017, John Golden Theatre, Broadway * '' Dana H.'', 2019, Kirk Douglas Theatre, Los Angeles; 2021, Lyceum Theatre, Broadway * ''The Thin Place'', 2019, Playwrights Horizons * ''The Courtship of Anna Nicole Smith'' (audio short play), 2020
Playing on Air

Awards and honors

* 2018 Windham–Campbell Literature Prize in Drama * 2017 Steinberg Playwright Award ("Mimi" Award), with a $50,000 monetary award * 2015

* 2016

for Playwriting for ''The Christians'' * 2016 Joseph Kesselring Prize for ''The Christians'' * 2015

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the art ...

"Lucas Hnath"
gf.org, retrieved January 18, 2017 * 2012 Whitfield Cook Award for ''Isaacs Eye''"Lucas Hnath"
tisch.nyu.edu, accessed May 1, 2016 * Two Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award Citations (2013 for ''Death Tax'')

References

External links

Internet Off-Broadway Database
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hnath, Lucas American male dramatists and playwrights Living people Writers from Orlando, Florida New York University faculty 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American male writers Tisch School of the Arts alumni Year of birth missing (living people)