Playwrights Horizons is a

not-for-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

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 ...

theater located in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights,

composers A composer is a person who writes music. The term is especially used to indicate composers of Western classical music, or those who are composers by occupation. Many composers are, or were, also skilled performers of music. Etymology and Def ...

, and

lyricists 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 income der ...

, and to the production of their new work. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Adam Greenfield and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, Playwrights Horizons encourages the new work of veteran writers while nurturing an emerging generation of theater artists. Writers are supported through every stage of their growth with a series of development programs: script and score evaluations, commissions, readings, musical theater workshops, Studio and Mainstage productions.

History

Playwrights Horizons was founded in 1971 at the Clark Center Y by Robert Moss, before moving to 42nd Street in 1977 where it was one of the original theaters that started Theater Row by converting adult entertainment venues into off Broadway theaters. The current building was built on the site of a former burlesque, which previously served as the off-Broadway Maidman Playhouse between 1960 and 1966.

André Bishop André Bishop (born November 9, 1948) is an American theatrical producer, and Artistic Director and Producing Artistic Director, of Lincoln Center Theater. He has produced over 80 Broadway plays and musicals and has won numerous Tony Awards. E ...

served as Artistic Director from 1981 to 1991, followed by Don Scardino who served through 1995. Tim Sanford served as Artistic Director from 1996 until July 2020, serving as "outgoing Artistic Director" during the 2020-2021 season. Adam Greenfield took over as Artistic Director in July 2020. Playwrights Horizons has worked with over 375 writers and is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2005, it was among 406

arts and social service institutions to receive part of a $20 million grant from the Carnegie Corporation, which was made possible through a donation by New York City mayor

Michael Bloomberg Michael Rubens Bloomberg (born February 14, 1942) is an American businessman, politician, philanthropist, and author. He is the majority owner, co-founder and CEO of Bloomberg L.P. He was Mayor of New York City from 2002 to 2013, and was a c ...

. Playwrights Horizons' auxiliary programs include the Playwrights Horizons Theater School, which is affiliated with

NYU 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, the ...

's Tisch School of the Arts, and Ticket Central, a central box office that supports the off-Broadway performing arts community.

Notable productions

Past productions include seven

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made ...

winners: *

Michael R. Jackson Michael R. Jackson (born 1981) is an American playwright, composer, and lyricist, best known for his musical ''A Strange Loop'', which won the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the 2022 Tony Award for Best Musical. He is originally from Detroit, M ...

's '' A Strange Loop'' (2020) * Annie Baker's '' The Flick'' (2014) * Bruce Norris's ''

Clybourne Park ''Clybourne Park'' is a 2010 play by Bruce Norris written as a spin-off to Lorraine Hansberry's play '' A Raisin in the Sun'' (1959). It portrays fictional events set during and after the Hansberry play, and is loosely based on historical event ...

'' (2011) * Doug Wright's ''

I Am My Own Wife ''I Am My Own Wife'' is a play by Doug Wright based on his conversations with the German antiquarian Charlotte von Mahlsdorf. The one-man play premiered Off-Broadway in 2003 at Playwrights Horizons. It opened on Broadway later that year. The pla ...

'' (2004) *

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 ...

's '' The Heidi Chronicles'' (1989) * Alfred Uhry's ''

Driving Miss Daisy '' Driving Miss Daisy'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed by Bruce Beresford and written by Alfred Uhry, based on his 1987 play of the same name. The film stars Jessica Tandy, Morgan Freeman, and Dan Aykroyd. Freeman reprised his r ...

'' (1988) *

Stephen Sondheim Stephen Joshua Sondheim (; March 22, 1930November 26, 2021) was an American composer and lyricist. One of the most important figures in twentieth-century musical theater, Sondheim is credited for having "reinvented the American musical" with sho ...

and

James Lapine James Elliot Lapine (born January 10, 1949) is an American stage director, playwright, screenwriter, and librettist. He has won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical three times, for ''Into the Woods'', '' Falsettos'', and '' Passion''. He ...

's ''

Sunday in the Park with George ''Sunday in the Park with George'' is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. It was inspired by the French pointillist painter Georges Seurat's painting ''A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande J ...

'' (1985) Other notable productions include: * '' In Trousers'', '' March of the Falsettos'', and '' Falsettoland'' – William Finn * ''

The Dining Room ''The Dining Room'' is a play by the American playwright A. R. Gurney. It was first produced Off-Broadway at the Studio Theatre of Playwrights Horizons, in 1981. Synopsis The play is a comedy of manners, set in a single dining room where 18 scen ...

'' – A.R. Gurney * ''

Assassins An assassin is a person who commits targeted murder. Assassin may also refer to: Origin of term * Someone belonging to the medieval Persian Ismaili order of Assassins Animals and insects * Assassin bugs, a genus in the family ''Reduviid ...

'' –

and John Weidman * ''The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin'' –

Kirsten Childs Kirsten J. Childs is an American playwright, librettist, and former actress. Early life and performing career Childs was born in Los Angeles, California. Her parents were schoolteachers. Her younger brother is the jazz musician Billy Childs. Sh ...

* '' James Joyce's The Dead'' – Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey * '' Lobby Hero'' – Kenneth Lonergan * '' Betty's Summer Vacation'' and '' Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You'' – Christopher Durang * ''

Goodnight Children Everywhere ''Goodnight Children Everywhere'' is a 1997 play written by American playwright Richard Nelson that premiered at The Other Place, in Stratford-upon-Avon, England. The play is set in 1945 just after the end of World War II. Three sisters reunite ...

'' and ''Franny's Way'' – Richard Nelson * '' The Substance of Fire'' – Jon Robin Baitz * '' Marvin's Room'' –

Scott McPherson Scott McPherson (October 13, 1959 Columbus, Ohio – November 7, 1992 Chicago) was an American playwright. Life He graduated from Ohio University. In 1981, he moved to Chicago, where he acted in ''The House of Blue Leaves'' and "The Normal H ...

* '' Floyd Collins'' – Adam Guettel and Tina Landau * '' Violet'' –

Jeanine Tesori Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway m ...

and Brian Crawley * ''Small Tragedy'' and ''Prayer for My Enemy'' – Craig Lucas * ''

Grey Gardens ''Grey Gardens'' is a 1975 American documentary film by Albert and David Maysles. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive, upper-class women, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived in poverty at Grey Gardens, a ...

'' – Doug Wright, Scott Frankel, and Michael Korie * ''This'' –

Melissa James Gibson Melissa James Gibson is a Canadian-born playwright based in New York. Life The child of former BC Liberal MLA Gordon Gibson and journalist Valerie Gibson, Melissa James Gibson grew up in North Vancouver. She graduated from Columbia University a ...

* ''

'' and ''

The Pain and the Itch ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

'' – Bruce Norris * '' Circle Mirror Transformation'' and '' The Flick'' – Annie Baker * ''

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

'' –

Lisa D'Amour Lisa D'Amour is a playwright, performer, and former Carnival Queen from New Orleans. D'Amour is an alumna of New Dramatists. Her play '' Detroit'' was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Biography Education D'Amour received a B.A. i ...

* '' Dance Nation'' — Clare Barron * ''

Heroes of the Fourth Turning ''Heroes of the Fourth Turning'' is a 2019 play by American writer Will Arbery. It focuses on a group of young Catholic intellectuals who reunite at their college in Wyoming. It premiered off-Broadway. It was received positively by both theatri ...

'' – Will Arbery * ''

The Treasurer ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' - Max Posner

References

External links

* * * {{coord, 40, 45, 31, N, 73, 59, 37, W, region:US-NY, display=title 1971 establishments in New York City 42nd Street (Manhattan) Hell's Kitchen, Manhattan Off-Broadway theaters Theatres completed in 1971 Theatres in Manhattan Theatre companies in New York City