David Christopher Richards, best known as Christopher Richards (born November 29, 1961) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

playwright, theatre designer and casting director.

Life and career

Born in Scarborough,

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

, Richards grew up in Markham and later Astorville. He studied acting at

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and staf ...

between 1982 and 1986, working as a dresser at the

Stratford Shakespeare Festival The Stratford Festival is a theatre festival which runs from April to October in the city of Stratford, Ontario, Canada. Founded by local journalist Tom Patterson in 1952, the festival was formerly known as the Stratford Shakespearean Festival ...

during summer breaks. After graduating from York in 1986, Richards formed a drag troupe, The BoHo Girls. Taking on the mantle of artistic director and designer, Richards honed a style of visual comedy which would inform later works. In 1994, Richards and John Wimbs Jr. authored ''

Molly Wood Molly Kristin Wood (born May 23, 1975) is an American venture capitalist, podcast host, and journalist. Early life and education Molly Wood was born in Helena, Montana on May 23, 1975. She graduated in May 1997 with a BA in journalism with a mi ...

'', a full-length play about Alexander Wood. Initially thought of as a vehicle for the BoHo Girls, ''Molly Wood'' developed into a full-length theatrical production after the depth of the subject matter was fully researched. Opening at the

Bathurst Street Theatre The Randolph Theatre (formerly the Bathurst Street Theatre) is a 518 seat theatre in Toronto, Ontario, that is housed in a former church. The Gothic revival building is located at 736 Bathurst Street at the intersection with Lennox Street. The t ...

, ''Molly Wood'' garnered Richards

Dora Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped esta ...

s for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Production of a Play, Large Theatre division in 1995. Following the break-up of the BoHo Girls, Richards began collaborating with a group of Toronto comedians, Lisa Lambert, Paul O'Sullivan and

Jonathan Crombie Jonathan Crombie (October 12, 1966 – April 15, 2015) was a Canadian actor and voice over artist, best known for playing Gilbert Blythe in CBC Television's 1985 telefilm ''Anne of Green Gables'' and its two sequels. Early life Crombie was b ...

among them, whose efforts produced a series of mini-musicals. The end result of this creative teaming was ''

The Drowsy Chaperone ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' is a Canadian musical with music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison, and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar. The story concerns a middle-aged, asocial musical theater fan who, feeling "blue", decides to pl ...

''. ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' was first staged at

The Rivoli The Rivoli is a bar, restaurant and performance space, established in 1982, on Queen Street West in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The club originally earned a reputation as one of Canada's hippest music clubs, and many major Canadian comedy and mus ...

in 1998, followed by a run at the

Toronto Fringe Festival The Toronto Fringe Festival is an annual theatre festival, featuring un-juried plays by unknown or well-known artists, taking place in the theatres of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Several productions originally mounted at the Fringe have later been ...

in 1999. Writing in ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', Mira Friedlander cited the production values of this version as incentive for further productions.Mira Friedlander, ''

'', July 5, 1999 The ''Variety'' article caught the attention of

Mirvish Productions Mirvish Productions is a Canadian based theatrical production company and promoter. The company was founded in 1987 by David Mirvish, son of Toronto retailing icon and owner of the Royal Alexandra Theatre, Ed Mirvish. The first assets acqui ...

and the musical was again staged at the

Theatre Passe Muraille Theatre Passe Muraille is a theatre company in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Brief history One of Canada's most influential alternative theatres, Theatre Passe Muraille ("theatre beyond walls") was founded in 1968 by director and playwright Jim Garr ...

in 1999. Richards was nominated for a Dora Award for his costume designs on this production. ''The Drowsy Chaperone'' was then added to the Mirvish subscription series with a production at Toronto's

Winter Garden A winter garden is a kind of garden maintained in wintertime. History The origin of the winter garden dates back to the 17th to 19th centuries where European nobility would construct large conservatories that would house tropical and subtro ...

in 2002. The Drowsy Chaperone went on to a successful broadway run in 2006 at the

Marquis Theatre The Marquis Theatre is a Broadway theater on the third floor of the New York Marriott Marquis hotel in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1986, it is operated by the Nederlander Organization. There are abou ...

. Throughout the 1990s Richards was a frequent contributor to ''

Xtra! ''Xtra Magazine'' (formerly ''DailyXtra'' and ''Xtra!'') is an LGBTQ-focused digital publication and former print newspaper published by Pink Triangle Press in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The publication is a continuation of the company's former p ...

''. For the last 20 years Richards has worked in casting film and TV. In 2018, Richards and co-writer Gordon Bowness mounted a

musical production of "The Ding Dong Girls" with songs by

Lisa Lambert Lisa Lambert (born December 1962 in Washington D.C.) is an actress, comedy writer, and Tony Award-winning composer, best known for writing the music and lyrics to ''The Drowsy Chaperone''. Career Lambert played in the movies ''Childstar'' and ''S ...

at the

Factory Theatre Factory Theatre is a theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded as Factory Theatre Lab in 1970 by Ken Gass and Frank Trotz, and it was run for almost 20 years by Dian English. Factory was the first theatre to announce that it would ...

Plays and Musicals

*''Molly Wood'' (1994), Lovers & Madmen, directed by Ned Vukovic *''The Ding Dong Girls'' (2018), Toronto Fringe Festival, co-written with Gordon Bowness, Songs by Lisa Lambert

Drag Shows

*''All-Beehive Revue Salute to Mother's Day'' (1989) Pimblett's *''Multi-Medea'' (1889) 249 A Gerrard Street, Rooftop *''Make-over Massacre'' (1989) Pimblett's *''The X-mas Show'' (1989) Chaps *''Beach Party BoHo'' (1990) Chaps *''Scary-Boo BoHo'' (1990) Chaps *''The Greatest BoHo Story Ever Told'' (1991) Chaps *''Go-Go Mary'' (1991)

Buddies in Bad Times Buddies in Bad Times Theatre is a Canadian professional theatre company. Based in Toronto, Ontario and founded in 1978 by Matt Walsh, Jerry Ciccoritti, and Sky Gilbert, ''Buddies in Bad Times'' is dedicated to "the promotion of queer theatrical ...

(George Street) *''Vive Lava Difference'' (1991) Chaps *''Lost In Time'' (1994) Chaps *''Secret Agent Show'' (1995) Woody's *''Pooky Goes to Hell'' (1995) Woody's *''Lady Winter'' (1996) Woody's *''Pooky Goes to Hell'' (1996) The Rivoli

Costume Design

*''Molly Wood'' (1994) Lover's & Madmen, Bathurst Street Theatre *''The Misfit'' (1995) Lovers & Madmen, Bathurst Street Theatre *''Rock That Rainbow'' (1996) Brock & John Productions, The Rivoli *''Short Leave'' (1997) Brock & John Productions, The Rivoli *''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (1998) The Rivoli *''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (1999) The Toronto Fringe Festival, The George Ignatieff Theatre *''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (1999) John Karastimatis, Theatre Passe Muraille *''The Drowsy Chaperone'' (2002) Mirvish Productions, Winter Garden *''This Could Be Love'' (2003) Brock Simpson, The Poor Alex *''The Ding Dong Girls (2018), Toronto Fringe Festival

Awards

* 1995 Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding New Play or Musical - Molly Wood * 1995 Dora Mavor Moore Award Best Production of a Play or Musical - Molly Wood * 2018 Patron's Pick Award (Bathurst Street Theatre) Toronto Fringe - The Ding Dong Girls

Nominations

* 2000 Dora Mavor Moore Award Outstanding Costume Design -

Casting Director

*2016 to present-

Baroness von Sketch Show ''Baroness von Sketch Show'' is a Canadian television sketch comedy series. It debuted on CBC Television on June 14, 2016. Produced by Frantic Films, the series is an all-female comedy series starring Carolyn Taylor, Meredith MacNeill, Aurora ...

Notes

External links

TAPA Official Web Site
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, Christopher 1961 births Writers from Scarborough, Toronto York University alumni Living people Canadian gay writers Canadian drag queens Canadian LGBT dramatists and playwrights Canadian male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Canadian male writers 21st-century Canadian male writers Canadian theatre directors LGBT theatre directors 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century LGBT people Gay dramatists and playwrights