James A. Neu (November 18, 1943 – July 19, 2010) was an American playwright who was best known for his quirky, experimental plays, many of which were staged

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway theatre, Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commerc ...

. Neu was born on November 18, 1943, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...

and moved to

Huntington, New York Huntington is one of ten Administrative divisions of New York#Town, towns in Suffolk County, New York, Suffolk County, New York (state), New York, United States. The town's population was 204,127 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the 11 ...

with his family when he was seven years old. He graduated from

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public university in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneonta N ...

and was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

, where he was stationed in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (1 November 1955 – 30 April 1975) was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam (Democratic Republic of Vietnam) and South Vietnam (Republic of Vietnam) and their allies. North Vietnam w ...

.Weber, Bruce
"Jim Neu, Creator of Wry Plays, Is Dead at 66"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', July 21, 2010. Accessed July 21, 2010. As he described in his biography, he was "unlucky enough to be drafted after graduating college, but lucky enough not to be sent to Viet Nam".Biography
JimNeu.com. Accessed July 21, 2010. After completing his military service in 1967, he moved to

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Historically, it w ...

, beginning a "quest for self" that many went through in that period. At a friend's suggestion, he attended a workshop with

avant-garde In the arts and literature, the term ''avant-garde'' ( meaning or ) identifies an experimental genre or work of art, and the artist who created it, which usually is aesthetically innovative, whilst initially being ideologically unacceptable ...

theatrical director Robert Wilson in 1970. Wilson was looking for actors with no prior theater experience, and Neu became involved with Wilson's work as a performer with the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds troupe and as a contributor to some of his plays. Neu started a career writing plays of his own, many of which were staged at

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

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (sometimes abbreviated as La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theater founded in 1961 by African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer Ellen Stewart. Located in the East Village neighborho ...

. Neu would often appear in his own works and was fond of including jazz riffs from

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous Big band, jazz orchestra from 1924 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D ...

and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk ( October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the Jazz standard, standard jazz repertoire, includ ...

. Works he staged include his 1995 play ''The Floatones'', ''Mondo Beyondo'' in 1997 and 1999's ''Undercurrent Incorporated''. In a 2001 collaboration with choreographer Douglas Dunn, Neu presented ''Aerobia'', his first dance theater production, which told the story of six characters at a health club of the future where people come to exercise their "sociomuscularity". In what ''

'' called "a brief but engaging torrent of intriguing ideas and dizzying wordplay" that "rewards repeat viewing", his 2008 production of ''Gang of Seven'' directed by frequent collaborator Keith McDermott featured seven stage cliche characters who are part of a focus group for an unidentified product interacting with each other using marketing neologisms.Webster, Andy
"No One Talks Media-Speak Like Product Pushers"
''

'', December 17, 2008. Accessed July 21, 2010.

Andrew Horn Andrew Horn (–1328) was a fishmonger of Bridge Street, London, lawyer and legal scholar. Biography He served as Chamberlain of London, Chamberlain of the City of London from 1320 until his death in 1328. Sir William Blackstone's ''Commentarie ...

directed two screenplays he wrote, the feature films ''Doomed Love'' in 1983 and ''The Big Blue'' in 1988. A resident of

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Encompassing approximately 40 city blocks, it is bounded by Degraw and Warren Streets (north), Hoyt and Smith Streets (east), Ninth Street ...

, Neu died at his home there at age 66 on July 19, 2010, due to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma, is a malignant tumor that begins in the lung. Lung cancer is caused by genetic damage to the DNA of cells in the airways, often caused by cigarette smoking or inhaling damaging chemicals. Damaged ...

. He was survived by his wife, Carol Mullins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neu, Jim

External links

Jim Neu Papers
Fales Library and Special Collections at New York University Special Collections 1943 births 2010 deaths American theatre directors Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Writers from Brooklyn People from Huntington, New York People from the Lower East Side State University of New York at Oneonta alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn