Maurice Valency (22 March 1903 – 28 September 1996) was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, best known for his award-winning adaptations of plays by

Jean Giraudoux Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux (; ; 29 October 1882 – 31 January 1944) was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His wo ...

and Friedrich Dürrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of the plays of others. Valency's version of '' The Madwoman of Chaillot'' would become the basis of the Jerry Herman musical '' Dear World'' on Broadway. He is also noted for his book ''The Flower and the Castle: An Introduction to Modern Drama''. John Gassner in his review of this book said that Mr. Valency brought to his work "a lifetime of study and experience as well as a viewpoint both Olympian and engaged." Valency also wrote television plays, adaptations of librettos, novels, and academic works on Chekhov, Strindberg,

Ibsen Henrik Johan Ibsen (; ; 20 March 1828 – 23 May 1906) was a Norwegian playwright, poet and actor. Ibsen is considered the world's pre-eminent dramatist of the 19th century and is often referred to as "the father of modern drama." He pioneered ...

and Shaw.

Life

Maurice Valency was educated in New York City, getting a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

degree in 1923 at City College, and at

getting a

Bachelor of Laws A Bachelor of Laws (; LLB) is an undergraduate law degree offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree and serves as the first professional qualification for legal practitioners. This degree requires the study of core legal subje ...

degree in 1927 (Valency was a member of the New York bar), and a Ph.D. in 1938.Columbia University Archives, Maurice Valency papers, 1945–1963
/ref> In 1936 he married the artist Janet Cornell; they remained married for 60 years until Valency's death in New York City at the age of 93. Valency was a professor of comparative literature at Columbia and also taught dramatic literature at Juilliard and at

Brooklyn College Brooklyn College is a public university in Brooklyn in New York City, United States. It is part of the City University of New York system and enrolls nearly 14,000 students on a campus in the Midwood and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn as of fall ...

. He spoke seven languages.

Awards

* New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1949, for his adaptation of '' The Madwoman of Chaillot'' by Jean Giraudoux New York Drama Critics' Circle, Best Foreign Play * New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1954, for his adaptation of '' Ondine'' by Jean Giraudoux * New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1959, for his adaptation of '' The Visit'' by Friedrich Dürrenmatt * Tony Award nomination for Best Play, 1959, for his adaptation of ''The Visit'' *

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 $25,000 (about $550,000 in 2023) gift from Edsel Ford. ...

Fellowship, 1958 *

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are Grant (money), grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, endowed by the late Simon Guggenheim, Simon and Olga Hirsh Guggenheim. These awards are bestowed upon indiv ...

, 1960

Works

Adaptations

* '' The Madwoman of Chaillot'' (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Random House, New York, 1947, OCLC Num: 639892557 * '' The Enchanted: a comedy in three acts'' (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Random House, New York, 1950, OCLC Num: 818215 * '' The Virtuous Island: a play in one act'' (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Samuel French, New York, 1956, OCLC Num: 2070415 * ''The Queen's Gambit: a romantic comedy in three acts'' (Eugène Scribe), Pub: Samuel French, New York, 1956, OCLC Num:: 504510488 * ''Four plays: The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Apollo of Bellac, The Enchanted, Ondine, adapted, and with an introduction by Maurice Valency'' (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Hill and Wang, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 70459302 * '' The visit: a play in three acts'' (Friedrich Dürrenmatt), Pub: Random House, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 1379852 * '' Feathertop'', Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1998 * ''

La Périchole ''La Périchole'' () is an opéra bouffe in three acts with music by Jacques Offenbach and words by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy. The opera depicts the mutual love of two impoverished Peruvian street singers – too poor to afford a marriage ...

'' (opera libretto), The American University Theatre, 1970, OCLC Num: 690595158 * ''The Reluctant King'' (opera libretto)

Original works

* ''The palace of pleasure: an anthology of the novella'' (with Henry Levtow), Pub: Capricorn Books, New York, 1960, OCLC Num: 296836 * ''In praise of love: an introduction to the love-poetry of the Renaissance'', Pub: Macmillan, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 313778 * ''The Thracian horses'', Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1963, OCLC Num: 2684110 * ''The flower and the castle: an introduction to modern drama'', Pub: Macmillan, New York, 1963, OCLC Num: 330053 * ''The breaking string: the plays of Chekhov'', Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1966, OCLC Num: 712186 * ''The cart and the trumpet: the plays of

George Bernard Shaw George Bernard Shaw (26 July 1856 – 2 November 1950), known at his insistence as Bernard Shaw, was an Irish playwright, critic, polemicist and political activist. His influence on Western theatre, culture and politics extended from the 188 ...

'', Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1973, OCLC Num: 627998 * ''Savonarola'' (play), 1974 * ''Regarding Electra: a play in one or two acts'', Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1976, OCLC Num: 2918272 * ''Conversation with a sphinx: a play in one act'', Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1980, OCLC Num: 6925360 * ''The end of the world: an introduction to contemporary drama'', Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1980, OCLC Num: 5051656 * ''Ashby: a novel'', Pub: Schocken Books, New York, 1984, * ''Julie: a novel'', Pub: New Amsterdam, New York, 1989, * ''Tragedy'', Pub: New York: New Amsterdam, 1991,

Television plays

* 1951: ''Battleship Bismarck'' CBS-TV * 1953: ''Toine'' ( Omnibus), CBS-TV * 1953: ''The Man without a Country'' (Omnibus), CBS-TV * 1954: ''The Apollo of Bellac'' (Omnibus), CBS-TV * 1955: ''She Stoops to Conquer'' (Omnibus), CBS-TV * 1956: ''The Virtuous Island'' (for Omnibus), ABC-TV * 1957: ''The Second Stranger'' ( General Electric Theater), CBS-TV * 1957: '' Feathertop'' (General Electric Theatre), CBS-TV (adaptation of story by

Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne (né Hathorne; July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, from a family long associat ...

)Hawthorne, Nathaniel, adapted by Maurice Valency, "Feathertop," in ''Fifteen American One-Act Plays'', Paul Kozelka, ed., New York: Washington Square Press, 1961.

References

External links

* , Retrieved 25 September 2010 * , Retrieved 11 June 2017 * , Retrieved 25 September 2010
Maurice Valency
a
doollee.com
the playwright's data base, Retrieved 25 September 2010
Finding aid to Maurice Valency papers at Columbia University. Rare Book & Manuscript Library.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valency, Maurice Writers from New York City Tony Award winners Columbia Law School alumni City College of New York alumni 1903 births 1996 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American translators Juilliard School faculty Brooklyn College faculty American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers