Richard Greenberg (born February 22, 1958) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

and

television writer A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

known for his subversively humorous depictions of middle-class American life. He has had more than 25 plays premiere on and Off-Broadway in New York City and eight at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California, including '' The Violet Hour'', ''Everett Beekin'', and ''Hurrah at Last.'' Greenberg is perhaps best known for his 2003

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

winning play, '' Take Me Out'', about the conflicts that arise after a Major League Baseball player nonchalantly announces to the media that he is gay. The play premiered in London and ran in New York as the first collaboration between England's

Donmar Warehouse The Donmar Warehouse is a 251-seat, not-for-profit Off-West End theatre in Covent Garden, London, England. It first opened on 18 July 1977. Sam Mendes, Michael Grandage, Josie Rourke and Michael Longhurst have all served as artistic direc ...

and New York's Public Theater. After it transferred to Broadway in early 2003, ''Take Me Out'' won widespread critical acclaim for Greenberg and many prestigious awards.

Background and education

Greenberg grew up in East Meadow, New York, a middle-class

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

town in Nassau County, east of New York City. His father, Leon Greenberg, was an executive for New York's Century Theaters movie chain, and his mother Shirley was a homemaker. Greenberg graduated from East Meadow High School in 1976 and went on to attend

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

, where he graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

with an A.B. in English. As part of his degree, Greenberg completed a 438-page senior thesis titled "A Romantic Career - A Novel". At Princeton, Greenberg studied creative writing under

Joyce Carol Oates Joyce Carol Oates (born June 16, 1938) is an American writer. Oates published her first book in 1963, and has since published 58 novels, a number of plays and novellas, and many volumes of short stories, poetry, and nonfiction. Her novels ''Black ...

and roomed with future

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

economics Economics () is a behavioral science that studies the Production (economics), production, distribution (economics), distribution, and Consumption (economics), consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interac ...

professor

Greg Mankiw Nicholas Gregory Mankiw ( ; born February 3, 1958) is an American macroeconomist who is currently the Robert M. Beren Professor of Economics at Harvard University. Mankiw is best known in academia for his work on New Keynesian economics. Man ...

. Later he attended Harvard for graduate work in English and American literature, but dropped out of the program when he was accepted to the Yale School of Drama's playwriting program in 1985.

Career

Along with '' Take Me Out'', Greenberg's plays include ''The Dazzle'', '' The American Plan'', '' Life Under Water'', and ''The Author's Voice''. His adaptation of

August Strindberg Johan August Strindberg (; ; 22 January 184914 May 1912) was a Swedish playwright, novelist, poet, essayist, and painter.Lane (1998), 1040. A prolific writer who often drew directly on his personal experience, Strindberg wrote more than 60 pla ...

's '' Dance of Death'' ran on Broadway in 2002, starring Ian McKellen,

Helen Mirren Dame Helen Mirren (; born Ilyena Lydia Vasilievna Mironov; 26 July 1945) is an English actor. With a career spanning over six decades of Helen Mirren on screen and stage, screen and stage, List of awards and nominations received by Helen Mirre ...

, and David Strathairn. He received the George Oppenheimer Award presented by ''Newsday'' in 1985 for ''The Bloodletters'', produced

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 ...

while he was at Yale. In 1998 he was the first winner of the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award for a playwright in mid-career. In 2013, Greenberg worked on three shows: on Broadway, an adaptation of '' Breakfast at Tiffany's'' and '' The Assembled Parties'', and the book for the musical ''

Far From Heaven ''Far from Heaven'' is a 2002 historical romantic drama film written and directed by Todd Haynes and starring Julianne Moore, Dennis Quaid, Dennis Haysbert and Patricia Clarkson. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival, where Moore won the ...

'', which opened in June 2013 at Playwrights Horizons. His play ''Our Mother's Brief Affair'' premiered at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in

Costa Mesa Costa may refer to: Biology * Rib (Latin: ''costa''), in vertebrate anatomy * Costa (botany), the central strand of a plant leaf or thallus * Costa (coral), a stony rib, part of the skeleton of a coral * Costa (entomology), the leading edge o ...

in April 2009. Directed by Pam MacKinnon, the cast featured Jenny O'Hara, Matthew Arkin, Arye Gross and Marin Hinkle. This was a commission from the SCRT. The play opened on Broadway at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club, on December 28, 2015 (previews), and officially on January 20, 2016, starring Linda Lavin. His play ''The Babylon Line'' premiered Off-Broadway at

Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theatre, Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City, New York, U.S. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT ...

's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on November 10, 2016, in previews, and officially on December 5. Directed by Terry Kinney, the cast features Josh Radnor as a writing teacher and Elizabeth Reaser as his student. The play was first performed at New York Stage and Film &

Vassar College Vassar College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Poughkeepsie, New York, United States. Founded in 1861 by Matthew Vassar, it was the second degree-granting institution of higher education for women in the United States. The college be ...

's Powerhouse Theater in June and July 2014, starring Radnor.

Style

''The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights'' describes Greenberg's "most prominent" interest as history "and (also) the past". He has a strong "tendency to draw on historical characters or events——the

Lost Generation The Lost Generation was the Demography, demographic Cohort (statistics), cohort that reached early adulthood during World War I, and preceded the Greatest Generation. The social generation is generally defined as people born from 1883 to 1900, ...

, the Collyer Brothers, the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

" as sources for his material. He is said to have a "witty use of language."

Awards and nominations

, Best Play :: ''The Assembled Parties'', 2013 - nominee :: ''Take Me Out'', 2003 - winner *

New York Drama Critics Circle Award The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 23 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization is best known for its annual awards for excellence in theater.Jon ...

, Best American Play :: ''Take Me Out'', 2003 :: ''Three Days of Rain'', 1998 - Runner up *

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

, Outstanding Play :: ''The Assembled Parties'', 2013 - nominee :: ''Take Me Out'', 2003 - winner * Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Play :: ''Take Me Out'', 2003 - winner :: ''The Dazzle'', 2002 - nominee * Drama League Award, Best Play, ''Take Me Out'', 2003 *

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 news ...

:: ''The Dazzle'', 2002 Outstanding Off-Broadway Play - winner :: John Gassner Award, ''The Dazzle'', 2002 - nominee * Oppenheimer Award, Best New Playwright (''The Bloodletters'', 1985) * Molly Kazan Playwriting Award * PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award for an American Playwright in Mid-Career (1998) *

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

:: ''Three Days of Rain'', 1998 - Finalist :: ''Take Me Out'', 2003 - Finalist

Works

Theatre

* 1984: '' The Bloodletters'', Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, NY, 1984. * 1985: '' Life Under Water'', Marathon '85 Series. Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, NY, 1985. * 1986: '' Vanishing Act'', Marathon '86 Series. Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, NY, 1986. * 1987: ''The Author's Voice & Imagining Brad'', Greenwich House, New York, NY, 1999. * 1987: ''The Hunger Artist'' (based on stories and letters by Franz Kafka), St. Clement's, New York, NY * 1987: ''The Maderati'', Playwrights Horizons, February 19, 1987. * 1987: '' Eastern Standard'', John Golden Theatre, Broadway, January 5, 1989. * 1988: ''Neptune's Hips'', Marathon '88 Series. Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York, NY, 1988. * 1990: '' The American Plan'', Manhattan Theatre Club. New York City Center-Stage I. December 4, 1990. * 1992: ''The Extra Man'', Manhattan Theatre Club. New York City Center-Stage II. April 28, 1992. * 1992: '' Jenny Keeps Talking'', Manhattan Theatre Club. New York City Center-Stage II, New York, NY. March 22, 1993. * 1992: '' Pal Joey'' (based on the musical by John O'Hara, revised book), Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA, 1992–1993. * 1994: ''Night And Her Stars'', Manhattan Theatre Club. New York City Center-Stage II, March 29, 1995; South Coast Repertory, March 1994 * 1998: '' Three Days of Rain'', Manhattan Theatre Club. New York City Center-Stage II, November 12, 1997. * 1998: '' Hurrah at Last'', Roundabout Theatre Company. Gramercy Theater, New York, NY, June 3, 1999. * 2000: ''Everett Beekin'',

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, November 14, 2001 South Coast Repertory, September 2000 * 2001: '' The Dance of Death'', Broadway * 2002: ''The Dazzle'', Gramercy Theater, New York, NY, March 5, 2002. * 2002: '' Take Me Out'', Joseph Papp Public Theater, New York, NY, September 5, 2002. * 2003: '' The Violet Hour'', Steppenwolf Theater Company, Chicago, IL, 2003; Manhattan Theatre Club. Biltmore Theatre, New York, NY, 2003. * 2005: '' A Naked Girl on the Appian Way'' * 2006: ''Bal Masque'', Theatre J, Washington, D.C. * 2006: ''The Well-Appointed Room'', Steppenwolf Theater Company, ChicagoColumbus, Curt; Murray, Thomas; Nedved, William
"Richard Greenberg: The Mind Lighting 'The Well-Appointed Room'"
steppenwolf.org, 2005-2006, Vol. 2 * 2006: ''The House in Town'',

, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater * 2008: ''The Injured Party'', South Coast Repertory Theater, Costa Mesa, CA. * 2009: '' The American Plan'', revival, Broadway * 2009: ''Our Mother's Brief Affair'', South Coast Repertory Theater, Costa Mesa, CA. *2013: ''Breakfast at Tiffany's'', Broadway, Cort Theatre''Breakfast at Tiffany's''
ibdb.com, accessed December 15, 2016 * 2013: '' The Assembled Parties'', Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club * 2015: ''Our Mother's Brief Affair'', Broadway, Manhattan Theatre Club * 2016: ''The Babylon Line'', Off-Broadway, Lincoln Center * 2022: ''Take Me Out'', revival, Broadway, 2nd Stage Theater

Television

* 1989: "Ask Me Again" (based on "An Old-Fashioned Story" by Laurie Colwin), American Playhouse, PBS. * 1989: "Life under Water" (based on his one-act play), PBS. * 1989: "The Sad Professor," '' Trying Times'', PBS. * 1991: "Georgie through the Looking Glass," ''Sisters,'' NBC. * 1999: "The Time the Millennium Approached," ''Time of Your Life,'' Fox.

References

External links

Richard Greenberg
- ''Downstage Center'' interview at

American Theatre Wing The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...

''Everett Beekin''
at South Coast Repertory
Playbill.com on The Violet Hour

The Old Globe, San Diego

review of ''Take Me Out'' * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Greenberg, Richard 1958 births Living people Princeton University alumni Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from East Meadow, New York Writers from New York (state) David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni LGBTQ Jews East Meadow High School alumni