Ken Ludwig
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Ken Ludwig is a Tony Award nominated, internationally acclaimed playwright who has seen his work produced with regular success on Broadway, London's West End, and many other major venues throughout the world. Some of his best known plays include Crazy For You, Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, Leading Ladies, and Be My Baby. Recently, he received a commission from the Royal Shakespeare Company to write Shakespeare in Hollywood. For more information on his life and works, see his website: www.kenludwig.com.
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[edit] Personal life and education
Ludwig was born in York, Pennsylvania and entered Haverford College where he received his B.A. In 1970, while at Haverford, he penned a series of sketches under the title Class Nights.[1] This production marked the first time Ludwig's work was produced and mounted for a theatrical audience. Upon completing his undergraduate studies, Ludwig accepted a spot at the prestigious Harvard Law School where he earned a J.D., and subsequently completed his education at Cambridge University (Trinity College) (LL.B.). He practiced law for several years with the firm of Steptoe & Johnson, where he remains Of Counsel.
During his education he was heavily exposed to Shakespeare by professor Ralph Sargent, and at Harvard he studied musical theater under the guidance of Leonard Bernstein. Both subjects seem to have greatly influenced him as they feature prominently in his plays Lend Me a Tenor, Moon Over Buffalo, Shakespeare in Hollywood, and Leading Ladies.
Ludwig currently resides in Washington, D.C. He is married to Adrienne George and has two young children: Olivia and Jack.[2] He is a founding member of the Shakespeare Theatre Company.
[edit] Success as a playwright
Ludwig's plays have received many honors including the Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Helen Hayes Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award. The author himself has received many accolades including two Tony nominations. He was nominated in 1989 for Best Play (Lend Me a Tenor), and again in 1992 for Best Book of a Musical (Crazy For You). [3] Some further examples of his success include:
- Crazy For You, with music by George Gershwin, lyrics by Ira Gershwin, and book by Ludwig, ran for four years at the Shubert Theater in New York City. It won the Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Los Angeles Critics Circle, and Helen Hayes Awards as Best Musical of the Year. It was also well received in London where the production won the Olivier Award for Best Musical. The musical was also filmed and broadcast nationwide on the PBS television series Great Performances.
- Lend Me a Tenor, produced by Andrew Lloyd Webber, has proved to be one of the most popular comedies of the past two decades. It has been translated into sixteen languages and produced in over twenty-five countries around the world. A favorite of regional theatres and theatres around the world, the comedy had a successful run on Broadway. It was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Play, and won two. In addition, Lend Me a Tenor earned four Drama Desks and three Outer Critics Circle Awards. In London it was nominated for the Olivier Comedy of the Year Award.
- Moon Over Buffalo is notable for marking Carol Burnett's return to the Broadway stage after a nearly 30 year absence. She starred opposite Philip Bosco. Subsequent Broadway casts included Lynn Redgrave and Robert Goulet. This production was nominated for two Tony Awards. It also played in London at the Old Vic where it starred Joan Collins and Frank Langella. [4]
[edit] Recent work
Ludwig is still active in the theatre and has continued producing plays. In 2001, his adaptation of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer appeared on Broadway; and a one-hour children's version had a successful run at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The latter version toured the country for two years.
The 2003-2004 season saw a new set of plays by Ludwig receive their debut. Twentieth Century, his adaptation of the Hecht-MacArthur comedy, played to sold-out audiences on Broadway. It was produced by the Roundabout Theatre Company and starred stage regular Alec Baldwin and Anne Heche in the lead roles. Shakespeare in Hollywood, meanwhile, which had been commissioned by the Royal Shakespeare Company, had its first production in the fall of 2003 at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C where it won the Helen Hayes Award as Best Play of he Year. One of his latest plays, Leading Ladies, premiered at the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas under the author's direction and is now headed for Broadway.
A year ago, Ludwig was asked by the estate of Thornton Wilder to complete Wilder’s adaptation of The Beaux’ Stratagem, a new version of the Restoration comedy by George Farquhar. The play will receive its world premiere production November 7 to December 31, 2006 at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C under the direction of Michael Kahn and will be published by Theatre Communications Group.
Other plays include Sullivan & Gilbert (a co-production of the Kennedy Center and the National Arts Centre of Canada, voted Best Play of 1988 by the Ottawa critics); a new adaptation of Where’s Charley? for the Kennedy Center; the Off-Broadway hit Divine Fire; and a mystery, Postmortem.
Most recently he penned "Shakespeare in Hollywood", winner of the Helen Hayes Award for Best New Play of the Year. South Lakes High School was the first high school to produce the comedy.
[edit] Film and television
Ludwig has also dabbled in film. For television, he co-wrote the 1990 Kennedy Center Honors for CBS for which he received an Emmy Award nomination. He also penned a television pilot for Carol Channing. For film, he adapted his play Lend Me a Tenor for Columbia Pictures; and he wrote All Shook Up for Touchstone Pictures and directior Frank Oz.
[edit] Additional awards and honors
Ludwig received an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from York College of Pennsylvania.
He has also received the Pennsylvania Governor’s Award for Excellence in the Arts, and the Edwin Forrest Award for Outstanding Achievement in Drama. He is a founding member of the Board of Trustees of the Shakespeare Theatre of Washington, an Honorary Trustee of the Shakespeare Guild, and has served on the New Play Committees of the National Endowment for the Arts and the American College Theater Festival, where he annually chooses and presents the Mark Twain Award for outstanding comic performance. He has lectured on drama at various universities around the country. He was recently made an Associate Artist of the Alley Theatre in Houston, Texas.
