Lynn Riggs
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Lynn Riggs (August 31, 1899- June 29, 1954) was an author and playwright from Tulsa, Oklahoma.
He was educated at the Eastern University Preparatory School in Claremore, Oklahoma, and the University of Oklahoma, but did not graduate. He moved to Santa Fe, New Mexico for health reasons and soon joined a group of artists.
His first major production was a one-act play, Knives from Syria (1924). He began teaching at the Lewis Institute, Chicago, while continuing to write. In 1928 he received a John Simon Guggenheim Fellowship and travelled in Europe.
He then lived in Santa Fe, Los Angeles, and New York, and was a screenwriter for Paramount and Universal Studios. After serving in the military 1942-44 he worked on an historical drama for Western Reserve University, published a short story, "Eben, The Hound, and the Hare" (1952), and worked on a novel set in Oklahoma.
He died on June 29, 1954, of cancer in New York City. [1]
[edit] Plays
Selected plays include:
- Big Lake (1926)
- Sump'n Like Wings (1926-28)
- A Lantern to See By (1926-28)
- Rancor (1926-28)
- Roadside (1929)
- Green Grow the Lilacs (1931)
The Theatre Guild produced Green Grow The Lilacs on Broadway, where it ran for 64 performances. The musical Oklahoma!, based on Riggs' play, opened on Broadway on March 31, 1943, and ran until May 29, 1948 for 2,212 performances.
[edit] References
- ^ Information from: Yale University, Beinecke Rare Book And Manuscript Library, Yale Collection Of American Literature, Lynn Riggs Papers, New Haven, CT, November, 1993 Last Updated: February 2000
