| Jonathan Marc Sherman | |
|---|---|
| Born | 10 October 1968 Morristown, New Jersey |
Jonathan Marc Sherman (born 10 October 1968) is a contemporary American playwright.
He was born in Morristown, New Jersey, and grew up in Livingston. He began writing plays on a typewriter his father gave him as a birthday gift when he was twelve or thirteen years old. His first performed original play was the one-act Confrontation (1986).
He submitted plays for several years Young Playwrights Inc.'s National Playwrights Competition before they did a staged reading of his one-act, Serendipity and Serenity in 1987, followed by a full production of his next play, Women and Wallace (1988).
He graduated from Bennington College in 1990. He dropped out of the Yale School of Drama after less than two months. His work has been performed in front of audiences across the country, as well as in Europe and Japan. He lives in New York City.
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1987. Young Playwrights Festival at Playwrights Horizons (staged reading)
Winner of the 21st Century Playwrights Award
The short play is about a family of two brothers, Toby and Max, and their father, fifteen years after the mother committed suicide. Toby, an idealist who has never quite recovered from his mother's death, still wears diapers at the age of 21 and hardly leaves the house. His older brother Max often lectures him on the ways of life and love. Joanna, a new representative for the diaper company responsible for Toby's deliveries, makes a delivery and Toby instantly falls in love. The play ends with Toby leaving the house, and more symbolically, his dependence on his mother's memory, to be with Joanna.
The play was written in 1991, and was performed by Ethan Hawke's Malaparte Theater Company in New York City. Calista Flockhart played Joanna, Josh Hamilton (actor) played Toby and Ethan Hawke played Max. In the play's earlier incarnation as a workshop reading, Sherman himself played the part of Toby.
In the play's foreword, Sherman stresses the significance of Toby in the play; that his character is the nucleus of the play.
1995. WPA Theater in New York City.
2007. The New Group in New York City. Directed by Ethan Hawke. With Paul Dano (Charlie), Peter Dinklage (Sty), Josh Hamilton (actor) (Teddy), and Zoe Kazan (Stella). Sets by Derek McLane, Lights by Jeff Croiter, Costumes by Mattie Ulrich, Sound by Daniel Baker.
2009. Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts. Directed by Nicholas Martin. With Brooks Ashmanskas (Melvin), Peter Dinklage (Chester), Bob Dishy (Raymond), Rightor Doyle (Steve), Annie Parisse (Tara), Susan Pourfar (Pauline), and Reg Rogers (Jerry). Sets by Alexander Dodge. Sound Design by Alex Neumann.