Richard Nelson (playwright)

Richard Nelson
Born Richard John Nelson
October 17, 1950
Chicago, Illinois
Alma mater Hamilton College (1972)
Clinton, New York
Information
Notable work(s)
Awards Obie Award, Rockefeller Playwright-in-Residence Award, Giles Cooper Award, Tony Award, Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, PEN/Laura Pels Award

Richard John Nelson (born October 17, 1950) is an American playwright and librettist. He wrote the books for the Tony Award-winning musicals James Joyce's The Dead, the Broadway version of Chess, as well as the critically acclaimed play cycle The Apple Family Plays.[1]

Personal life

Nelson was born in Chicago, Illinois, the son of Viola (née Gabriel), a dancer, and Richard Finis Nelson, an accounting-systems analyst and some times sales representative.[2] During Nelson's childhood, the family moved frequently to accommodate his father's work, but they settled for long stretches in Gary, Indiana, the outskirts of Philadelphia, and finally in a suburb of Detroit. Nelson's earliest theatrical influences were in musical theatre, and he estimates that he saw more than twenty-five musicals before ever seeing his first straight play.[3]

He married Cynthia Blair Bacon on May 21, 1972; they have two daughters, Zoe (b. 1983) and Jocelyn (b. 1988).[2]

Career

in November of 2006, Frank's Home, about two days in the life of Frank Lloyd Wright, premiered in Chicago, Mr. Nelson's home town, at the Goodman Theatre (in association with Playwrights Horizons). In an interview in The Brooklyn Rail at the time of its NY debut, Nelson offers advice to young writers: "My advice is always to write, to write what really matters. I ask my students two questions: Why did you write it? And should I watch it? People ask about structure, form, character development, and I’m not even sure what all of that means. Try not to second guess yourself. Form will come if you focus on what you want to say with truth and honesty. Structure is the hand that holds up what you want to say."[4] From 2005-2008, Nelson was the chair of the playwriting department at the Yale School of Drama.[5]

The Apple Family plays

From 2010 to 2013, Nelson wrote and directed four plays centered around the Apple Family, a fictional household set in Rhinebeck, NY with each play focused on either an election or a significant historical anniversary. The first play in the series, That Hopey Changey Thing, focused on the 2010 midterm elections (opening on election night), the second play, Sweet and Sad, depicts the family on the tenth anniversary of the September 11 attacks. The third play, Sorry opened and takes place on the 2012 presidential election, and the final play, Regular Singing is set on the 50th anniversary of the JFK assassination. Each play debuted at The Public Theatre, featuring the same cast members in each subsequent production.[6]

Awards

Works

Theatre

Nelson's plays are published by Broadway Play Publishing Inc., Faber, & T C G.

Radio plays

Screenplays

References

  1. ↑ Rich, Frank (29 April 1988). "In Trevor Nunn's Musical 'Chess', East Faces West Across a Board". New York Times. Retrieved 2012-01-02.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Richard Nelson Biography (1950-)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  3. ↑ John L. DiGaetani, ed. (1991). A Search for a Postmodern Theater: Interviews with Contemporary Playwrights. New York: Greenwood Press. pp. 237–44. ISBN 0313273642.
  4. ↑ Pippa, Cristina (February 2007). "Wrighting Home with Richard Nelson". The Brooklyn Rail.
  5. ↑ Hernandez, Ernio (4 March 2005). "Richard Nelson Appointed New Playwriting Department Chair at Yale School of Drama". Playbill.com. Retrieved 25 April 2013.
  6. ↑ Healy, Patrick (6 November 2013). "Hudson Valley Town Is A Playwright's Home and Template". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 November 2013.

Additional reading

External links