David Ives (born July 11, 1950) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and novelist. He is perhaps best known for his comic one-act plays; The New York Times in 1997 referred to him as the "maestro of the short form". Ives has also written dramatic plays, narrative stories, and screenplays, has adapted French 17th and 18th-century classical comedies, and adapted 33 musicals for New York City's Encores! series.
60-415: Ives wrote his first play when he was nine. He attended a boys Catholic seminary. "We would-be priests were groomed for gravitas," he has said. At the end of the year the seniors could be a part of a school show called "The Senior Mock," in which the students satirized the teachers. Ives played the role of "the chain-smoking English teacher who coached the track team (while smoking)", and he wrote and performed
120-807: A Distinguished Professor of Playwriting and held the Lyndall Finley Wortham Chair in the Performing Arts at the University of Houston . His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service and Samuel French, Inc. Albee established the Edward F. Albee Foundation, Inc. in 1967, from royalties from his play Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? . The foundation funds the William Flanagan Memorial Creative Persons Center (named after
180-615: A Master of Fine Arts in 1984. His play, Canvas , was produced in California in 1972, and then at Circle Repertory Company in New York City. In New York Ives worked as an editor for William P. Bundy , the editor at Foreign Affairs magazine. Ives wrote three full-length plays: St. Freud (1975), The Lives and Deaths of the Great Harry Houdini , and City of God . In 1983 Ives was playwright-in-residence at
240-512: A close friend of English-born Muir Weissinger Jr. and his family. Albee, along with others, referred to Florence, Muir's mother, as "Mummy." For her part, Albee's mother felt he spent too much time at the Weissinger household. Albee dated Muir's sister, Delphine, and escorted her to her coming-out party. Albee and Delphine had a "long and intense relationship" while it lasted; Albee has said they were "unofficially engaged." Albee kept in touch for
300-810: A conflicted relationship. Albee attended the Rye Country Day School, then the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey, from which he was expelled. He then was sent to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania, where he was dismissed in less than a year. He enrolled at The Choate School (now Choate Rosemary Hall) in Wallingford, Connecticut , graduating in 1946. He had attracted theatre attention by having scripted and published nine poems, eleven short stories, essays,
360-520: A drama award at all. The two members of the jury, John Mason Brown and John Gassner , subsequently resigned in protest. An Academy Award -winning film adaptation by Ernest Lehman was released in 1966 starring Elizabeth Taylor , Richard Burton , George Segal , and Sandy Dennis , and was directed by Mike Nichols . In 2013, the film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by
420-523: A full-length drama, premiered in New York at Second Stage Theater in January 1997. An evening of one-act plays, Mere Mortals and Others , opened off-Broadway at Primary Stages in New York, May 13, 1997. Peter Marks of The New York Times described it as "a collection of six fast and ferociously funny comedies ... a madcap evening of one-acts", and noted that Ives has the "gratifying ability to unharness
480-498: A full-length narrative verse-novel published in 2010. It is described as a philosophical horror novel written in verse. It is, according to the author, "grotesque, satirical, personal, sometimes funny, but mostly reflecting the mood of the title." Inspired by Dante , The Phobia Clinic employs the verse form of the Divine Comedy , known as terza rima , with the lines grouped in threes, and each group, or tercet , following
540-528: A long act play, Schism , and a 500-page novel, The Flesh of Unbelievers (Horn, 1) in 1946. His formal education continued at Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, where he was expelled in 1947 for skipping classes and refusing to attend compulsory chapel. Albee left home for good in his late teens. In a later interview, he said: "I never felt comfortable with the adoptive parents. I don't think they knew how to be parents. I probably didn't know how to be
600-416: A long time with Florence and Muir Weissinger. Albee insisted that he did not want to be known as a "gay writer", saying in his acceptance speech for the 2011 Lambda Literary Foundation 's Pioneer Award for Lifetime Achievement: "A writer who happens to be gay or lesbian must be able to transcend self. I am not a gay writer. I am a writer who happens to be gay." His longtime partner, Jonathan Richard Thomas,
660-720: A master of language. He uses words for their meanings, sounds and associations, spinning conceits of a sort I’ve not seen or heard before. He’s an original." It won the Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award for Playwriting, was included in Best Plays of 1993 — 1994 , and in 1995 — 1996 was the most performed play in the country after William Shakespeare ’s plays. Ives’ full-length play Don Juan in Chicago premiered off-Broadway in New York at Primary Stages, on March 25, 1995. The Red Address ,
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#1732801689101720-508: A nonagenarian revisits events of her life refracted through both her own dementia and the differing recollections of her younger selves, is a not-quite-memory play filled with regret, resentment, entitlement, various bodily indignities". Georgia State University English professor Matthew Roudane divides Albee's plays into three periods: the Early Plays (1959–1966), characterized by gladiatorial confrontations, bloodied action and fight to
780-479: A revival of All in the Timing in January 2013. This new production was directed by John Rando. His plays have been published in the anthologies All in the Timing , Time Flies , and Polish Joke And Other Plays . In the mid-1990s, Ives contributed pieces to Spy Magazine , The New York Times Magazine , and The New Yorker . New York magazine named him one of the "100 Smartest New Yorkers". When asked by
840-461: A sculptor, died on May 2, 2005, from bladder cancer. They had been partners from 1971 until Thomas's death. Albee also had a relationship of several years with playwright Terrence McNally during the 1950s. Albee died at his home in Montauk, New York on September 16, 2016, aged 88. Albee lived in a 6,000-square-foot loft that was a former cheese warehouse in New York's Tribeca neighborhood. At
900-530: A series of intensive classes in acting, playwriting, and directing taught by industry professionals that include PS staff members along with working professionals such as: Joshua Harmon , Winter Miller , Richard Topol , Judy Gold , Rogelio Martínez, Edwin Sanchez, and Morgan Jenness . Previous faculty members include Lucy Thurber , Julia Jordan, Brooke Berman, Dan O'Brien , Sarah Ruhl , Jessica Hecht , Tanya Barfield , Cusi Cram, and Judith Light . The school
960-525: A son, either." In a 1994 interview, he said he left home at 18 because "[he] had to get out of that stultifying, suffocating environment." In 2008, he told interviewer Charlie Rose that he was "thrown out" because his parents wanted him to become a "corporate thug" and did not approve of his aspirations to be a writer. Albee moved into New York's Greenwich Village , where he supported himself with odd jobs while learning to write plays. Primarily in his early plays, Albee's work had various representations of
1020-542: A song. This school experience, along with seeing a production of Edward Albee ’s A Delicate Balance , starring Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy , were two early events that inspired his interest in theatre. Ives attended Northwestern University , majoring in English. He graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1971. He traveled to Germany, where he taught English. Ives graduated from the Yale School of Drama with
1080-733: A staged concert at Avery Fisher Hall in New York in 2007. He helped to rework the book for the Broadway version of the musical Dance of the Vampires , with book, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman and original German book and lyrics by Michael Kunze . The musical opened on Broadway in October 2002 in previews, and closed in January 2003 after 56 performances. He co-wrote the book for Irving Berlin's White Christmas , which premiered in San Francisco in 2004 and then went on to tour across
1140-475: A success-crazed culture they are never forgiven for failing to live up to their own early masterpieces. But if Edward Albee has suffered the same cruel fate as Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams , he has kept on trucking". Billington wrote of Albee's 1987 play, Marriage Play , "At the end the play achieves a metaphorical resonance by suggesting that marriage is an accumulation of meaningless habits and that "nothing has made any difference". In 1991 he wrote
1200-404: Is a lovely, poignant and deeply felt play. In no way at all is it an easy play -- this formal minuet of death, this symphony ironically celebrating death's dominion. It is not easy in its structure, a series of almost operatic arias demanding, in their precision, pin-point concentration from the audience, and it is certainly not easy in its subject matter." In 1974 he wrote Seascape , which won
1260-459: Is a short play that was written as part of a theatrical concept that began in 1995 on the lower East Side of Manhattan, in which a group of writers, actors and directors would gather together to create a play from scratch, rehearse it, and perform it — all within 24 hours. The Blizzard, and eight of Ives' other short plays, was produced on the radio by Playing On Air , directed by John Rando and starred Jesse Eisenberg . Primary Stages presented
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#17328016891011320-807: Is host to the Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, which brings together six to eight emerging playwrights each season to create new plays for the American theater. These playwrights attend weekly meetings in the fall and spring, where they bring new pages to each session and receive feedback on their works in progress. At the end of the season, Primary Stages presents the first public reading of these plays in The Dorothy Strelsin Fresh Ink Readings Series. Since its inception, over 45 full-length plays have been written in
1380-618: Is these days." His Encores! adaptation of Wonderful Town moved to Broadway's Al Hirschfeld Theatre in 2003, directed by Kathleen Marshall . He adapted David Copperfield 's magic show, Dreams and Nightmares , which premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre in December 1996. He also adapted Cole Porter 's Jubilee (1998) and Rodgers and Hammerstein's South Pacific (with Reba McEntire ) for concert performances at Carnegie Hall , as well as My Fair Lady for
1440-553: The Billy Rose Theatre on October 13, 1962, and closed on May 16, 1964, after five previews and 664 performances. The opening night cast featured Uta Hagen . Arthur Hill , George Grizzard and Melinda Dillon . The play won the Tony Award for Best Play in 1963 and was selected for the 1963 Pulitzer Prize by the award's drama jury, but the selection was overruled by the advisory committee, which elected not to give
1500-668: The Joseph Jefferson Award for "new adaptation". His play, Is He Dead? adapted from an "unproduced 1898 comedy" by Mark Twain , ran on Broadway from December 2007 to March 2008. New Jerusalem , concerning the excommunication of Baruch Spinoza , opened Off-Broadway in January 2008 (previews from December 2007) in a Classic Stage Company production. New Jerusalem won a Hull-Warriner Award. In 2010, he adapted Pierre Corneille 's comedy The Liar for The Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. It won
1560-696: The Kennedy Center Honors and the National Medal of Arts (both in 1996). In 2009, Albee received honorary degree from the Bulgarian National Academy of Theater and Film Arts (NATFA), a member of the Global Alliance of Theater Schools. In 2008, in celebration of Albee's 80th birthday, a number of his plays were mounted in distinguished Off-Broadway venues, including the historic Cherry Lane Theatre where
1620-789: The LGBT QIA community often challenging the image of a heterosexual marriage. Despite challenging society's views about the gay community, he did not view himself as an LGBT advocate. Albee's work typically criticized the American Dream . His first play, The Zoo Story , written in three weeks, was first staged in Berlin in 1959 before premiering Off-Broadway in 1960. His next, The Death of Bessie Smith , similarly premiered in Berlin before arriving in New York. Albee's most iconic play, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? , opened on Broadway at
1680-621: The Library of Congress as "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". In 1971 he wrote All Over , a two-act play originally titled, Death , the second half of a projected double bill with another play called Life (which later became Seascape ). The play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre with John Gielgud directing and starred Jessica Tandy , Madeleine Sherwood , and Colleen Dewhurst . The New York Times writer Clive Barnes wrote, "It
1740-654: The Pennsylvania Opera Theater . He then became a regular adapter for the New York City Center Encores! series of American musicals in concert, starting with Out Of This World in 1995, Du Barry Was A Lady in 1996, and working on two or three a year until 2012. As of 2013, Ives ended his writing for Encores!, saying "I've very happily done 33 adaptations for Encores! But there comes a time when it's time for someone else to have that pleasure, especially given how full my platter
1800-474: The Pulitzer Prize for Drama . It debuted on Broadway with Deborah Kerr and Frank Langella . It was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Play losing to Peter Shaffer 's Equus . Clive Barnes of The New York Times declared the play "a major event", adding, "As Mr. Albee has matured as a playwright, his work has become leaner, sparer and simpler. He depends on strong theatrical strokes to attract
1860-633: The Theater of the Absurd . Three of his plays won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and two of his other works won the Tony Award for Best Play . His works are often considered frank examinations of the modern condition. His early works reflect a mastery and Americanization of the Theatre of the Absurd that found its peak in works by European playwrights such as Samuel Beckett , Eugène Ionesco , and Jean Genet . His middle period comprised plays that explored
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1920-683: The Williamstown Theatre Festival in Massachusetts where The Lives and Deaths of the Great Harry Houdini was produced. In 1987 his short play Words, Words, Words was presented at the Manhattan Punch Line Theatre, followed by Sure Thing , Variations on the Death of Trotsky , Philip Glass Buys a Loaf of Bread (1990), and The Universal Language . A two-act play, Ancient History
1980-464: The rhyme scheme ABA BCB CDC DED throughout Ives' 55 cantos . Ives wrote a young adult book, Monsieur Eek , which was released in 2001. The book is set in 1609, and is a "fairy tale–like story full of absurd characters who make bizarre interpretations ..." His next book was Scrib (2005), set in the American West in 1863. His book Voss: How I Come to America and Am Hero, Mostly ,
2040-636: The Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play at the Helen Hayes Awards in Washington the following year. In 2011 his version of Molière ’s The Misanthrope premiered Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company under the title, The School For Lies . Also in 2011 his adaptation of Jean-Francois Regnard ’s Le Legataire universel premiered at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. under
2100-701: The Death of Trotsky and Other Short Comedies (1992) All In the Timing: Six One-Act Comedies (1994) All In the Timing: Fourteen Plays (1995) Mere Mortals and Others (1997) or Mere Mortals: Six One-Act Comedies (1998) Long Ago And Far Away and Other Short Plays (Revised Edition) (1999) Lives of the Saints: Seven One-Act Plays (2000) Time Flies and Other Short Plays (2001) The Other Woman and Other Short Pieces (2008) Lives of
2160-602: The Lansburgh Theatre in Washington, DC. In April 2018, Red Bull Theater presented the New York premiere The Metromaniacs, his "translaptation" of a rediscovered French farce by Alexis Piron at The Duke on 42nd Street directed by Michael Kahn . In the early 1990s Ives started working in musical theatre, writing the libretto for an opera based on Frances Hodgson Burnett 's The Secret Garden (music by Greg Pliska). It premiered in Philadelphia in 1991 at
2220-758: The Saints: Nine One-Act Plays (2015) Plays Released on Playing On Air: Short Audio Plays Edward Albee Edward Franklin Albee III ( / ˈ ɔː l b iː / AWL -bee ; March 12, 1928 – September 16, 2016) was an American playwright known for works such as The Zoo Story (1958), The Sandbox (1959), Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1962), A Delicate Balance (1966), and Three Tall Women (1994). Some critics have argued that some of his work constitutes an American variant of what Martin Esslin identified as and named
2280-493: The United States. It had a limited engagement on Broadway from November 2008 to January 2009, and also from November 2009 to January 2010. Ives began collaborating with Stephen Sondheim on a new untitled musical based on two films by Luis Buñuel , initially set to premiere in 2017. Development on the show faltered, but during a September 15, 2021 appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert , Sondheim announced he
2340-493: The attention of the audience, but the tone of the writing is always thoughtful, even careful, even philosophic." He compared his work alongside Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter . Albee continued to write plays including Listening (1976), Counting the Ways (1976) before a brief break before The Lady from Dubuque (1980) which had a short run on Broadway. He wrote the three act play The Man Who Had Three Arms (1983) which
2400-622: The company moved to The Duke on 42nd Street until 2016, when the Cherry Lane Theatre became the home for all Primary Stages productions. For over 30 years, Primary Stages has put on more than 130 new plays by writers such as Horton Foote , A.R. Gurney , Tanya Saracho , Romulus Linney , Dan O'Brien , Donald Margulies , Kate Hamill , Christopher Durang , Terrence McNally , Danai Gurira , Nikkole Salter , John Patrick Shanley , Mac Wellman , Sharon Washington, Lee Blessing , and David Ives . Primary Stages 9th season included
2460-524: The composer William Flanagan , but better known as "The Barn") in Montauk, New York , as a residence for writers and visual artists. The foundation's mission is "to serve writers and visual artists from all walks of life, by providing time and space in which to work without disturbance." Albee was gay and stated that he first knew he was gay at age 12 and a half. As a teen in Larchmont, Albee became
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2520-417: The group, many of which have been produced by prominent local and national theaters including Long Wharf Theatre , Blue Light, South Coast Repertory , The New Group , New York Stage and Film, Cherry Lane Theatre , and Primary Stages. 2018/19 members: Past members: Primary Stages Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) ESPA is open to all artists, in all stages of their careers. ESPA offers
2580-668: The intoxicating power of language and at the same time entertain." Polish Joke , a full-length play, has been described as loosely autobiographical. It premiered in the summer of 2001 at the Contemporary Theatre of Seattle, and then opened in New York at the Manhattan Theatre Club in February 2003, in the cast in New York was Walter Bobbie , who would later be the director of Venus in Fur . The Blizzard
2640-503: The magazine to comment on being so listed for the same issue, Ives’ response began, "Grocery lists. Spelling lists. Laundry lists. The very idea of lists has something inherently narrow, petty, unpoetic about it. "List, list, O list!" cried Hamlet ’s father's ghost in exasperation, and I couldn't agree more ..." His translation of Georges Feydeau 's farce A Flea in Her Ear was produced at Chicago Shakespeare in 2006, and won
2700-721: The metaphorical death; the Middle Plays (1971–1987), when Albee lost the favor of Broadway audience and started premiering in the U.S. regional theaters and in Europe; and the Later Plays (1991–2016), received as a remarkable comeback and watched by appreciative audiences and critics the world over. According to The New York Times , Albee was "widely considered to be the foremost American playwright of his generation." The less-than-diligent student later dedicated much of his time to promoting American university theatre. He served as
2760-473: The play Three Tall Women , a two act play that premiered at the Vienna's English Theatre about three unnamed women. The play was revived in 2018 directed by Joe Mantello starring Glenda Jackson , Laurie Metcalf , and Allison Pill . The 2018 production received the Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play . Allison Adato of Entertainment Weekly wrote of the play, "Edward Albee's Three Tall Women, in which
2820-811: The plays had been produced previously. The Lives of the Saints was produced with five of the plays at the Berkshire Theatre Festival, Stockbridge, Massachusetts in August and September 1999. His play, The Liar , based on a 17th-century play by Pierre Corneille opened at the Classic Stage Company in New York January 26, 2017. He has continued to base plays on 17th century French plays: in 2017, The School for Lies , based on Moliere 's play The Misanthrope , opened at
2880-437: The playwright directed two of his early one-acts, The American Dream and The Sandbox . Honorary awards " Edward Albee ". Charlie Rose , May 27, 2008. Primary Stages Primary Stages was founded in 1984 by Casey Childs as an Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater company. In 2004, Primary Stages moved from its 99-seat home of 17 years at 354 West 45th Street to the 199-seat theater at 59E59 Theaters . In 2014,
2940-438: The psychology of maturing, marriage and sexual relationships. Younger American playwrights, such as Paula Vogel , credit Albee's mix of theatricality and biting dialogue with helping to reinvent postwar American theatre in the early 1960s. Later in life, Albee continued to experiment in works such as The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? (2002). Edward Albee was born in 1928. His biological father left his mother, Louise Harvey, and he
3000-465: The role she created Off-Broadway and Hugh Dancy played the role originated by Bentley. Walter Bobbie once again directed. The play transferred to the Lyceum Theatre in February 2012 for an extended run with Arianda and Dancy reprising their performances. All in the Timing was, after Shakespeare plays, the most produced play in the United States during the 1995–1996 season, and Venus in Fur
3060-562: The time of his death Albee held an expansive collection of fine art, utilitarian works and sculptures. Albee was especially interested in artworks created by indigenous cultures in Africa and Oceania. Works written or adapted by Albee: A member of the Dramatists Guild Council, Albee received three Pulitzer Prizes for drama —for A Delicate Balance (1967), Seascape (1975), and Three Tall Women (1994). Albee
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#17328016891013120-694: The title, The Heir Apparent . The Heir Apparent opened Off-Broadway in March 2014 (previews) at the Classic Stage Company, and ran through May 2014. Venus in Fur opened Off-Broadway at the Classic Stage Company in January 2010 with Nina Arianda and Wes Bentley . Venus in Fur premiered on Broadway in October 2011 (previews) at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre , produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club . Nina Arianda returned to
3180-622: The world premiere of All in the Timing by David Ives, the most produced play in the United States during the 1995/96 season. Primary Stages supports playwrights and develops new works through commissions, workshops, readings and two flagship programs: The Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group, and The Marvin and Anne Einhorn School of Performing Arts (ESPA) . Dorothy Strelsin New American Writers Group Primary Stages
3240-414: Was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1972. In 1985, Albee was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame . In 1999, Albee received the PEN/Laura Pels Theater Award as a Master American Dramatist. He received a Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement (2005); the gold medal in Drama from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters (1980); as well as
3300-460: Was most produced, after Shakespeare plays, during the 2013–2014 season. His Lives of the Saints began in previews Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in February 2015, running through March 27, 2015. Directed by John Rando, Lives of the Saints consists of seven short plays. The plays are: Enigma Variations , The Mystery at Twicknam Vicarage , Babel's in Arms , Soap Opera , Lives of the Saints , Arabian Nights , and Captive Audience. Several of
3360-413: Was placed for adoption two weeks later and taken to Larchmont, New York, where he grew up. Albee's adoptive father, Reed A. Albee , the wealthy son of vaudeville magnate Edward Franklin Albee II , owned several theaters. His adoptive mother, Reed's second wife, Frances (Cotter), was a socialite. He later based the main character of his 1991 play Three Tall Women on his mother, with whom he had
3420-432: Was produced Off-Broadway in 1989 by Primary Stages . Ives' All in the Timing , an evening of six one-act plays, premiered at Primary Stages in 1993, moved to the larger John Houseman Theatre, and ran for 606 performances. In a review The New York Times said "there is indeed a real heart ... There is sustenance as well as pure entertainment." Critic Vincent Canby wrote, "Ives [is] wizardly ... magical and funny ...
3480-546: Was received negatively with Frank Rich of The New York Times writing, "isn't a play - it's a temper tantrum in two acts... One of the more shocking lapses of Mr. Albee's writing is that he makes almost no attempt even to pretend that Himself is anything other than a maudlin stand-in for himself, with the disappearing arm representing an atrophied talent." Albee's plays during the 1980s received mixed reviews with Michael Billington of The Guardian writing, "American dramatists invariably end up as victims of their own myth: in
3540-425: Was released in 2008. Ives lives in New York City with his wife, Martha Ives, a book illustrator, a linoprint artist and a member of the Society of American Graphic Artists . Note: David Ives also helped mount 33 Encores! Series adaptations between 1995-2013. Note: Plays in bold are published here for the very first time. Years listed are the date of their debut. Four Short Comedies (1989) Variations on
3600-448: Was working on a new musical called Square One in collaboration with David Ives. Nathan Lane and Bernadette Peters were involved in a reading of the new work. Renamed as Here We Are , the musical collaboration inspired by The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie and The Exterminating Angel would have a limited engagement world premiere in September 2023, running through January 2024 at The Shed . Ives wrote The Phobia Clinic ,
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