Wikipedia

Christopher Durang

Christopher Ferdinand Durang(January 2, 1949 – April 2, 2024) was an American playwright known for works of outrageous and oftenabsurdcomedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s.

Christopher Durang
BornChristopher Ferdinand Durang
(1949-01-02)January 2, 1949
Montclair, New Jersey,U.S.
DiedApril 2, 2024(2024-04-02)(aged 75)
Pipersville, Pennsylvania,U.S.
OccupationPlaywright
EducationHarvard University(BA)
Yale University(MFA)
Period1974–2018
Spouse
John Augustine
​
(m.2014)​
Website
www.christopherdurang

Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For Youwas Durang's watershed play as it brought him to national prominence when it won him the Obie Award for Best Playwright (1980). His playVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spikewon theTony Award for Best Playin 2013. The production was directed by Nicholas Martin, and featuredSigourney Weaver,David Hyde Pierce,Kristine Nielsen,Billy Magnussen,Shalita GrantandGenevieve Angelson.Durang was a past co-director of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program atJuilliard.[1]

Early life and education

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Durang was born on January 2, 1949, inMontclair, New Jersey,the son of two WWII veterans, architect Francis Ferdinand Durang Jr. and Patricia Elizabeth Durang (née Mansfield), a secretary.[2]He grew up inBerkeley Heights, New Jersey,and attended Catholic schools: Our Lady of Peace School (New Providence) andDelbarton(Morristown).[3]He received aB.A.inEnglishfromHarvard Collegeand anM.F.A.in playwriting fromYale School of Drama.[4]

Work

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His work often deals critically with issues ofchild abuse,Roman Catholicdogma,culture, andhomosexuality.Ben Brantleysummarized key themes from Durang's plays in a review written in 1994: 1) narcissism; 2) fear of engagement with a danger-filled world; 3) the strangulating nature of family ties; 4) sexual disorientation and the tenuousness of individual identity.[5]To this list the abusive power of authority figures could be added.[6]

While Durang's use of parody and his criticism of many social institutions might appear overly cynical at times, he stated:

... when I say everyone is crazy that means it's a very bad day where the amount of crazy people in the world has spread out to the entire universe and it doesn't seem possible to cope with anything... I think we're allneurotic.And I do think relationships are certainly difficult. Nonetheless, those lines in the play do get a laugh, so there's something. It's not as despairing as it sounds, but I don't not believe it.[7]

Much of Durang's style can be attributed to the aesthetic ofblack comedy,a humor style that offers a fatalistic view of life. Durang discussed the particular frame of mind that requires the viewer to distance himself from the horrific episode of human suffering and pain; he explained:

I exaggerate awful things further, and then I present it in a way that is funny, and for those of us who find it funny, it has to do with a very clearsuspension of disbelief.It is a play, after all, with acted characters; it allows us a distance we couldn’t have in reality. To me this distance allows me to find some rather serious topics funny.

Durang suggested that his form of humor requires a double-consciousness, an ability to register scenes of cruelty or pain, while simultaneously comprehending the humor. He creditedArthur Kopit's “tragicfarce”Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sadas an early influence on his creative vision, a black comedy in which a woman totes her dead husband's corpse on vacation with her. Humor is one way of resolving conflict and anxiety, and black comedy goes a step further to relieve tension regarding subjects that are typically difficult to think about, such as death, family dysfunction, or torture.[6]

His plays have been performed nationwide, including onBroadwayandOff-Broadway.[8]His works include those in the bibliography as well as a collection of one-act parodies meant to be performed in one evening entitledDurang/Durangthat includes "Mrs. Sorken", "For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls" (a parody ofThe Glass MenageriebyTennessee Williams), "A Stye of the Eye", "Nina in the Morning", "Wanda's Visit", and "Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room".

Together withMarsha Norman,Durang directed The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at theJuilliard Schoolfrom 1984 to 2016, teaching playwrights Joshua Harmon and Noah Haidle, as well as Pulitzer-Prize winningDavid Lindsay-Abaire,who succeeded Durang as co-director.

Durang performed as an actor for both stage and screen. He first came to prominence in hisOff-Broadwaysatirical reviewDas Lusitania Songspiel,which he performed with friend and fellow Yale alumSigourney Weaver.Later he co-starred in one of his own plays as Matt inThe Marriage of Bette and Boo,as well as Man in the original production ofLaughing Wild.

In film

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Durang denounced theRobert Altman1987film adaptationofBeyond Therapy,calling it "horrific". He accused Altman of totally rewriting the script "so that all psychology is thrown out the window, and the characters dash around acting crazy but with literally no behavioral logic underneath."[9]

Durang appeared as an actor in the 1987 comedyThe Secret of My Success,1988'sMr. North,1989'sPenn & Teller Get Killed,1990'sIn the Spirit,1992'sHousesitter,and 1994'sThe Cowboy Way.[10][11]

Durang wrote a number of unproduced screenplays, includingThe Nun Who Shot Liberty Valance,The House of Husbands(which he co-authored withWendy Wasserstein), andThe Adventures of Lola.[citation needed]

On television

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Wanda's Visit,one of the six one-acts inDurang/Durang,was originally written for thePBSseriesTrying Times.Durang played the part of The Waiter in that production.[12]

Durang appeared as himself on the October 11, 1986 episode ofSaturday Night Live,hosted by his longtime friend Sigourney Weaver. In the episode, Durang and Weaver parodied the works ofBertolt Brecht,and both were interviewed in the debut of the recurring sketchChurch Chat,with Durang as himself.[13]

Durang's 1987 sketch "The Funeral", written for a televisedCarol Burnettspecial, features a grieving widow (Burnett) who is disturbed at her husband's wake by an eccentric mourner, played byRobin Williams.[11]

Personal life and death

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Durang lived inPipersville, Pennsylvania,with his husband, actor/playwright John Augustine.[2][14][15]They began their relationship in 1986 and were legally married in 2014.[14][16]

In 2016, Durang was diagnosed withlogopenic progressive aphasia,which is thought to be caused by a form ofAlzheimer's disease;as with all forms of aphasia, it primarily impeded his ability to process language, though it subsequently affected his short-term memory. Durang gradually withdrew from public life before his condition was publicly announced in 2022.[4]

Durang died from complications of aphasia at his Pennsylvania home on April 2, 2024, at the age of 75.[11]

Bibliography

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Plays
Musicals

Awards and honors

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Durang receivedObie AwardsforSister Mary Ignatius,[11]The Marriage of Bette and BooandBetty's Summer Vacation.He received a nomination for aTony Award for Best Book of a MusicalforA History of the American Film,and he won aTony Award for Best Playin 2013 for his playVanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike.[11]

Durang was awarded numerous fellowships and high-profile grants including aGuggenheim,aRockefeller Foundation,theCBSPlaywriting Fellowship, theLecomte du Nouy Foundationgrant, and theKenyon Festival Theatre Playwriting Prize.

Durang was a member of the council for theDramatists Guild of America,and was named the 2024 recipient of the guild's lifetime achievement award.[11][17]He was also a finalist for thePulitzer Prizein Drama in 2006 forMiss Witherspoon.[11]

On May 17, 2010, he was presented with the very first Luminary Award from theNew York Innovative Theatre Awardsfor his workOff-Off-Broadway.

Durang was awarded thePEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Awardin 2012. That same year, he was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame.[18]

References

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  1. ^"Juilliard. I got into Juilliard".Chelsea Days. June 5, 2014.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.
  2. ^abSoloski, Alexis (April 3, 2024)."Christopher Durang, Playwright Who Mixed High Art and Low Humor, Dies at 75".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2024.RetrievedApril 3,2024.
  3. ^Dunlap, LucyAnn (August 17, 2005)."A Play That Asks, 'What Happens After?'".U.S. 1 Newspaper.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.He wrote his first play at age eight. His Catholic grammar school cancelled class one afternoon and put on his play. Later while he was attending Delbarton School in Morristown, he and a friend wrote two musicals, 'Banned in Boston' and 'Businessman's Holiday.' You won't find these in his collected works but they certainly suggest a young man with an active imagination and a penchant for writing.
  4. ^abcFierberg, Ruthie (July 19, 2022)."Tony-winning playwright Christopher Durang diagnosed with aphasia; Sigourney Weaver and more share why the writer has faded from public view".Broadway News.Archivedfrom the original on July 19, 2022.RetrievedJuly 20,2022.
  5. ^Brantley, Ben (November 14, 1994). "Durang Durang: Plays That Cast as Irreverent Eye Over Two Revered Playwrights".New York Times.
  6. ^abChirico, Miriam (2020).The Theatre of Christopher Durang.Methuen Drama. pp. 12–13.
  7. ^"Interview: Christopher Durang".BOMB Magazine.Archivedfrom the original on January 18, 2024.RetrievedJanuary 18,2024.
  8. ^"Christopher Durang".Internet Broadway Database.Archivedfrom the original on September 24, 2015.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.
  9. ^Durang, Christopher (1995).Christopher Durang: Complete Full-Length Plays, 1975–1995.United States: Smith and Kraus. pg. 212;ISBN9781575250175
  10. ^Baltake, Joe (June 5, 1990)."Actresses bring right spirit to this odd-couple comedy"ArchivedJuly 9, 2021, at theWayback Machine.The Sacramento Bee.pg. 57. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  11. ^abcdefgEvans, Greg (April 3, 2024)."Christopher Durang Dies: Playwright With A Genius For The Absurd Was 75".Deadline Hollywood.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2024.RetrievedApril 3,2024.
  12. ^Durang, Christoper."Longer One Act Plays (between 30 and 60 minutes)".ChristopherDurang.Archived fromthe originalon September 16, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.
  13. ^Levitt, Hayley (March 15, 2013)."Flashback Friday: Who Knew? Sigourney Weaver and Chris Durang Had a German Phase Before Vanya Made Them Russian".TheaterMania.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2018.RetrievedSeptember 6,2015.
  14. ^abNaila, Francis (July 17, 2014)."Erwinna playwright Durang takes the stage in his Tony-winning play".Burlington County Times.Archivedfrom the original on June 20, 2021.RetrievedJune 20,2021.
  15. ^"Durang on Chekhov/Durang on Durang".PlayMakers Repertory Company.Archivedfrom the original on July 7, 2022.RetrievedJuly 20,2022.
  16. ^Dinitia Smith(November 26, 2005)."Christopher Durang Explores the Afterlife, Including His Own".The New York Times.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.
  17. ^"Christopher Durang".Dramatists Guild of America.Archivedfrom the original on April 3, 2024.RetrievedApril 3,2024.
  18. ^Gans, Andrew; Gioia, Michael (September 24, 2012)."EXCLUSIVE: Betty Buckley, Sam Waterston, Trevor Nunn, Christopher Durang, Andre Bishop Among Theater Hall of Fame Inductees".Playbill.Archivedfrom the original on November 19, 2018.RetrievedNovember 19,2018.
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