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David Adjmi

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David Adjmi
Born1973 (age 50–51)
New York City,New York,U.S.
EducationSarah Lawrence College(BA)
University of Iowa(MFA)
Juilliard School(GrDip)
OccupationPlaywright

David Adjmi(born 1973) is an Americanplaywright.He is the recipient of aTony Award,aDrama Desk Award,aNew York Drama Critics' Circle Award,anOuter Critics Circle Award,aGuggenheim Fellowship,[1]aWhiting Award,[2]the inaugural Steinberg Playwright Award,[3]a Bush Artists Fellowship, and theKesselring Prizefor Drama.[4]In 2020, he released a memoir about his life growing up in Brooklyn, titledLot Six.[5]His plays includeStunning(2008) andStereophonic(2023), the latter winning theTony Award for Best Play.

Life

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Adjmi grew up in aSyrian Jewishfamily inMidwood, Brooklyn[6]He is a graduate ofSarah Lawrence College(1995),[7]the Playwrights Workshop at theUniversity of Iowa(MFA 2001),[8]and theJuilliard School's American Playwrights Program (2003).[9]As of 2010, he resides inBrooklyn Heights.[10]

Career

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Adjmi's playThe Evildoerswas developed at theSundance Instituteand theRoyal Court TheatreinLondon.It premiered in January 2008 at theYale Repertory Theatre.Varietycalled it "an anxiety attack of a play" and, of Adjmi, noted that he is "clearly a writer with a distinct voice, ambition and style."[11]His playStunningopened a month later atWoolly Mammoth Theatre CompanyinWashington DCwhere it was selected as one of the top ten plays of the year byThe Washington Postand was published inAmerican Theatremagazine.Stunningpremiered in New York atLincoln Center Theaterin June 2009 where it played an extended run to sold-out houses. Adjmi's playMarie Antoinettewas developed at the Goodman Theatre's New Stages Series and the Sundance Institute's Residency at the Public Theatre. It will premiere in a coproduction between theAmerican Repertory Theaterand Yale Repertory Theatre in Fall 2012. His play3Cpremieres at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre in June 2012. His monologueElective Affinitieswas commissioned by theRoyal Court Theatreand later premiered at theRoyal Shakespeare Companyin theUnited Kingdom.[12]In November 2011 it received its U.S. Premiere at Soho Repertory Theatre, featuring Tony Award-winning actressZoe Caldwell,and directed by OBIE winner Sarah Benson. His playMarie Antoinette,which was presented at Yale Rep. in 2012 and received three Connecticut Critics Circle Awards including Best Play, opened the 2013–2014 season atSoho Rep.under the direction of Rebecca Taichman and with many members of the original cast.The New Yorkernamed Adjmi as one of the Top Ten in Culture for 2011, and described him as an artist who is part of "a new trend in the American theatre."[13]

Other plays includeStrange Attractors,Caligulaand the controversial hit3Cwhich put Adjmi in the center of a media firestorm and a legal battle with DLT Entertainment, the rights holders of the television seriesThree's Companywhich Adjmi satirized in his play. DLT issued a Cease and Desist to the playwright on Adjmi's opening night. In 2014, Adjmi sued for a declaratory judgment that he had not infringed DLT's copyright. On March 31, 2015, three years after its premiere, United States District Judge Loretta Preska ruled in a 56-page decision that the play deconstructed rather than repeated the sitcom, turning it into “a nightmarish version of itself” and was protected as a fair use.[14]3Cmade Year's Best lists in Time Out New York, the New York Post and The Advocate.

Adjmi is the recipient of numerous awards for his work, including the Helen Merrill Award, the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowship, and McKnight and Jerome Fellowships fromThe Playwrights' Center.A collection of his work,Stunning and Other Plays,was published by Theatre Communications Group in 2011, and a second collection,1789/1978,was published in October 2017. Adjmi is currently at work onThe Stumble,a commission for Lincoln Center Theatre.

Adjmi's playStereophonic,a co-commission for Second Stage Theatre and Center Theater Group, had its world premiere atPlaywrights Horizonsin 2023. On January 17, 2024, it was announced thatStereophonicwould transfer to theJohn Golden Theatrefor a limited run on Broadway, marking Adjmi's Broadway debut. Previews began on April 3, 2024, with opening night on April 19.[15][16]

Works

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References

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  1. ^"Fellows: David Adjmi".John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Archived fromthe originalon October 15, 2011.RetrievedApril 18,2012.
  2. ^Jones, Kenneth (October 28, 2010)."StunningPlaywright David Adjmi Wins 2010 Whiting Award ".Playbill.com.
  3. ^Cohen, Patricia (September 17, 2009)."Trust Tussles Over Playwright Award Eligibility".The New York Times.
  4. ^Gans, Andrew (February 13, 2009)."Joseph, Adjmi, Schwartz and McCraney to Receive Kesselring Awards".Playbill.com.
  5. ^[1]
  6. ^New York Times: "Once a Boyhood Outsider, Now Reflecting on His Tribe" By FELICIA R. LEEJune 16, 2009
  7. ^"Alumni Awarded Prestigious Guggenheim Fellowships".Sarah Lawrence College. April 29, 2011. Archived fromthe originalon August 11, 2011.RetrievedApril 18,2012.
  8. ^"Theatre Arts: Alumni".University of Iowa.RetrievedApril 18,2012.
  9. ^"Q&A With David Adjmi".Alumni News.The Juilliard School. October 2009.
  10. ^Kanfer, Julie (October 28, 2010)."Brooklyn Heights People: David Adjmi".Brooklyn Heights Blog.
  11. ^Rizzo, Frank (January 27, 2008)."Review: The Evildoers".Variety.
  12. ^Schreck, Heidi (October 2005)."In Dialogue: suffer little children: The Sturm und Drang of David Adjmi".The Brooklyn Rail.
  13. ^Als, Hilton (January 26, 2009)."By the Skin of Our Teeth".The New Yorker.
  14. ^Gardner, Eriq (March 31, 2015)."Judge Rules 'Three's Company' Parody Play to Be Fair Use".The Hollywood Reporter.
  15. ^Culwell-Block, Logan (January 17, 2024)."Stereophonic is Coming to Broadway".Playbill.RetrievedJanuary 17,2024.
  16. ^Paulson, Michael (2024-01-17)."'Stereophonic,' a New Play About Making Music, to Open on Broadway ".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Retrieved2024-01-17.
  17. ^"David Adjmi".Doollee.com.RetrievedApril 18,2012.
  18. ^"Marie Antoinette".
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Reviews

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