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Alfred Uhry

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Alfred Uhry
BornAlfred Fox Uhry
(1936-12-03)December 3, 1936(age 87)
Atlanta,Georgia,U.S.
EducationBrown University(BA)
Notable awardsPulitzer Prize for Drama(1988)
SpouseJoanna Kellogg

Alfred Fox Uhry(born December 3, 1936) is an Americanplaywrightandscreenwriter.He has received anAcademy Award,twoTony Awardsand the 1988Pulitzer Prizefor dramatic writing forDriving Miss Daisy.He is a member of theFellowship of Southern Writers.

Early life[edit]

Uhry was born inAtlanta, Georgia,the son of Alene (Fox), a social worker, and Ralph K. Uhry, a furniture designer and artist. He was born into aGerman Jewishfamily with one sister, the author Ann Uhry Abrams.[1]Uhry graduated fromDruid Hills High Schoolin 1954 and went on to graduate fromBrown Universityin 1958[2]where he wrote two original musicals withBrownbrokers.Druid Hills High School's Uhry Theater is named in honor of Uhry. During his first years in New York City, learning the craft of lyric-writing, Uhry received a stipend fromFrank Loesser;[2]after his eventual success, Uhry often praised Loesser's generosity and encouragement.

Career[edit]

Uhry's early work for the stage was as a lyricist andlibrettistfor a number of commercially unsuccessfulmusicals,including a revival ofLittle Johnny JonesstarringDonny Osmond(1982) which ran for one performance onBroadway.[3]

His first collaboration withRobert Waldmanwas the 1968 musicalHere's Where I Belong,which closed after one performance (and 20 previews) on Broadway.[4]They had considerably better success withThe Robber Bridegroom,which premiered on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976,[5]had a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony Award nomination, for best book of a musical in 1976.[6]

America's Sweetheart,with music by Robert Waldman and with the book co-written by Uhry withJohn Weidman,ran at the Hartford Stage,Hartford, Connecticutin March 1985 to April 1985, and then at theCoconut Grove Playhouse,Miami, Florida, where it closed.[7]

The Robber Bridegroomwas revivedOff-Broadwayin March 2016 at theRoundabout Theatre Companyand directed byAlex Timbers.[8]This production won threeLucille Lortel Awardsincluding Outstanding Revival.[9]

Atlanta Trilogy[edit]

Driving Miss Daisy(1987) is the first in what is known as his "Atlanta Trilogy" of plays, all set during the first half of the 20th century. Produced Off-Broadway atPlaywrights Horizons,the play earned him the 1988Pulitzer Prize for Drama.[10]It deals with the relationship between an elderly Jewish woman and her blackchauffeur.The character “Daisy” was based on the friendship between Uhry’s grandmother and her driver. He adapted it into the screenplay for a 1989 film starringJessica TandyandMorgan Freeman,an adaptation which was awarded theAcademy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay,in addition to the Academy Award to Tandy for best actress.[11]

The second of the trilogy,The Last Night of Ballyhoo(1996), is set in 1939 during the premiere of the filmGone with the Wind.It deals with a Jewish family during an important social event.[12]It was commissioned for theCultural Olympiadin Atlanta which coincided with the1996 Summer Olympics,[13]and received theTony Award for Best Playwhen produced on Broadway in 1997.[14]

The third is the 1998 musicalParade,about the 1913 trial of Jewish factory managerLeo Frank.Thelibrettoearned him aTony Award for Best Book of a Musical.[15]The music was written byJason Robert Brown.[16]

Additional theatre[edit]

Uhry's playEdgardo Mineis based on the true story ofEdgardo Mortara,an Italian child taken by police from his Jewish family in 1858 because one of their domestic servants had baptized him. The play, directed byDoug Hughes,opened at Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut in November 2002.[17]

TheManhattan Theatre Clubproduced Uhry's musicalLoveMusikon Broadway in 2007. The story depicts the relationship between composerKurt Weilland his wife,Lotte Lenya,using Weill's music.[18][19]

Apples & Orangespremiered on October 10, 2012, at theAlliance Theatrein Atlanta. This new play is about the rediscovery of a sibling relationship.[20]

Angel Reapers,a collaboration with director/choreographerMartha Clarke,ran Off-Broadway at theSignature Theatrefrom February 2 to March 20, 2016.[21]This production won theLucille Lortel Awardfor "Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience".[22]

Film[edit]

Uhry wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film version ofDriving Miss Daisy[23]and for the 1992 filmRich in Love;[24]he co-wrote the screenplay for the 1988 filmMystic Pizza.[25]

Personal life[edit]

Uhry was married to Joanna Kellogg, Ed.D., from 1959 until her death on August 26, 2019, at age 82 from complications ofParkinson's diseaseandLewy Body Dementia.Dr. Kellogg Uhry was a professor atFordham University.[26]They had four daughters and lived in New York City.[13]

References[edit]

  1. ^Pousner, Howard."Alfred Uhry explores contentious sibling relationship in world premiere of 'Apples & Oranges'".The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.Archived fromthe originalon October 17, 2012.Retrieved5 February2016.
  2. ^abHarrison, Leah R."Real Life Inspired Uhry's Midlife Success"Jewish Times,December 1, 2015
  3. ^Little Johnny JonesPlaybill, retrieved December 27, 2017
  4. ^Here's Where I BelongPlaybill, retrieved December 27, 2017
  5. ^"'The Robber Bridegroom' 1975"Playbill, retrieved December 27, 2017
  6. ^"'The Robber Bridegroom' Awards"ibdb, retrieved December 27, 2017
  7. ^Dietz, Dan. "America's Sweetheart",The Complete Book of 1980s Broadway Musicals,Rowman & Littlefield, 2016,ISBN1442260920,p. 244
  8. ^Stasio, Marilyn."Off Broadway Review: 'The Robber Bridegroom'"Variety,March 13, 2016
  9. ^Staff."'FUTURITY', 'Guards at the Taj' and 'Robber Bridegroom' Earn Top Lucille Lortel Awards"Playbill, May 1, 2016
  10. ^"Pulitzer Prize 1988"pulitzer.org, retrieved December 27, 2017
  11. ^Reinhold, Robert."'Driving Miss Daisy' Wins 4 Oscars, Including One for Jessica Tandy"The New York Times,March 27, 1990
  12. ^Evans, Greg."Review. 'The Last Night of Ballyhoo'"Variety,March 8, 1997
  13. ^abWitchel, Alex."Theater. Remembering Prejudice, of a Different Sort"The New York Times,February 23, 1997
  14. ^The Last Night of BallyhooPlaybill, retrieved December 27, 2017
  15. ^Jones, Kenneth."1999 Tony Winner: Alfred Uhry (Book, 'Parade')"Playbill, June 6, 1999
  16. ^Simonson, Robert."Brown-Uhry-Prince Musical 'Parade' to Close Feb. 28"Playbill, February 3, 1999
  17. ^Klein, Alvin."Theater; Searching for a Faith That Is Based on Reason"The New York Times,November 3, 2002
  18. ^LoveMusikguidetomusicaltheatre, retrieved December 27, 2017
  19. ^Jones, Kenneth."When You Speak Love: Cast Complete for 'LoveMusik', Broadway's Weill-Lenya Musical"Playbill, March 1, 2007
  20. ^"Alfred Uhry's 'Apples & Oranges' Makes Word Premiere at Atlanta's Alliance Theatre Tonight"broadwayworld, October 5, 2012
  21. ^Angel Reaperssignaturetheatre.org, retrieved December 27, 2017
  22. ^"'Guards at the Taj,' 'Robber Bridegroom' Win Big at 2016 Lortel Awards"American Theatre,May 2, 2016
  23. ^Driving Miss Daisytcm, retrieved December 27, 2017
  24. ^Rich in Lovetcm, retrieved December 27, 2017
  25. ^Mystic Pizzatcm, retrieved December 27, 2017
  26. ^Ha, Taylor (9 September 2019)."University Mourns the Passing of Professor Emerita Joanna Kellogg Uhry".Fordham.edu.Fordham University.Retrieved30 October2020.

External links[edit]

Media related toAlfred Uhryat Wikimedia Commons

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