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Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are Black people. She has received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice: in 2009 for her play Ruined, and in 2017 for her play Sweat. She was the first (and remains the only) woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times.
Nottage is the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship and was included in Time magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Most Influential People. She is currently a professor of playwriting at Columbia University and an artist-in-residence at the Park Avenue Armory.
Nottage attended Brown University (A.B., 1986) and the Yale School of Drama (M.F.A., 1989). After graduation, she worked in Amnesty International's press office for four years. More recently, Nottage has received honorary degrees from Brown (D.F.A., 2011), the Juilliard School and Albright College.
Nottage is married to filmmaker Tony Gerber, with whom she has two children, Ruby Aiyo and Melkamu Gerber. After living in Manhattan at the start of her career, Nottage returned to Brooklyn in 1997, moving back into the same Boerum Hill house in which she was raised.
In 1905 New York, Esther, a Black seamstress, lives in a boarding house for women, and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. One by one, the other denizens of the boarding house marry and move away, but Esther remains, lonely and longing for a husband and a future. Her plan is to find the right man and use the money she's saved to open a beauty parlor where Black women will be treated as royally as the white women she sews for.
Co-commissioned and produced at Baltimore's Center Stage, it premiered in February 2003 and South Coast Repertory. Intimate Apparel, scr.org, Retrieved November 17, 2017. The Off-Broadway production at Roundabout Theatre Company opened in 2004, starring Viola Davis, and receiving critical acclaim. It received the 2004 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting; AUDELCO (Audience Development Committee) recognizes and honors excellence in Black theatre. Intimate Apparel has since been commissioned by the MET / Lincoln Center to be adapted into an opera, and will be composed by Ricky Ian Gordon.
Since 2004, Intimate Apparel has become one of the most produced plays in America.
It premiered in 2007 in the Goodman Theatre (Chicago) New Stages Series, "'Ruined' Goodman Theatre", goodmantheatre.org, Retrieved November 17, 2017. and transferred to Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in February 2009. Ruined was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Ruined also received the 2009 AUDELCO Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year.
On May 13, 2009, Nottage spoke at a public reception in Washington, D.C. following a United States Senate Foreign Relations joint subcommittee hearing entitled "Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones," with case studies on the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sudan.Patrick Healy. "Women of ‘Ruined’ to Speak in Washington About Rape", The New York Times, May 12, 2009.
On October 12, 2009, Nottage spoke at the United Nations as part of the Exhibit CONGO/WOMEN Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo.
It premiered Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre on May 9, 2011, with direction by Jo Bonney. The play is a "funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood." The play was nominated for the 2012 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play. The play ran at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in September 2012, starring Sanaa Lathan, who played the role of the maid who becomes a stage star.
Nottage received a commission from Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the Arena Stage. The play that she wrote as a result, Sweat, was presented at the festival in Ashland, Oregon from July 29, 2015, to October 31, 2015, directed by Kate Whoriskey.Weinerdt-Kent, Rob. "How Lynn Nottage, Inveterate Wanderer, Found Her Way to Reading and ‘Sweat’", americantheatre.org, July 10, 2015. Sweat, osfashland.org, accessed August 25, 2015. The play takes place in Reading, Pennsylvania, and involves steel workers who have been locked out of their factory workplace.Scott, Aaron. "Oregon Shakespeare Festival Sweats America's De-Industrialization With New Play", opb.org, July 30, 2015. The play was produced at the Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.) from January 15 to February 21, 2016, directed by Whoriskey. "Press Release. Sweat" arenastage.org, December 2, 2015. Nottage won the 2015–16 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for this play.Gordon, David. "Lynn Nottage Receives 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize", theatermania.com, February 22, 2016.Editors. "Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Announces 2015–16 Finalists", American Theatre, January 26, 2016. "Sweat" by Lynn Nottage Wins 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize" talkinbroadway.com, accessed February 22, 2016. Sweat premiered Off-Broadway at the Public Theater on October 18, 2016 (previews), officially on November 3, again directed by Whoriskey. Here, the play was awarded the 2017 Obie Award for Playwriting.Obie Awards, 2017 Winners. The play closed on December 18, 2016.Clement, Olivia. "David Byrne, Harvey Fierstein, Nia Vardalos and Lynn Nottage Tapped For Public Season", Playbill, May 19, 2016.Rickwald, Bethany. "Miriam Shor, John Earl Jelks, and More Cast in Lynn Nottage's Sweat", theatermania.com, September 13, 2016.Clement, Olivia, "Lynn Nottage’s Sweat Opens at The Public Tonight" Playbill, November 3, 2016 Sweat opened on Broadway theatre at Studio 54 on March 4, 2017, in previews, officially on March 26. This marks Nottage's Broadway debut.Clement, Olivia. "Lynn Nottage to Make Broadway Debut with Transfer of Sweat", Playbill, December 5, 2016.
Sweat was a finalist for the 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama. "Finalists Announced for 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired By American History" kennedyprize.columbia.edu, January 27, 2016, accessed January 28, 2016 Sweat was again a finalist for the 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History. The award is administered by Columbia University. " 'Sweat', 'Indecent' and 'Vietgone' Among Finalists for 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize" broadwayworld.com, January 13, 2017 "Winner of the 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History Announced", kennedyprize.columbia.edu, February 27, 2017. The play won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
Her political satire Por'Knockers premiered in 1995 at the Vineyard Theatre, directed by Michael Rogers, featuring Sanaa Lathan.
The West Coast premiere of her Crumbs from the Table of Joy, at South Coast Repertory in September 1996,Nottage, Lynn. "Introduction" Crumbs from the Table of Joy, Dramatists Play Service Inc, 1998, , p. 3. earned two NAACP Theatre Awards for performance.
Mud, River, Stone premiered in 1996 at The Acting Company directed by Seret Scott; it premiered in New York in 1997 at Playwrights Horizons, directed by Roger Rees. It was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Award, and won numerous regional theatre awards.
Las Meninas premiered in 2002 at San Jose Rep, directed by Michael Edwards. It was awarded a Rockefeller Grant, as well as the AT&T OnStage Award. It follows the true story of Queen Maria Theresa of Spain (wife of Louis XIV) and her affair with her African servant, Nabo, a dwarf from Dahomey.
Obie Award-winning Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (her companion piece to Intimate Apparel, set one hundred years later), opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in June 2004.Jones, Kenneth. "Lynn Nottage's 'Fabulation' Gets World Premiere at Playwrights Horizons, Opening June 13", Playbill, June 13, 2004.
Her play Mlima's Tale premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on March 27, 2018, in previews, officially on April 15 in a limited engagement to May 20. Direction is by Jo Bonney. The play concerns an elephant, Mlima, "trapped inside the clandestine international ivory market". Sahr Ngaujah plays Mlima.Clement, Olivia. "Lynn Nottage's Mlima's Tale Finds its Cast at The Public", Playbill, February 8, 2018. Mlima's Tale was nominated for the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) (Lap Chi Chu) and Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical) (Darron L. West).Clement, Olivia. " SpongeBob SquarePants Leads Outer Critics Circle Nominations", Playbill, April 24, 2018. The play was nominated for the 2019 Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director (Bonney), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Sahr Ngaujah), Outstanding Costume Design (Jennifer Moeller) and Outstanding Lighting Design (Lap Chi Chu).Gans, Andrew. "Nominations for 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards Announced; Carmen Jones and Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future Lead the Pack" playbill, April 3, 2019
Nottage wrote the book for the world premiere musical adaptation of Sue Monk Kidd's novel The Secret Life of Bees, with music by Duncan Sheik and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. It premiered at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company on May 12, 2019. The musical is directed by Sam Gold and featured Saycon Sengbloh as Rosaleen, Elizabeth Teeter as Lily, LaChanze, Eisa Davis and Anastacia McCleskey. The musical had a workshop at the Vassar College, Martel Theatre in July 2017, directed by Sam Gold. The Secret Life Of Bees powerhouse.vassar.edu, retrieved May 12, 2019Gans, Andrew. " Orange Is the New Blacks Uzo Aduba Stars in Secret Life of Bees Musical Workshop, Beginning July 27" Playbill, July 27, 2017
Nottage contributed to the "dance-theatre musical" written Stephen Flaherty and Lynn Ahrens titled In Your Arms which premiered at the Old Globe Theatre, San Diego, in September 2015. The piece consists of ten vignettes and was directed and choreographed by Christopher Gattelli. Her vignette is titled A Wedding Dance and was performed by Marija Juliette Abney and Adesola Osakalumi with The .Viagas, Robert, "The Verdict: Critics Review In Your Arms, With Donna McKechnie, at Old Globe", Playbill, September 28, 2015.
Nottage wrote the book for a jukebox musical centered on Michael Jackson and titled MJ the Musical, originally aiming to premiere on Broadway in 2020; previews were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the musical premiering in February 2022. MJ is currently running on Broadway, London's West End and is touring the United States. It is set to premiere in Sydney and in Hamburg in Spring 2025.
This Is Reading was conceived by Nottage, and co-created by an award-winning team of artists, including filmmaker Tony Gerber, director Kate Whoriskey and Choreographer Rennie Harris. The creative team included composer Kashaka, projection designer Jeff Sugg, set designer Deb O, costume designer Jennifer Moeller, lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker, sound designer Nick Kourtides, muralist Katie Merz and producers Jane M. Saks, Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Allison Bressi and Santo D. Marabella.
Over the years, she has developed original projects for HBO, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Showtime, This is That, and Harpo Productions.
Nominations
Other awards
Fellowships, commissions, and residencies
Career
Nottage's plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world.
Plays
Intimate Apparel
One of her best-known plays is Intimate Apparel.
Ruined
Ruined dramatizes the plight of Congolese women surviving civil war. Set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo, Ruined follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman protecting and profiting from the women she shelters.The play deals with the role of women in war and the societal stigma around Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
By the Way, Meet Vera Stark is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When both women land roles in the same Southern epic, the story behind the camera leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy.
Sweat
Sweat tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.
Other plays
Her short play Poof! (Heideman Award) was presented in 1993 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville during the Humana Festival of New American Plays. "Lynn Nottage at Doollee" doollee.com, accessed February 24, 2016.Nottage, Lynn. Poof!, "'Crumbs from the Table of Joy' and Other Plays", Theatre Communications Group, 2003, , p. 89. It was then broadcast on PBS in 2002, with a cast that featured Rosie Perez and Viola Davis. "'Poof!' Overview and Cast", tcm.com, accessed February 24, 2016. Poof! was also recorded for podcast and public radio by Playing on Air, with a cast that featured Audra McDonald, Tonya Pinkins, and Keith Randolph Smith with direction by Seret Scott.
Other work
Nottage wrote a monologue, The Grey Rooster, following a former slave and his slaveholder's cockfighting rooster in post-Civil War Kentucky. It was performed as part of the National Civil War Project's production Our War, produced in 2014 at Arena Stage, directed by Anita Maynard-Losh.
This is Reading
Nottage co-conceived This is Reading, an immersive transmedia project exploring the decline and rebirth of Reading, Pennsylvania: the setting of Nottage's play Sweat. This site-specific multimedia installation blended live performance and visual media, occupying the Franklin Street Railroad Station in Downtown Reading in May 2017, re-animating the long vacant building. Using as its foundation, the hardships, challenges, and triumphs of people living in and around Reading, This is Reading weaved individual stories into one cohesive tale of the city. It was produced in association with Market Road Films, the Labyrinth Theater Company and Project&.
Market Road Films
She is the co-founder of a production company, Market Road Films, whose most recent projects include The Notorious Mr. Bout, directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin (Premiere/Sundance 2014); First to Fall, directed by Rachel Beth Anderson (Premiere/ IDFA, 2013); and Remote Control (Premiere/Busan 2013–New Currents Award).
Film and television
Nottage was a producer and writer for the first season of She's Gotta Have It.
Themes
The Guardian noted:
Works
Full-length plays
Musicals
Operas
Other works
Awards and nominations
Awards
External links
Categories: 1964 Births, Living People, 20th-century American Dramatists And Playwrights, African-american Dramatists And Playwrights, Macarthur Fellows, Pulitzer Prize For Drama Winners, David Geffen School Of Drama At Yale University Alumni, Brown University Alumni, Columbia University Faculty, American Women Dramatists And Playwrights, 20th-century American Women Writers, Saint Ann's School Alumni, Fiorello H. Laguardia High School Alumni, American Women Academics, 20th-century African-american Women Writers, 20th-century African-american Writers, 21st-century African-american People, 21st-century African-american Women, Members Of The American Academy Of Arts And Letters, African-american Opera Librettists, American Opera Librettists, People From Boerum Hill, Brooklyn
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