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   » » Wiki: Lynn Nottage
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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 . 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.


Early and personal life
Lynn Nottage was born on November 2, 1964, in , New York.
(2025). 9780521835381, Cambridge University Press.
Her mother Ruby Nottage was a schoolteacher and principal; her father Wallace was a child psychologist. She has a younger brother, who became an attorney. She grew up in Brooklyn's Boerum Hill neighborhood, and went to Saint Ann's School for elementary school before graduating from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School.Kilian, Michael. "Playwright tells intimate tales: Lynn Nottage wrote 2 works simultaneously", Chicago Tribune, June 17, 2004. While in high school, she wrote her first full-length play, The Darker Side of Verona, about an African-American Shakespeare company traveling through the South.

Nottage attended (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 and .

Nottage is married to filmmaker , with whom she has two children, Ruby Aiyo and Melkamu Gerber. After living in 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.


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.

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 's Center Stage, it premiered in February 2003 and South Coast Repertory. Intimate Apparel, scr.org, Retrieved November 17, 2017. The production at Roundabout Theatre Company opened in 2004, starring , and receiving critical acclaim. It received the 2004 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting; (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.


Ruined
Ruined dramatizes the plight of Congolese women surviving . 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).

It premiered in 2007 in the (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 .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 as part of the Exhibit CONGO/WOMEN Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo.


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.

It premiered Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre on May 9, 2011, with direction by . 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 , who played the role of the maid who becomes a stage star.


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.

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 .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 on October 18, 2016 (previews), officially on November 3, again directed by Whoriskey. Here, the play was awarded the 2017 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 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.


Other plays
Her short play Poof! () 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 in 2002, with a cast that featured and . "'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 , , and Keith Randolph Smith with direction by .

Her political satire Por'Knockers premiered in 1995 at the , directed by Michael Rogers, featuring .

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 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 . 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.

-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". 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 and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. It premiered at the Off-Broadway Atlantic Theater Company on May 12, 2019. The musical is directed by and featured as Rosaleen, Elizabeth Teeter as Lily, , Eisa Davis and Anastacia McCleskey. The musical had a workshop at the , 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


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 , directed by Anita Maynard-Losh.

Nottage contributed to the "dance-theatre musical" written and 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 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
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&.

This Is Reading was conceived by Nottage, and co-created by an award-winning team of artists, including filmmaker , 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.


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).

Over the years, she has developed original projects for HBO, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Showtime, This is That, and Harpo Productions.


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
  • The Secret Life of Bees (2019) – wrote book
  • MJ the Musical (2021) – wrote book


Operas
  • Intimate Apparel (2020) – wrote libretto
  • This House (2025) – co-wrote libretto
  • The Highlands (TBD) – co-wrote libretto


Other works
  • Rhinestones and Paste (1989) – first play produced in New York Laura Pels Keynote Address May 2, 2011, accessed April 30, 2023.
  • Poof (1993) Poof, playscripts.com, accessed November 6, 2016. – short play
  • A Walk Through Time (2000) – children's musical
  • Our War (2014)Perry, Jennifer. "BWW Reviews: Arena Stage's 'Our War' - Nothing if Not Ambitious", broadwayworld.com, October 27, 2014. – contributed material
  • In Your Arms (2015) – contributed material
  • This Is Reading (2017) – co-conceived / multimedia installation
  • The Watering Hole (2021) – co-conceived and co-created


Awards and nominations
Awards
  • 2025 Washington University International Humanities Medal
  • 2023 Langston Hughes Medal
  • 2022 Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
  • 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play – Sweat
  • 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Sweat
  • 2017 , Best New American Play – Sweat
  • 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize – Sweat
  • 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Ruined
  • 2009 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play – Ruined
  • 2009 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play – Ruined
  • 2009 Obie Award for Best New American Play - Ruined
  • 2009 Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year – Ruined
  • 2009 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play – Ruined
  • 2009 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – Ruined
  • 2005 Obie Award, Best New American Play -
  • 2004 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – Intimate Apparel
  • 2004 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – Intimate Apparel
  • 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award, John Gassner Award – Intimate Apparel

Nominations

  • 2022 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical – MJ
  • 2022 Tony Award for Best Play – Clyde's
  • 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – Intimate Apparel
  • 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical – Intimate Apparel
  • 2019 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Play – Mlima's Tale
  • 2019 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding New Revival – Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine
  • 2019 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Revival – Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine
  • 2019 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Revival – By the Way, Meet Vera Starke
  • 2019 Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Play – Sweat
  • 2019 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre – Sweat
  • 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play – Mlima's Tale
  • 2017 Tony Award for Best Play – Sweat
  • 2017 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – Sweat
  • 2017 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play – Sweat
  • 2017 Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year – Sweat
  • 2017 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – Sweat
  • 2012 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play – By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
  • 2011 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – By the Way, Meet Vera Stark
  • 2009 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize – Ruined
  • 2005 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play – Intimate Apparel
  • 2001 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize – Mud, River, Stone

Other awards

  • 2019 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member
  • 2018 Induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters
  • 2017 Induction into The American Academy of Arts and Science
  • 2017 Award of Merit, American Academy of Arts and Letters to "an outstanding playwright for her body of work"
  • 2017 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Achievement
  • 2017 Lucille Lortel Sidewalk Star
  • 2016 PEN/Laura Pels "Master American Dramatist" Award
  • 2016 Literature Award from The Academy of Arts and Letters
  • 2016 Columbia University Provost Grant
  • 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award, 2016
  • 2013 Madge Evans-Sidney Kingsley Award
  • 2012 Nelson A. Rockefeller Award For Creativity
  • 2010 Steinberg "Distinguished Playwright" Award
  • 2010 Horton Foote Award
  • 2007 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship
  • 2005 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Drama and Performance Art
  • 2004 PEN/Laura Pels "Mid-Career Playwright" Award
  • 2000 & 1994 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
  • 1994 Van Lier Playwright Fellowship
  • National Black Theatre Festival August Wilson Playwriting Award

Fellowships, commissions, and residencies

  • Signature Theatre Company, 2018–2019 Residency One
  • Park Avenue Armory (2017–2018)
  • New Freedom Theatre
  • (1999–2006)


External links

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