Chris Durang Was My Willy Wonka
A sweet, sane soul who wrote hilarious, deranged, profoundly human plays, he showed us all how to dance on the funny/serious tightrope.
A sweet, sane soul who wrote hilarious, deranged, profoundly human plays, he showed us all how to dance on the funny/serious tightrope.
The founder of Yale Rep and ART had intellect, idealism, and indignation to spare, and he put it all in service of the theatre he wanted to see in the world.
A director and friend recalls the fabulousness of the playwright’s sensibility, which naturally found expression in her characters.
A remembrance by his frequent collaborator and longtime friend.
He was a lyricist’s lyricist, sure, but his words spoke to everyone, and his life was as full of joy and surprise as his songs.
Yes, he saved a near-bankrupt nonprofit and turned it into a Broadway juggernaut, but all with the aim of supporting artists and serving audiences.
The designer’s friend, colleague, and mentee recalls him as a tirelessly busy, no-fuss genius who cherished real materials and was always ready with a brilliant drawing or model.
Boundlessly creative, unfailingly astute, he didn’t just make and teach theatre of the mind but of the heart as well.
In his lifelong affair with the theatre, he could be a possessive, even jealous lover, but both his intellectual acuity and his abundant humanity shone through all his writing.
An irresistible advocate of Latine theatre artists, the founder of the Chicago Latino Theatre Alliance paved the way for so many of us, and did it with love, grit, and grace.