Marsha Norman
Marsha Norman | |
---|---|
Born | Louisville, Kentucky, U.S. | September 21, 1947
Occupation | Playwright, screenwriter, novelist |
Education | Agnes Scott College (BA) University of Louisville (MA) |
Period | 1977–present |
Notable awards | Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1983), Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (1991) |
Spouse | Tim Dykman (1987–1996) Dann Byck (1978–1986) Michael Norman (1969–1974) |
Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American
Biography
Early years
Norman was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the oldest of four children of Billie and Bertha Williams. As a child, she read and played the piano. She later began attending productions by the newly founded Actors Theatre of Louisville. She received a bachelor's degree from Agnes Scott College and a master's degree from the University of Louisville.[2] She worked as a journalist for The Louisville Times newspaper, and also wrote for Kentucky Educational Television. She taught young children and adolescents in mental institutions and hospitals. These were perhaps her biggest influence on her writing, especially a 13-year-old girl who influenced her play Getting Out.[3] She also taught English at the J. Graham Brown School and Prestonia Elementary School in Louisville.
Career
Norman's first play Getting Out was produced at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and then Off-Broadway in 1979.[4] The play concerns a young woman just paroled after an eight-year prison sentence for robbery, kidnapping and manslaughter.[5] It reflects Norman's experience working with disturbed adolescents at Kentucky's Central State Hospital.
Norman's success with Getting Out led her to move to New York City where she continued to write for the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Her full-length play, Circus Valentine was produced at the
Norman wrote the book and lyrics for the musical
Norman and composer
Television and film
Norman's scripts for television and film include the film version of
Other
Norman has served on the faculty of the Juilliard School in New York City as Co-Director of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, and is Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America. She was honored at the 2011 William Inge Festival for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre.[20] She will leave Juilliard at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year.[needs update][21]
Bibliography
Note: plays or musicals unless otherwise indicated
- Getting Out (1977)
- Circus Valentine (1979)
- 'night, Mother (1983)
- Traveller in the Dark (1984)
- The Fortune Teller (1987) (novel)[22]
- Third and Oak
- The Laundromat
- The Poolhall
- The Holdup
- Sarah and Abraham
- Loving Daniel Boone (1992)
- Lunch With Ginger, one-act play
- The Secret Garden (1991), musical stage adaptation of the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Collaboration with Lucy Simon.
- The Red Shoes (1993)
- Trudy Blue (play written around Lunch With Ginger) (1999)
- The Color Purple (2005), musical stage adaptation of the Alice Walker novel. Collaboration with Brenda Russell, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray.
- The Master Butchers Singing Club (2010)[23]
- The Trumpet of the Swan (2011), musical stage adaptation of the book by E. B. White. Collaboration with Jason Robert Brown.
- The Bridges of Madison County (2014), musical stage adaptation of the novel by Robert James Waller. Collaboration with Jason Robert Brown.
References
- ^ "Artists Offstage: Marsha Norman". American Repertory Theatre. November 4, 1998. Archived from the original on July 20, 2008. Retrieved December 21, 2008.
- ^ Thompson, David S. "Marsha Norman"[permanent dead link] agnesscott.edu, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ "Marsha Norman" louisville.edu, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ 'Getting Out', 1979 Archived September 6, 2014, at the Wayback Machine lortel.org, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ 'Getting Out' samuelfrench.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ISBN 0809328496, , p.60 and Appendix
- ^ Drama, see 1983 pulitzer.org, accessed August 1, 2013
- ^ Plays Archived June 11, 2013, at the Wayback Machine blackburnprize.org, accessed August 1, 2013
- American Academy of Achievement.
- ^ Stanley, Alessandra. "Theater:Marsha Norman Finds Her Lost Key to Broadway" The New York Times, April 21, 1991
- ^ Gutman, Les. "Review: 'Trudy Blue' " curtainup.com, December 3, 1999
- ^ Gans, Andrew. 2005-2006 "Tony Nominations Announced; 'Drowsy' Leads Pack With 13 Noms" Archived May 1, 2011, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, May 16, 2006
- ^ Gans, Andrew. "Norman and Brown's Trumpet of the Swan Begins Kennedy Center Run Dec. 4" playbill.com, December 4, 2008
- ^ Staff."The Verdict: Critics Review 'The Bridges of Madison County'" Archived March 21, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, February 21, 2014
- ^ Face of a Stranger tcm.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ A Cooler Climate tcm.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ Custody of the Heart tcm.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ The Audrey Hepburn Story tcm.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ Works marshanorman.com, accessed August 2, 2013
- ^ William Inge Theatre Fest theatermania.com
- ^ Culwell-Block, Logan. "Tanya Barfield Named New Co-Director of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program" Playbill, October 17, 2019
- ^ Blades, John. Playwright Marsha Norman Refreshed By A Novel Break" Chicago Tribune, May 17, 1987
- ^ Kerr, Euan."Guthrie will premier Erdrich's "Master Butcher's Singing Club" mpr.org, April 7, 2010
External links
- Marsha Norman at the Internet Broadway Database
- Marsha Norman at IMDb
- Marsha Norman papers, circa 1947-2011, Houghton Library, Harvard University
- Marsha Norman at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
- Marsha Norman Downstage Center XM radio interview at American Theatre Wing.org, October 2006