Tom Eyen

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Tom Eyen, 1986

Tom Eyen (August 14, 1940 – May 26, 1991) was an American

Dreamgirls
in 1981.

Eyen is best known for works at opposite ends of the theatrical spectrum. Mainstream theatergoers became acquainted with him in 1981, when he partnered with composer

AIDS-related complications in Palm Beach, Florida
at the age of 50.

Early life and education

Eyen was born in Cambridge, Ohio, the youngest of seven children. His parents, Abraham and Julia Eyen, owned and ran a family restaurant.[3] He attended Ohio State University but left before graduating. Eyen moved to New York City in 1960 to study acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.[4]

Career

1960 to 1970

Eyen sought acting roles without success, and worked briefly as a press agent, before he began writing for the theatre. He found an artistic home in the 1960s off-off-Broadway

Spoleto Festival in Italy in 1967.[3] Eyen's work was central to the 1960s neo-expressionist off-off-Broadway movement. The New York Times wrote in 1984, "His plays are known for emotionally grotesque material combined with sharp satire."[7]

Eyen was prolific, writing, and usually directing, 35 plays at La MaMa alone during the 1960s and 1970s.[3] His early off-off-Broadway plays, other than those noted above, included:

  • Happening at the Cafe (1964; La MaMa; written by Ruth Landshoff, directed by Eyen)[8]
  • My Next Husband Will Be A Beauty! (1964; La MaMa; written and directed by Eyen)[9]
  • Frustrata (1964; La MaMa; written and directed by Eyen)[10]
  • The White Whore And The Bit Player (1964; La MaMa; written and directed by Eyen)[11]
  • Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down (1964)
  • Frustata, The Dirty Little Girl With The Paper Rose Stuck In Her Head, Is Demented! (1965)
  • Can't You See A Prince? (1965)
  • The Last Great Cocktail Party (1965)
  • The Demented World Of Tom Eyen (1965)
  • Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down; Or, Admission 10c (1965; La MaMa; written and directed by Eyen)[12]
  • Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1965; La MaMa; written and directed by Eyen)[13]
  • Give My Regards to Off-Off Broadway (1966; La MaMa; written by Eyen, directed by Ron Link)[14]
  • Court (1967)
  • Sarah B Divine! (1967)
  • Grand Tenement/November 22nd (1967)
  • The (An Organic Happening) (1968)
  • Who Killed My Bald Sister Sophie? Or, Thank God for Small Favours! (1968)
  • When Johnny Comes Dancing Home Again (1968)
  • Alice Through A Glass Lightly (1968)
  • 4 Noh Plays by Tom Eyen (1969)
  • Caution: A Love Story (1969)
  • Kama Sutra (date unknown)

The title character in Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down has been described as representative of the crudeness, exuberance, decadence and profundity of the movement and the period.[15]

1970 to 1980

In 1970, Eyen had his biggest commercial success to date with

West End.[15] He also wrote the song "Ode to a Screw" with Peter Cornell for the 1971 Miloš Forman film Taking Off
. Eyen's other shows in the early 1970s included:

According to The New York Times, "Eyen was called the

Emmy Award nomination for writing Midler's first television special, Ol' Red Hair is Back.[citation needed
]

Eyen's campy and disturbing parody of 1950s women's prison exploitation films,

television movie. The film featured John Wesley Shipp.[22]

In 1976, he appeared in Rosa von Praunheim's documentary film about New York's SoHo theatre and arts scene in the 1970s, Underground and Emigrants.[23]

Dreamgirls and later work

Eyen and

Joe Papp with Carter, Sheryl Lee Ralph, and Loretta Devine. The project was shelved in 1978 when Carter took a role in a soap opera.[25] A year later, the project caught the interest of Broadway director-producer Michael Bennett, who asked Eyen to direct a workshop production of Big Dreams, as the musical was then named, featuring Ralph, Loretta Devine, and gospel singer Jennifer Holliday as Carter's replacement. However, Holliday left the project, unhappy that her character died at the conclusion of the first act. After several workshops and numerous rewrites, Bennett decided that the production needed Holliday, and the team rewrote act two to build up Holliday's character.[25][26]

Produced on Broadway in 1981,

Grammy Award as lyricist, and one of the show's songs, "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going", as sung by Holliday, became a hit.[citation needed] In 1984, Eyen sought to duplicate his Dreamgirls success with Kicks: The Showgirl Musical, a collaboration with composer Alan Menken about the Rockettes during World War II. The show never made it past the workshop stage, though individual numbers from the show have been performed in concert.[27]

A film adaptation of

The Tams-Witmark Music Library, paid the licensing fees for all non-professional stage performances of Dreamgirls in 2006. As a result, more than fifty high schools, colleges, and community theaters staged productions of Dreamgirls that year.[28]

Death

Eyen died of complications from

Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute Award from Ohio State University, where his papers are archived.[29]

References

  1. ^ Review: Women Behind Bars, The New York Times, 1984
  2. ^ Review: Women Behind Bars in San Francisco, TalkinBroadway.com
  3. ^ a b c d Holden, Stephen. "Tom Eyen, 50, Prolific Playwright Specializing in Off Off Broadway", The New York Times, May 28, 1991.
  4. ^ Klemesrud, Judy. "Dirty is a State of Mind". New York Times, August 16, 1970.
  5. ^ Stewart, Ellen. "The 60's", Ellen's Blog: A History of La Mama, accessed March 20, 2018
  6. ^ Corliss, Richard. "That Old Feeling: Best Bette Yet", Time magazine, March 17, 2004, accessed March 20, 2018
  7. ^ a b c Frank, Leah D. "Prison Satire with Bitter Laughs", May 27, 1984, p. L-11, accessed March 20, 2018
  8. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Happening at the Cafe (1964)", accessed March 21, 2018
  9. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: My Next Husband Will Be A Beauty! (1964)", accessed March 21, 2018
  10. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Frustata (1964)", accessed March 21, 2018
  11. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: The White Whore and the Bit Player (1964)", accessed March 21, 2018
  12. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Why Hanna's Skirt Won't Stay Down (1965)", accessed March 21, 2018
  13. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Miss Nefertiti Regrets (1965)", accessed March 21, 2018
  14. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Give My Regards to Off-Off Broadway (1966)", accessed March 21, 2018
  15. ^ a b Why Hannah's Skirt Won't Stay Down, LaMaMa.org (2005)
  16. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Dirtiest Show in Town, The (1970)", accessed March 21, 2018
  17. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: What is Making Gilda So Gray? (1970)", accessed March 21, 2018
  18. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: Three Drag Queens from Daytona (1973)", accessed March 21, 2018
  19. ^ La MaMa Archives Digital Collections, "Production: 2008 1/2 (A Spaced Odyssey) (1973)", accessed March 21, 2018
  20. ^ "Is Tom Eyen First 'Name' Porno Scribe?". Variety. November 13, 1974. p. 26.
  21. ^ ​The Neon Woman​ at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
  22. ^ Broadway on Showtime: The Dirtiest Show In Town, British Film Institute database
  23. ^ "Underground and Emigrants: Credits", Turner Classic Movies, accessed March 13, 2022
  24. ^ Tallmer, Jerry. "Oscar dreaming", TheVillager.com, Vol. 76, No. 38, February 14–20, 2007, accessed March 20, 2018
  25. ^ a b Aufderheide, Jeremy. Dreamgirls: Your virtual coffee-table book of the musical. Accessed July 16, 2010.
  26. ^ Hill, Jeremy. "Pre-Broadway. Dreamgirls: Your Virtual Coffee Table Book of the Musical.
  27. ^ Ostrow, Stuart (2005). Present at the Creation, Leaping in the Dark, and Going Against the Grain, pp. 117–188
  28. ^ Olsen, Mark (Dec. 12, 2006). "One stage of film's marketing is on stage", Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on December 15, 2006.
  29. ^ "Tom Eyen Collection", Ohio State University, accessed March 20, 2018

Further reading

External links

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