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Christopher Durang (born 2 January 1949) is a contemporary playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s.

Contents 1 Life 2 Work 2.1 In Film 3 Awards and Honors 4 External links

Christopher Durang was born in Montclair, New Jersey and grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He attended Catholic schools as a child, including the Our Lady of Peace School in New Providence, New Jersey. He received a B.A. in English from Harvard College and an M.F.A. in Playwriting from Yale School of Drama.

His work often deals critically with issues of child abuse, Roman Catholic dogma and culture, and homosexuality. Durang is a particular favorite of college theatre students and fans of alternative and political theatre.

He has had plays performed nationwide, including on Broadway and Off-Broadway, including Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You, Beyond Therapy, Baby With the Bathwater, The Nature and Purpose of the Universe, Titanic, A History of the American Film, The Marriage of Bette and Boo, Laughing Wild, 'Dentity Crisis, The Actor's Nightmare, The Vietnamization of New Jersey, Betty's Summer Vacation, Adrift in Macao, Mrs. Bob Cratchit's Wild Christmas Binge, and Miss Witherspoon.

He has also written a number of unproduced but well-regarded screenplays including The Nun Who Shot Liberty Valence, The House of Husbands (which he co-authored with Wendy Wasserstein), and The Adventures of Lola.

He has, however, totally denounced the Robert Altman film Beyond Therapy (1987) based on Durang's play, calling it "horrific" and accusing Altman of totally rewriting the script "so that all psychology is thrown out the window, and the characters dash around acting crazy but with literally no behavioral logic underneath."

Durang has also performed as an actor for both stage and screen. He first came to prominence in his Off-Broadway satirical review Das Lusitania Songspiel, which he performed with friend and fellow Yalie Sigourney Weaver. Later he co-starred in one of his own plays as Matt in The Marriage of Bette and Boo.

He received Obie Awards for Sister Mary Ignatius, The Marriage of Bette and Boo and Betty's Summer Vacation. He received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical for A History of the American Film.

Durang has been awarded numerous fellowships and high profile grants including a Guggenheim, a Rockefeller, the CBS Playwriting Fellowship, the Lecomte du Nouy Foundation grant, and the Kenyon Festival Theatre Playwriting Prize.

He is a member of the influential Dramatists Guild Council, and is co-chair of the playwriting program at Juilliard. He was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2006 for Miss Witherspoon. In an unusual decision, the Pulitzer committee decided none of the three finalists was worthy of the award.

• Official site
• Christopher Durang at the Internet Movie Database
• Christopher Durang at the Internet Broadway Database
• tv.com
• Christopher Durang - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org