Playwrights on the rise work to revive Broadway

Though productions by the likes of William Shakespeare, Eugene O’Neill, and David Mamet are practically guaranteed to be of a passable quality, the most memorable theatrical experiences of any given season come from previously unheard-of, up-and-coming playwrights. This season will hopefully stay true to history with plays by first-time writers, young prodigies, specific voices, backstage professionals, and the most hilariously twisted mind in theater today.

“The Pride,” a play that compares the experiences of gay men 50 years apart, marks the debut of playwright Alexi Kaye Campbell. Distinguished by its structurally intriguing form, the play originated at London’s Royal Court Theatre before jumping the pond to the Manhattan Class Company, picking up a handful of stars along the way, such as Hugh Dancy and Ben Whishaw. A former actor, Campbell appeared in the television shows “Jericho” and “Waking the Dead” before trying his hand at playwriting, for which he won the U.K.’s national playwriting prize, the John Whiting Award.

Lucy Prebble—another British import—shifts her focus from the escort industry, as portrayed in her television show “Secret Diary of a Call Girl”, to corporate scandal in the Broadway premiere of “Enron,” which comes straight from an acclaimed run in London. At the ripe age of 28, Prebble has already won the PMA Most Promising Playwright Award, the George Devine Award, and the Critics’ Circle Award for Most Promising Playwright, and is currently under commission by London’s Royal Court Theatre and the Royal National Theatre.

Continuing August Wilson’s examination of African-American life, Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks’ “The Book of Grace” is a passionate portrayal of a Southern family which is having its world premiere at the Public Theater in New York. The daughter of a military officer and a graduate of Mount Holyoke College, Parks studied under the tutelage of black intellectual James Baldwin. Over the course of her career, she has crafted works that synthesize the poetical with the theatrical, inventively shedding light on black culture in America in such acclaimed works as “Topdog/Underdog.”

Following the success of his Tony-nominated play “The Little Dog Laughed,” Douglas Carter Beane provides another behind-the-scenes look into the arts world, this time covering gossip columnists in “Mr. and Mrs. Finch,” playing at Second Stage Theater and starring John Lithgow. Beane’s past work includes writing the book for the Broadway rendition of the flashy ’80s musical “Xanadu.”
Known for his social commentary underneath a biting sense of humor, Beane’s upcoming projects include a fusion of “Lysistrata” and “High School Musical,” as well as a cheerful musical about terrorism.

The latest work by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh—“A Behanding in Spokane,” starring Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell—will be his first Broadway premiere and his first play set in America. Born in England to Irish immigrants, McDonagh—the author of “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” and “The Pillowman”—left school at age 16 to begin his writing career. His plays have garnered numerous Tony Award nominations and a Laurence Olivier Award, and McDonagh has cultivated a niche in both the film and theater worlds with his characteristically dark humor, absurd violence, and twisted stories.

Though attending one of the many revivals of classic plays may be a safer choice, seeing an original production of a show that may receive revivals for years to come is an experience hard to find outside of New York City.