The summer of 2012 holds the possibility of my playing the title role in Christopher Durang's biting comedy- Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All To You, in my back garden to an audience of squirrels & birds.
Christopher Durang is so subversively satirical that he wrote Durang a cabaret show starring Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna, playing themselves. The show- All About Me had a premise that the Shubert Theatre inadvertently has been double booked, forcing Feinstein & Dame Edna to begrudgingly work together. In his 4 decades as a playwright Durang has never pulled his punches. Outrageous Durang has found humor in the foolishness in American society.
In his 1980 Broadway hit Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, a gay former pupil comes out to the mean-spirited Sister Mary- Sister Mary Ignatius: “You mean you do the thing that makes our Lord Jesus Christ puke?” His play- Why Torture Is Wrong, & the People Who Love Them, is a comedy about terrorism & torture.
Although he is known as a gay playwright, Durang’s work is not always with gay content Durang: “When I was younger, I guess, to be honest, I didn’t want to be thought of as a gay playwright, my first plays had no gay content. But then, in ‘Sister Mary Ignatius,’ it appeared. I wanted to present a cross section of people whose lives didn’t match what they were told. I became more aware that I wanted to present a gay character that was sympathetic. For my generation, being gay & in the theater was easier than teaching public school. I’m glad I’m referred to as gay in my personal life, but not my professional life. I’m relieved that people don’t usually talk about me as writing about the same topic time after time.”
His plays have been performed nationwide, including on Broadway. Off-Broadway, & regional theatres. His works include: Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Beyond Therapy, Baby With the Bathwater, The Nature & Purpose of the Universe, Titanic, A History of the American Film, The Idiots Karamazov, The Marriage of Bette & 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, Miss Witherspoon, Why Torture is Wrong, & the People Who Love Them.
Durang has performed as an actor for both stage & screen. He first came to prominence in his Off-Broadway satirical review Das Lusitania Songspiel, which he performed with friend & fellow Yale alum Sigourney Weaver. Later he co-starred in one of his own plays as Matt in The Marriage of Bette & Boo.
Durang lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with John Augustine, his partner of more than 25 years. He turns 62 years old today.
Christopher Durang is so subversively satirical that he wrote Durang a cabaret show starring Michael Feinstein and Dame Edna, playing themselves. The show- All About Me had a premise that the Shubert Theatre inadvertently has been double booked, forcing Feinstein & Dame Edna to begrudgingly work together. In his 4 decades as a playwright Durang has never pulled his punches. Outrageous Durang has found humor in the foolishness in American society.
In his 1980 Broadway hit Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, a gay former pupil comes out to the mean-spirited Sister Mary- Sister Mary Ignatius: “You mean you do the thing that makes our Lord Jesus Christ puke?” His play- Why Torture Is Wrong, & the People Who Love Them, is a comedy about terrorism & torture.
Although he is known as a gay playwright, Durang’s work is not always with gay content Durang: “When I was younger, I guess, to be honest, I didn’t want to be thought of as a gay playwright, my first plays had no gay content. But then, in ‘Sister Mary Ignatius,’ it appeared. I wanted to present a cross section of people whose lives didn’t match what they were told. I became more aware that I wanted to present a gay character that was sympathetic. For my generation, being gay & in the theater was easier than teaching public school. I’m glad I’m referred to as gay in my personal life, but not my professional life. I’m relieved that people don’t usually talk about me as writing about the same topic time after time.”
His plays have been performed nationwide, including on Broadway. Off-Broadway, & regional theatres. His works include: Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Beyond Therapy, Baby With the Bathwater, The Nature & Purpose of the Universe, Titanic, A History of the American Film, The Idiots Karamazov, The Marriage of Bette & 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, Miss Witherspoon, Why Torture is Wrong, & the People Who Love Them.
Durang has performed as an actor for both stage & screen. He first came to prominence in his Off-Broadway satirical review Das Lusitania Songspiel, which he performed with friend & fellow Yale alum Sigourney Weaver. Later he co-starred in one of his own plays as Matt in The Marriage of Bette & Boo.
Durang lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with John Augustine, his partner of more than 25 years. He turns 62 years old today.
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