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{{Short description|American playwright}}
{{Short description|American playwright (1937–2021)}}
{{good article}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=April 2021}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox person
{{Infobox person
| image = Arthur Kopit.jpg
| image = Arthur Kopit (cropped).jpg
| caption=Arthur Kopit in Ireland, July 2011
| caption = Kopit in 2011
| alt = A man with a mustache wearing a white polo and grey sweater
| name = Arthur Kopit
| name = Arthur Kopit
| birth_name = Arthur Lee Koenig
| birth_name = Arthur Lee Koenig
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|5|10}}
| birth_date = {{birth date|1937|5|10}}
| birth_place = [[Manhattan]], [[New York (state)|New York]], U.S.
| birth_place = New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|4|2|1937|5|10}}
| death_date = {{death date and age|2021|4|2|1937|5|10}}
| death_place = Manhattan, New York, U.S.
| death_place = New York City, U.S.
| occupation = Playwright
| occupation = Playwright
| yearsactive = 1962–2021
| yearsactive = 1962–2021
| spouse = {{marriage|Leslie Garis|1968}}
| children = 3
}}
}}

'''Arthur Lee Kopit''' (May 10, 1937{{spnd}}April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] finalist (''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' and ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]'') and a three-time [[Tony Award]] nominee: Best Play, ''Indians'' (1970); Best Play, ''Wings'' (1979); and Best Book of a Musical, for ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (1982). He won the [[Vernon Rice Award]] (now known as the Drama Desk Award) in 1962 for ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' and was nominated for another [[Drama Desk Award]] in 1979 for ''Wings''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id%3D4304 |title=Awardperson|access-date=September 20, 2006 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061023034026/http://www.ibdb.com/awardperson.asp?id=4304 |archive-date=October 23, 2006 }} Awards for Arthur Kopit, Internet Broadway Database</ref>
'''Arthur Lee Kopit''' ({{né|'''Koenig'''}}; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time [[Pulitzer Prize]] finalist for ''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' and ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]''. He was also nominated for three [[Tony Awards]]: Best Play for ''Indians'' (1970) and ''Wings'' (1979), as well as Best Book of a Musical for ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (1982). He won the [[Vernon Rice Award]] (now known as the Drama Desk Award) in 1962 for ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' and was nominated for another [[Drama Desk Award]] in 1979 for ''Wings''.


==Early life==
==Early life==
Kopit was born Arthur Lee Koenig in [[Manhattan]] on May 10, 1937. His father, Henry, worked as an advertising salesman; his mother, Maxine (Dubin), was a [[Hatmaking|millinery]] model. They divorced when he was two years old. He consequently adopted the surname of his stepfather, George Kopit, after his mother remarried.<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, Whose ‘Oh Dad’ Shook Up the Theater, Dies at 83|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/theater/arthur-kopit-dead.html|first=Anita|last=Gates|date=April 3, 2021|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Kopit was raised in [[Lawrence, Nassau County, New York|Lawrence, Nassau County]], and attended [[Lawrence High School (New York)|Lawrence High School]].<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>Kelly, Kevin. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=BG&p_theme=bg&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0EADEDDA0EECB21D&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM "THE CURIOUS CAREER OF ARTHUR KOPIT"], ''[[The Boston Globe]]'', February 22, 1987. Accessed July 10, 2008.</ref> He studied engineering at [[Harvard University]], graduating in 1959.<ref name="NYT obit"/> Although he intended to go into science or business, his interest in theater was piqued when he enrolled in a modern drama workshop.<ref name=Shewey>{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit – A Life on Broadway|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/29/magazine/arthur-kopit-a-life-on-broadway.html|first=Don|last=Shewey|date=April 29, 1984|access-date=April 3, 2021|page=88|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> He started to compose short plays featuring "outlandish" and long-winded titles, which were staged while he was still an undergraduate.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/>
Kopit was born Arthur Lee Koenig in [[Manhattan]] on May 10, 1937.<ref name="NYT obit">{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, Whose 'Oh Dad' Shook Up the Theater, Dies at 83|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/theater/arthur-kopit-dead.html|first=Anita|last=Gates|date=April 3, 2021|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210409232923/https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/03/theater/arthur-kopit-dead.html|archive-date=April 9, 2021}}</ref> His family was of Jewish descent.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=AsPWAAAAMAAJ|title=Jews and American Popular Culture: Music, theater, popular art, and literature|publisher=Praeger Publishers|year=2007|last=Buhle|first=Paul|page=62|isbn=9780275987954|access-date=May 3, 2021|archive-date=July 4, 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140704184205/http://books.google.com/books?id=AsPWAAAAMAAJ|url-status=live}}</ref> His father, Henry, worked as an advertising salesman; his mother, Maxine (Dubin), was a [[Hatmaking|millinery]] model. They divorced when he was two years old. He consequently adopted the surname of his stepfather, George Kopit, after his mother remarried.<ref name="NYT obit"/> Kopit was raised in [[Lawrence, Nassau County, New York|Lawrence, Nassau County]], and attended [[Lawrence High School (New York)|Lawrence High School]].<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{cite news|title=The Curious Career of Arthur Kopit|first=Kevin|last=Kelly|date=February 22, 1987|newspaper=The Boston Globe}}</ref> He studied engineering at [[Harvard University]], graduating in 1959.<ref name="NYT obit"/> Although he intended to go into science or business, his interest in theater was piqued when he enrolled in a modern drama workshop.<ref name=Shewey>{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit – A Life on Broadway|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/29/magazine/arthur-kopit-a-life-on-broadway.html|first=Don|last=Shewey|date=April 29, 1984|access-date=April 3, 2021|page=88|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403153526/https://www.nytimes.com/1984/04/29/magazine/arthur-kopit-a-life-on-broadway.html|archive-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> He started to compose short plays featuring "outlandish" and long-winded titles, which were staged while he was still an undergraduate.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/> He studied with dramatist [[Robert Chapman (playwright)|Robert Chapman]], who was the director of Harvard's Loeb Drama Center.<ref>{{cite news|title=Robert Chapman, 81, Playwright And Retired Harvard Professor|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/24/arts/robert-chapman-81-playwright-and-retired-harvard-professor.html|page=C23|first=Eric|last=Pace|date=October 24, 2000|access-date=May 10, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210511090131/https://www.nytimes.com/2000/10/24/arts/robert-chapman-81-playwright-and-retired-harvard-professor.html|archive-date=May 11, 2021}}</ref>


==Career==
==Career==
===Early works===
After graduating from Harvard, Kopit undertook a graduate fellowship in Europe. It was during this time that he learned of a playwriting contest organized by the university, which he consequently signed up for.<ref name="NYT obit"/> He wrote the play – titled ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' – in Europe and completed it in five days.<ref name=Shewey/> He ultimately won the contest with a $250 prize, even though he had dismissed the play's commercial potential.<ref name="NYT obit"/> ''Oh Dad'' proceeded to run [[off-Broadway]] by [[Jerome Robbins]] for over a year, touring for 11 weeks, and culminating in a six-week run on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1963.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/> It also began a long-standing collaboration with [[Roger L. Stevens]], who participated in the production of all of Kopit's work through to 1984 (with the sole exception of ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]''). Kopit was conferred the [[Vernon Rice Award]] and [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for best new play in 1962.<ref name=Shewey/>
After graduating from Harvard, Kopit undertook a graduate fellowship in Europe. It was during this time that he learned of a playwriting contest organized by the university, which he consequently signed up for.<ref name="NYT obit"/> He wrote the play&nbsp;— titled ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]''&nbsp;— in Europe and completed it in five days.<ref name=Shewey/> He ultimately won the contest with a $250 prize, even though he had dismissed the play's commercial potential.<ref name="NYT obit"/> ''Oh Dad'' proceeded to run [[off-Broadway]] by [[Jerome Robbins]] for over a year, touring for 11 weeks, and culminating in a six-week run on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in 1963.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/> It also began a long-standing collaboration with [[Roger L. Stevens]], who participated in the production of all of Kopit's work until 1984, with the sole exception of ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]''. Kopit was conferred the [[Vernon Rice Award]] and [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Best New Play in 1962.<ref name=Shewey/>


Kopit continued his success with a series of [[one-act play]]s like ''The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis'', as well as the three-act ''On the Runway of Life, You Never Know What's Coming Off Next''.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Broadway: If This Fellow Keeps This Up He May Some Day Be Known as the Marquee de Sade|url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829993,00.html|date=March 1, 1963|access-date=April 4, 2021|magazine=Time|location=New York City}}</ref> He was inspired to write ''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' (1969) after reading a newspaper article of a shooting incident in [[Saigon]].<ref name=Shewey/> The play first opened in London to mixed reviews, before moving to Broadway. While [[Clive Barnes]] described the latter production in ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "a gentle triumph" and complimented Kopit for attempting a "multilinear epic", his colleague [[Walter Kerr]] likened it to "bad burlesque".<ref name="NYT obit"/> [[John Lahr]] was of the opinion that ''Indians'' was the "most probing and the most totally theatrical Broadway play of this decade".<ref name="NYT obit"/> The play was nominated for three [[Tony Awards]] (including for best play),<ref name="NYT obit"/> in addition to a [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] nomination,<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, three-time Tony-nominated playwright, dies|url=https://apnews.com/article/plays-federico-fellini-stacy-keach-native-americans-tony-awards-97a96636214eeb81c56d24b516a68d97|first=Mark|last=Kennedy|date=April 3, 2021|access-date=April 3, 2021|agency=Associated Press}}</ref> but ran for only 96 performances. Kopit received $250,000 for the [[film rights]].<ref name=Shewey/>
Kopit continued his success with a series of [[one-act play]]s like ''The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis'', as well as the three-act ''On the Runway of Life, You Never Know What's Coming Off Next''.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Broadway: If This Fellow Keeps This Up He May Some Day Be Known as the Marquee de Sade|url=http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829993,00.html|date=March 1, 1963|access-date=April 4, 2021|magazine=Time|location=New York City|url-access=limited|archive-date=April 4, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210404234618/http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,829993,00.html|url-status=live}}</ref> He was inspired to write ''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' (1969) after reading a newspaper article of a shooting incident in [[Saigon]].<ref name=Shewey/> The play first opened in London to mixed reviews, before moving to Broadway. While [[Clive Barnes]] described the latter production in ''[[The New York Times]]'' as "a gentle triumph" and complimented Kopit for attempting a "multilinear epic", his colleague [[Walter Kerr]] likened it to "bad burlesque".<ref name="NYT obit"/> [[John Lahr]] considered ''Indians'' to be the "most probing and the most totally theatrical Broadway play of this decade".<ref name="NYT obit"/> The play was nominated for three [[Tony Awards]] (including for best play),<ref name="NYT obit"/> in addition to a [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] nomination,<ref name=AP>{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, three-time Tony-nominated playwright, dies|url=https://apnews.com/article/plays-federico-fellini-stacy-keach-native-americans-tony-awards-97a96636214eeb81c56d24b516a68d97|first=Mark|last=Kennedy|date=April 3, 2021|access-date=April 3, 2021|work=Associated Press|archive-date=April 3, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210403163630/https://apnews.com/article/plays-federico-fellini-stacy-keach-native-americans-tony-awards-97a96636214eeb81c56d24b516a68d97|url-status=live}}</ref> but ran for only 96 performances. Kopit received $250,000 for the [[film rights]].<ref name=Shewey/>


===''Wings'' and ''Nine''===
Kopit relocated to [[Vermont]] in the early 1970s. He ventured into incorporating the carnival aspects of [[Experimental theatre|avant-garde theater]] from the previous decade into plays. He went on to teach at [[Wesleyan University]] around 1975. There, he wrote an improvisatory pageant lasting an entire day for the [[United States Bicentennial]] titled ''Lewis and Clark: Lost and Found''.<ref name=Shewey/> However, it came to nothing after the producer failed to raise the necessary funds.<ref>{{cite news|title=Where Have All The Playwrights Gone?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/22/archives/where-have-all-the-playwrights-gone-where-have-they-gone-where-have.html|first=Elenore|last=Lester|date=August 22, 1976|access-date=April 4, 2021|page=65|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> During this time, Kopit also created [[play cycle]]s starting with "The Discovery of America". This was regarded by his friends as his "most imaginative work".<ref name=Shewey/>
Kopit relocated to [[Vermont]] in the early 1970s. He ventured into incorporating the carnival aspects of [[Experimental theatre|avant-garde theater]] from the previous decade into plays. He went on to teach at [[Wesleyan University]] around 1975. There, he wrote an improvisatory pageant lasting an entire day for the [[United States Bicentennial]] titled ''Lewis and Clark: Lost and Found''.<ref name=Shewey/> However, it came to nothing after the producer failed to raise the necessary funds.<ref>{{cite news|title=Where Have All The Playwrights Gone?|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/22/archives/where-have-all-the-playwrights-gone-where-have-they-gone-where-have.html|first=Elenore|last=Lester|date=August 22, 1976|access-date=April 4, 2021|page=65|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711025830/https://www.nytimes.com/1976/08/22/archives/where-have-all-the-playwrights-gone-where-have-they-gone-where-have.html|archive-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref> During this time, Kopit also created [[play cycle]]s starting with "The Discovery of America". This was regarded by his friends as his "most imaginative work".<ref name=Shewey/>


After a nine-year hiatus from writing plays, Kopit produced ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]'' (1978). He was inspired by the recovery experience of his stepfather, who suffered a stroke in 1976 that left him unable to speak.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/> The play debuted at the [[The Public Theater]], before shifting to Broadway the following year,<ref name="NYT obit"/> where it ran for three months.<ref name=Shewey/> It received three Tony nominations, with [[Constance Cummings]] (who played the main character) winning [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play|best actress]]. She also won a [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play]] and an [[Obie Award]] for her performance.<ref name="NYT obit"/> The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, marking the second time Kopit's work was nominated for the award.<ref name=AP/>
After a nine-year hiatus from writing plays, Kopit produced ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]'' (1978). He was inspired by the recovery experience of his stepfather, who suffered a stroke in 1976 that left him unable to speak.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Shewey/> The play debuted at [[The Public Theater]], before shifting to Broadway the following year,<ref name="NYT obit"/> where it ran for three months.<ref name=Shewey/> It received three Tony nominations, with [[Constance Cummings]] (who played the main character) winning [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play|best actress]]. She also won a [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play]] and an [[Obie Award]] for her performance.<ref name="NYT obit"/> The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, marking the second time Kopit's work was nominated for the award.<ref name=AP/>


Kopit worked with [[Maury Yeston]] on the musical ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (1982), which was based on the film ''[[8½]]'' by [[Federico Fellini]]. Kopit was responsible for authoring the musical's book, which consisted of the dialogue and parts that were not sung. He revised it up to the time of its debut on Broadway, where it ran for nearly two years.<ref name="WP obit">{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, playwright of early promise who later found 'Phantom' success, dies at 83|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/arthur-kopit-dead/2021/04/04/3668ef4c-94ad-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html|first=Matt|last=Schudel|date=April 4, 2021|access-date=April 4, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711024716/https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/arthur-kopit-dead/2021/04/04/3668ef4c-94ad-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html|archive-date=July 11, 2021|url-status=dead}}</ref> He received his third and final Tony nomination,<ref name="NYT obit"/> this time for [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|best book of a musical]].<ref name="WP obit"/>
Kopit subsequently taught at [[Yale University]], and the [[City College of New York]].<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Fales>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html |title=Kopit |access-date=April 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120050823/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html |archive-date=November 20, 2009 }}</ref> He donated his papers to the [[Fales Library]] at [[New York University]] in 2005.<ref name=Fales/>


Kopit's subsequent plays garnered much promotion now that he was a well-known writer, but were not as successful.<ref name="NYT obit"/> For instance, ''End of the World'' (1984) lasted only four weeks on Broadway, before running at the Rainbow Theater in [[Norwalk Community College|Norwalk State Technical College]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Theater; Arthur Kopit's "End of the World…"|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-950DE7DF1E3EF936A35752C1A96F948260.html|first=Alvin|last=Klein|date=November 5, 1989|access-date=April 4, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711030521/https://archive.nytimes.com/query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage-950DE7DF1E3EF936A35752C1A96F948260.html|archive-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref> He collaborated again with Yeston for ''[[Phantom (musical)|Phantom]]'', starting in 1983.<ref name="NYT obit"/> However, investors withdrew from the Kopit–Yeston venture when ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (1986 musical)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' by [[Andrew Lloyd Webber]] debuted at the [[West End theatre|West End]] in 1986 and on Broadway two years later.<ref name="WP obit"/> The two persisted nonetheless, and ''Phantom'' was released as a television mini-series in 1990, before having its stage premiere in [[Houston]] one year later.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/> Kopit also produced an NBC [[police procedural]] titled "Hands of a Stranger" in 1987.<ref name="WP obit"/> He later wrote ''Road to Nirvana'' and ''Success'', both of which debuted in 1991.<ref name=Rich/><ref name=Witchel/>
⚫
''Nine'' returned to Broadway in 2003, with [[Antonio Banderas]] as Guido.<ref name="NYT obit"/> It ended up winning two Tony Awards, including best revival.<ref name=AP/> [[Rob Marshall]] later directed the film ''[[Nine (2009 live-action film)|Nine]]'' in 2009 based on Kopit's script. The principal cast consisted of [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], [[Judi Dench]], [[Nicole Kidman]], [[Marion Cotillard]], [[Penélope Cruz]], [[Sophia Loren]], [[Kate Hudson]], and [[Fergie (singer)|Fergie]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/nine_2009|title=Nine (2009)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> Kopit was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]] in 2017.<ref name="WP obit">{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit, playwright of early promise who later found ‘Phantom’ success, dies at 83|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/arthur-kopit-dead/2021/04/04/3668ef4c-94ad-11eb-bb49-5cb2a95f4cec_story.html|first=Matt|last=Schudel|date=April 4, 2021|access-date=April 4, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref>

===Later years===
Kopit's last Broadway credit came in 1998 with ''[[High Society (musical)|High Society]]'', which was based on ''[[The Philadelphia Story (play)|The Philadelphia Story]]''. His play ''Y2K'' premiered the following year off-Broadway. He soon retitled it ''Because He Can'' after the predicted [[Year 2000 problem|eponymous problems]] did not take place.<ref name="NYT obit"/> He donated his papers to the [[Fales Library]] at [[New York University]] in 2005.<ref name=Fales/> He taught at [[Yale University]] and the [[City College of New York]] throughout his career.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=Fales>{{cite web |url=http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html |title=Kopit |access-date=April 2, 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091120050823/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html |archive-date=November 20, 2009}}</ref>

⚫
''Nine'' returned to Broadway in 2003, with [[Antonio Banderas]] as Guido.<ref name="NYT obit"/> It ended up winning two Tony Awards, including [[Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical|best revival of a musical]].<ref name=AP/> [[Rob Marshall]] later directed the film ''[[Nine (2009 live-action film)|Nine]]'' in 2009 based on Kopit's script. The principal cast consisted of [[Daniel Day-Lewis]], [[Judi Dench]], [[Nicole Kidman]], [[Marion Cotillard]], [[Penélope Cruz]], [[Sophia Loren]], [[Kate Hudson]], and [[Fergie (singer)|Fergie]].<ref>{{cite Rotten Tomatoes|id=nine_2009|type=movie |title=Nine|access-date=April 3, 2021}}</ref> Kopit was inducted into the [[American Theater Hall of Fame]] in 2017.<ref name="WP obit"/>


==Personal life==
==Personal life==
Kopit married Leslie Garis in 1968. They remained married until his death. Together, they had three children: Alex, Ben, and Kat.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
Kopit married Leslie Garis in 1968. They remained married for 53 years until his death. Together, they had three children: Alex, Ben, and Kat.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name="WP obit"/>


Kopit died on April 2, 2021, at his home in Manhattan.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=AP/> He was 83 and suffered from progressive [[Lewy body dementia]] prior to his death.<ref name="Guardian obit">{{cite news|title=Arthur Kopit obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/apr/12/arthur-kopit-obituary|first=Michael|last=Coveney|author-link=Michael Coveney|date=April 12, 2021|access-date=May 8, 2021|newspaper=The Guardian|location=London|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628114433/https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2021/apr/12/arthur-kopit-obituary|archive-date=June 28, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
Kopit died on April 2, 2021, at his home in Manhattan. He was 83; the cause of death was not disclosed.<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref name=AP/>


==Works==
==Works==
* ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' (1963)<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' (1963)<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Chamber Music (play)|Chamber Music]]'' (1965)<ref>{{cite news|title=Early Kopit Play Fights Cold War in an Asylum|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-06-23-9406230288-story.html|first=Lawrence|last=Bommer|date=June 23, 1994|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref> – published in the collection ''Chamber Music and Other Plays'' including ''Chamber music'', ''The questioning of Nick'', ''Sing to me through open windows'', ''The hero'', ''The conquest of Everest'', ''The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis''
* ''[[Chamber Music (play)|Chamber Music]]'' (1965)&nbsp;— published in the collection ''Chamber Music and Other Plays'' including ''Chamber music'', ''The questioning of Nick'', ''Sing to me through open windows'', ''The hero'', ''The conquest of Everest'', ''The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis''<ref>{{cite news|title=Early Kopit Play Fights Cold War in an Asylum|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1994-06-23-9406230288-story.html|first=Lawrence|last=Bommer|date=June 23, 1994|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
* ''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' (1969), simultaneously a review of America's treatment of Native Americans and a critique of the Vietnam War; inspired the 1976 film by Robert Altman, ''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]''.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Indians (play)|Indians]]'' (1969), simultaneously a review of America's treatment of Native Americans and a critique of the Vietnam War; inspired the 1976 film by Robert Altman, ''[[Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull's History Lesson]]''.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]'' (1978), a more somber story of a stroke victim's recovery<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Wings (play)|Wings]]'' (1978), a more somber story of a stroke victim's recovery<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (1982), an adaptation of Federico Fellini's film ''8½''<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[Nine (musical)|Nine]]'' (1982), an adaptation of Federico Fellini's film ''8½''<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''Good Help is Hard to Find'' (1982)<ref>{{cite news|title=Theater: 3 New Works Displaying Originality|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/theater/theater-3-new-works-displaying-originality.html|first=Mel|last=Gussow|date=June 14, 1981|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
* ''Good Help is Hard to Find'' (1982)<ref>{{cite news|title=Theater: 3 New Works Displaying Originality|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/theater/theater-3-new-works-displaying-originality.html|first=Mel|last=Gussow|author-link=Mel Gussow|date=June 14, 1981|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150524081623/https://www.nytimes.com/1981/06/14/theater/theater-3-new-works-displaying-originality.html|archive-date=May 24, 2015}}</ref>
* ''End of the World with Symposium to Follow'' (1984), a mordant investigation of the arms race and nuclear destruction.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''End of the World with Symposium to Follow'' (1984), a mordant investigation of the arms race and nuclear destruction.<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''Road to Nirvana'' (1991)<ref>{{cite news|title='Road to Nirvana' Proves a Route Best Not Taken|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-03-21-9101250642-story.html|first=Frank|last=Rich|date=March 21, 1991|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
* ''Road to Nirvana'' (1991)<ref name=Rich>{{cite news|title='Road to Nirvana' Proves a Route Best Not Taken|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1991-03-21-9101250642-story.html|first=Frank|last=Rich|date=March 21, 1991|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=Chicago Tribune}}</ref>
* ''Success'' (published in ''Plays in One Act'', Ecco Press, 1991)<ref>{{cite news|title=On Stage, and Off|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/10/theater/on-stage-and-off.html|first=Alex|last=Witchel|date=May 10, 1991|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref>
* ''Success'' (published in ''Plays in One Act'', Ecco Press, 1991)<ref name=Witchel>{{cite news|title=On Stage, and Off|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/10/theater/on-stage-and-off.html|first=Alex|last=Witchel|date=May 10, 1991|access-date=April 3, 2021|newspaper=The New York Times|url-access=limited|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711031809/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/05/10/theater/on-stage-and-off.html|archive-date=July 11, 2021}}</ref>
* ''[[Phantom (musical)|Phantom]]'' (1992), a musical version of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera]]'' by [[Gaston Leroux]]. Music and Lyrics by [[Maury Yeston]].<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.samuelfrench.com/p/2753/phantom-yestonkopit|title = Phantom (Yeston/Kopit)|access-date = August 28, 2014}}</ref>
* ''[[Phantom (musical)|Phantom]]'' (1992), a musical version of ''[[The Phantom of the Opera (novel)|The Phantom of the Opera]]'' by [[Gaston Leroux]]. Music and Lyrics by [[Maury Yeston]].<ref name="NYT obit"/><ref>{{cite news|title=Phantom (Yeston/Kopit)|url=https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2753/phantom-yestonkopit|access-date=July 10, 2021|publisher=Concord Theatricals|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210116145533/https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/2753/phantom-yestonkopit|archive-date=January 16, 2021|url-status=live}}</ref>
* ''[[High Society (musical)|High Society]]'' (Broadway musical, 1998)<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''[[High Society (musical)|High Society]]'' (Broadway musical, 1998)<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''Y2K'' (2000) – subsequently published under the title ''Because He Can''<ref name="NYT obit"/>
* ''Y2K'' (2000)&nbsp;— subsequently published under the title ''Because He Can''<ref name="NYT obit"/>


== References ==
== References ==
Line 55: Line 67:
== External links ==
== External links ==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091120050823/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html The Fales Library guide to the Arthur Kopit Papers]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20091120050823/http://dlib.nyu.edu/findingaids/html/fales/kopit.html The Fales Library guide to the Arthur Kopit Papers]
*{{IMDb name|0465792}}
*{{IMDb name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{IBDB name}}
*{{IOBDB name|2329}}
*[http://lortel.org/Archives/CreditableEntity/2329 Arthur Kopit] at [[Internet Off-Broadway Database]]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110308044633/http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/Focus_Kopit.php The Samuel French Arthur Kopit page]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20110308044633/http://www.samuelfrench.com/store/Focus_Kopit.php The Samuel French Arthur Kopit page]

{{Portal bar|Biography|New York City|Theatre}}


{{Authority control}}
{{Authority control}}
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[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Writers from Manhattan]]
[[Category:Yale University faculty]]
[[Category:Yale University faculty]]
[[Category:21st-century American Jews]]

Revision as of 23:23, 20 August 2023

Arthur Kopit
A man with a mustache wearing a white polo and grey sweater
Kopit in 2011
Born
Arthur Lee Koenig

(1937-05-10)May 10, 1937
New York City, U.S.
DiedApril 2, 2021(2021-04-02) (aged 83)
New York City, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright
Years active1962–2021
Spouse
Leslie Garis
​
(m. 1968)​
Children3

Arthur Lee Kopit (né Koenig; May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist for Indians and Wings. He was also nominated for three Tony Awards: Best Play for Indians (1970) and Wings (1979), as well as Best Book of a Musical for Nine (1982). He won the Vernon Rice Award (now known as the Drama Desk Award) in 1962 for Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad and was nominated for another Drama Desk Award in 1979 for Wings.

Early life

Kopit was born Arthur Lee Koenig in Manhattan on May 10, 1937.[1] His family was of Jewish descent.[2] His father, Henry, worked as an advertising salesman; his mother, Maxine (Dubin), was a millinery model. They divorced when he was two years old. He consequently adopted the surname of his stepfather, George Kopit, after his mother remarried.[1] Kopit was raised in Lawrence, Nassau County, and attended Lawrence High School.[1][3] He studied engineering at Harvard University, graduating in 1959.[1] Although he intended to go into science or business, his interest in theater was piqued when he enrolled in a modern drama workshop.[4] He started to compose short plays featuring "outlandish" and long-winded titles, which were staged while he was still an undergraduate.[1][4] He studied with dramatist Robert Chapman, who was the director of Harvard's Loeb Drama Center.[5]

Career

Early works

After graduating from Harvard, Kopit undertook a graduate fellowship in Europe. It was during this time that he learned of a playwriting contest organized by the university, which he consequently signed up for.[1] He wrote the play — titled Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad — in Europe and completed it in five days.[4] He ultimately won the contest with a $250 prize, even though he had dismissed the play's commercial potential.[1] Oh Dad proceeded to run off-Broadway by Jerome Robbins for over a year, touring for 11 weeks, and culminating in a six-week run on Broadway in 1963.[1][4] It also began a long-standing collaboration with Roger L. Stevens, who participated in the production of all of Kopit's work until 1984, with the sole exception of Nine. Kopit was conferred the Vernon Rice Award and Outer Critics Circle Award for Best New Play in 1962.[4]

Kopit continued his success with a series of one-act plays like The Day the Whores Came Out to Play Tennis, as well as the three-act On the Runway of Life, You Never Know What's Coming Off Next.[1][6] He was inspired to write Indians (1969) after reading a newspaper article of a shooting incident in Saigon.[4] The play first opened in London to mixed reviews, before moving to Broadway. While Clive Barnes described the latter production in The New York Times as "a gentle triumph" and complimented Kopit for attempting a "multilinear epic", his colleague Walter Kerr likened it to "bad burlesque".[1] John Lahr considered Indians to be the "most probing and the most totally theatrical Broadway play of this decade".[1] The play was nominated for three Tony Awards (including for best play),[1] in addition to a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nomination,[7] but ran for only 96 performances. Kopit received $250,000 for the film rights.[4]

Wings and Nine

Kopit relocated to Vermont in the early 1970s. He ventured into incorporating the carnival aspects of avant-garde theater from the previous decade into plays. He went on to teach at Wesleyan University around 1975. There, he wrote an improvisatory pageant lasting an entire day for the United States Bicentennial titled Lewis and Clark: Lost and Found.[4] However, it came to nothing after the producer failed to raise the necessary funds.[8] During this time, Kopit also created play cycles starting with "The Discovery of America". This was regarded by his friends as his "most imaginative work".[4]

After a nine-year hiatus from writing plays, Kopit produced Wings (1978). He was inspired by the recovery experience of his stepfather, who suffered a stroke in 1976 that left him unable to speak.[1][4] The play debuted at The Public Theater, before shifting to Broadway the following year,[1] where it ran for three months.[4] It received three Tony nominations, with Constance Cummings (who played the main character) winning best actress. She also won a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and an Obie Award for her performance.[1] The play was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, marking the second time Kopit's work was nominated for the award.[7]

Kopit worked with Maury Yeston on the musical Nine (1982), which was based on the film 8½ by Federico Fellini. Kopit was responsible for authoring the musical's book, which consisted of the dialogue and parts that were not sung. He revised it up to the time of its debut on Broadway, where it ran for nearly two years.[9] He received his third and final Tony nomination,[1] this time for best book of a musical.[9]

Kopit's subsequent plays garnered much promotion now that he was a well-known writer, but were not as successful.[1] For instance, End of the World (1984) lasted only four weeks on Broadway, before running at the Rainbow Theater in Norwalk State Technical College.[10] He collaborated again with Yeston for Phantom, starting in 1983.[1] However, investors withdrew from the Kopit–Yeston venture when The Phantom of the Opera by Andrew Lloyd Webber debuted at the West End in 1986 and on Broadway two years later.[9] The two persisted nonetheless, and Phantom was released as a television mini-series in 1990, before having its stage premiere in Houston one year later.[1][9] Kopit also produced an NBC police procedural titled "Hands of a Stranger" in 1987.[9] He later wrote Road to Nirvana and Success, both of which debuted in 1991.[11][12]

Later years

Kopit's last Broadway credit came in 1998 with High Society, which was based on The Philadelphia Story. His play Y2K premiered the following year off-Broadway. He soon retitled it Because He Can after the predicted eponymous problems did not take place.[1] He donated his papers to the Fales Library at New York University in 2005.[13] He taught at Yale University and the City College of New York throughout his career.[1][13]

Nine returned to Broadway in 2003, with Antonio Banderas as Guido.[1] It ended up winning two Tony Awards, including best revival of a musical.[7] Rob Marshall later directed the film Nine in 2009 based on Kopit's script. The principal cast consisted of Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Nicole Kidman, Marion Cotillard, Penélope Cruz, Sophia Loren, Kate Hudson, and Fergie.[14] Kopit was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2017.[9]

Personal life

Kopit married Leslie Garis in 1968. They remained married for 53 years until his death. Together, they had three children: Alex, Ben, and Kat.[1][9]

Kopit died on April 2, 2021, at his home in Manhattan.[1][7] He was 83 and suffered from progressive Lewy body dementia prior to his death.[15]

Works

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af Gates, Anita (April 3, 2021). "Arthur Kopit, Whose 'Oh Dad' Shook Up the Theater, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Archived from the original on April 9, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  2. ^ Buhle, Paul (2007). Jews and American Popular Culture: Music, theater, popular art, and literature. Praeger Publishers. p. 62. ISBN 9780275987954. Archived from the original on July 4, 2014. Retrieved May 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Kelly, Kevin (February 22, 1987). "The Curious Career of Arthur Kopit". The Boston Globe.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Shewey, Don (April 29, 1984). "Arthur Kopit – A Life on Broadway". The New York Times. p. 88. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  5. ^ Pace, Eric (October 24, 2000). "Robert Chapman, 81, Playwright And Retired Harvard Professor". The New York Times. p. C23. Archived from the original on May 11, 2021. Retrieved May 10, 2021.
  6. ^ "Broadway: If This Fellow Keeps This Up He May Some Day Be Known as the Marquee de Sade". Time. New York City. March 1, 1963. Archived from the original on April 4, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ a b c d Kennedy, Mark (April 3, 2021). "Arthur Kopit, three-time Tony-nominated playwright, dies". Associated Press. Archived from the original on April 3, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  8. ^ Lester, Elenore (August 22, 1976). "Where Have All The Playwrights Gone?". The New York Times. p. 65. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g Schudel, Matt (April 4, 2021). "Arthur Kopit, playwright of early promise who later found 'Phantom' success, dies at 83". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  10. ^ Klein, Alvin (November 5, 1989). "Theater; Arthur Kopit's "End of the World…"". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  11. ^ a b Rich, Frank (March 21, 1991). "'Road to Nirvana' Proves a Route Best Not Taken". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  12. ^ a b Witchel, Alex (May 10, 1991). "On Stage, and Off". The New York Times. Archived from the original on July 11, 2021. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  13. ^ a b "Kopit". Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  14. ^ "Nine". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango Media. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  15. ^ Coveney, Michael (April 12, 2021). "Arthur Kopit obituary". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on June 28, 2021. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  16. ^ Bommer, Lawrence (June 23, 1994). "Early Kopit Play Fights Cold War in an Asylum". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  17. ^ Gussow, Mel (June 14, 1981). "Theater: 3 New Works Displaying Originality". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 24, 2015. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  18. ^ "Phantom (Yeston/Kopit)". Concord Theatricals. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved July 10, 2021.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Kopit&oldid=1171407262"