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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 – 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/>


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 shifting 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"/> 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}}</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"/> but ran for only 96 performances. Kopit received $250,000 for the [[film rights]].<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}}</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}}</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 one for [[Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play|best actress]], as well as a [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play]] and an [[Obie Award]].<ref name="NYT 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 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/>

Revision as of 03:13, 5 April 2021

Arthur Kopit
Arthur Kopit in Ireland, July 2011
Born
Arthur Lee Koenig

(1937-05-10)May 10, 1937
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
DiedApril 2, 2021(2021-04-02) (aged 83)
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright
Years active1962–2021

Arthur Lee Kopit (May 10, 1937 – April 2, 2021) was an American playwright. He was a two-time Pulitzer Prize finalist (Indians and Wings) and a three-time Tony Award nominee: Best Play, Indians (1970); Best Play, Wings (1979); and 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.[1]

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 millinery model. They divorced when he was two years old. He consequently adopted the surname of his stepfather, George Kopit, after his mother remarried.[2] Kopit was raised in Lawrence, Nassau County, and attended Lawrence High School.[2][3] He studied engineering at Harvard University, graduating in 1959.[2] 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.[2][4]

Career

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.[2] 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.[2] 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.[2][4] 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). 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.[2][5] 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".[2] John Lahr was of the opinion that Indians was the "most probing and the most totally theatrical Broadway play of this decade".[2] The play was nominated for three Tony Awards (including for best play),[2] but ran for only 96 performances. Kopit received $250,000 for the film rights.[4]

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.[6] 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.[2][4] The play debuted at the The Public Theater, before shifting to Broadway the following year,[2] where it ran for three months.[4] It received three Tony nominations, with Constance Cummings (who played the main character) winning one for best actress, as well as a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play and an Obie Award.[2]

Kopit subsequently taught at Yale University, and the City College of New York.[2][7] He donated his papers to the Fales Library at New York University in 2005.[7]

Nine returned to Broadway in 2003, with Antonio Banderas as Guido.[2] It ended up winning two Tony Awards, including best revival.[8] 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.[9]

Personal life

Kopit married Leslie Garis in 1968. They remained married until his death. Together, they had three children: Alex, Ben, and Kat.[2]

Kopit died on April 2, 2021, at his home in Manhattan. He was 83; the cause of death was not disclosed.[2][8]

Works

References

  1. ^ "Awardperson". Archived from the original on October 23, 2006. Retrieved September 20, 2006. Awards for Arthur Kopit, Internet Broadway Database
  2. ^ 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 Gates, Anita (April 3, 2021). "Arthur Kopit, Whose 'Oh Dad' Shook Up the Theater, Dies at 83". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  3. ^ Kelly, Kevin. "THE CURIOUS CAREER OF ARTHUR KOPIT", The Boston Globe, February 22, 1987. Accessed July 10, 2008.
  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. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  5. ^ "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. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  6. ^ Lester, Elenore (August 22, 1976). "Where Have All The Playwrights Gone?". The New York Times. p. 65. Retrieved April 4, 2021.
  7. ^ a b "Kopit". Archived from the original on November 20, 2009. Retrieved April 2, 2009.
  8. ^ a b Kennedy, Mark (April 3, 2021). "Arthur Kopit, three-time Tony-nominated playwright, dies". Associated Press. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  9. ^ "Nine (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  10. ^ Bommer, Lawrence (June 23, 1994). "Early Kopit Play Fights Cold War in an Asylum". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  11. ^ Gussow, Mel (June 14, 1981). "Theater: 3 New Works Displaying Originality". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  12. ^ Rich, Frank (March 21, 1991). "'Road to Nirvana' Proves a Route Best Not Taken". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  13. ^ Witchel, Alex (May 10, 1991). "On Stage, and Off". The New York Times. Retrieved April 3, 2021.
  14. ^ "Phantom (Yeston/Kopit)". Retrieved August 28, 2014.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Arthur_Kopit&oldid=1016047783"