Matthew Lopez (playwright)

Matthew Lopez is an American playwright and screenwriter. His play The Inheritance, directed by Stephen Daldry, premiered at London's Young Vic in 2018, where it was called “the most important American play of the century.”[1] It transferred to the West End later that year, and opened on Broadway In 2019.[2] The Inheritance is the most honored American play in a generation, sweeping the “Best Play” awards in both London and New York including the Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics Circle Award,[3] Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, WhatsOnStage Award, and the Southbank Sky Arts Award.  He is the first Latinx writer to win any of these awards for Best Play.[4]

In New York, Lopez's work has been seen off-Broadway with The Whipping Man (Manhattan Theatre Club), and The Legend of Georgia McBride (MCC Theatre), productions that received Obie, Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Awards.[5] Other works include Somewhere and Reverberation (Hartford Stage), The Sentinels (Headlong Theatre, London), and Zoey’s Perfect Wedding (Denver Center).[6][7][8] As of August 2020, Lopez is writing the musical adaptation of Some Like it Hot (1959).[9]

He has written for HBO and Netflix,[10] developed films with Plan B Entertainment and Working Title Films and is adapting The Legend of Georgia McBride for the screen.

Early life and education

Lopez was born in Panama City, Florida[11] to two public school teachers. His father, born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, is the older brother of actor Priscilla Lopez.[12] Lopez graduated from the University of South Florida with a bachelor's degree in theatre performance.

Career

The Whipping Man

Lopez's breakout play The Whipping Man debuted at Luna Stage[13] in Montclair, New Jersey in 2006 and premiered Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club[14] on February 1, 2011, directed by Doug Hughes and starring Andre Braugher and Andre Holland. The Off-Broadway production of The Whipping Man extended four times, and won the 2011 Obie Award, Performance (Braugher) and 2011 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Lighting Design. Lopez won the John Gassner New Play Award.[15]

The Whipping Man is set in Richmond, Virginia in the immediate aftermath of the American Civil War and concerns two recently freed slaves encountering their former master. The former slaves, like their former master, identify as Jewish. The play examines the unique occurrence of Passover in 1865 beginning the day after Robert E. Lee's surrender at Appomattox. It explores the meaning of freedom and the various ways people are enslaved — to addictions, to prejudices.

In his The New York Times review Charles Isherwood called the play “emotionally potent, almost surreal in the layers of meaning it conjures.”[16] Braugher and Holland both earned critical acclaim for their performances.

Between 2012 and 2016, The Whipping Man was one of most widely produced plays in America.[17]

Somewhere

Somewhere premiered at the Old Globe Theatre[18] in San Diego in September 2011,[19] before moving to Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut.[20] Matthew Lopez was the Playwright-in-Residence at the Old Globe Theatre. The play, featuring a majority Latin cast, concerns a theatrical family living in Manhattan in 1959, as West Side Story captured the zeitgeist. The proposed construction of Lincoln Center and the ensuing demolition of their neighborhood leaves the family to fight for their home and their dreams. Somewhere was directed by Giovanna Sardelli, and featured Matthew Lopez's aunt Priscilla Lopez. Critics lauded the production, comparing Lopez's writing to Tennessee Williams’ The Glass Menagerie.[21]

The story of Somewhere has roots in Lopez's family history. His father was an extra in the 1961 film adaptation of West Side Story, and appears on screen in the playground, just after the prologue[22]

Reverberation

Lopez's next play Reverberation premiered at Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut[23] running from February 19, 2015 to March 15, directed by Maxwell Williams and starring Luke Macfarlane. The story follows Jonathan, a young gay New Yorker, who spends increasingly more time holed up in his Astoria apartment following a violent attack that has left him afraid to go out into the world. He is befriended by his new upstairs neighbor, Claire, a Holly Golightly-like character who, despite her active social life, is just as afraid and lonely as Jonathan. The play examines how violence – against women, against the LGBTQ community – impacts the lives of those both directly and indirectly affected by it. Charles Isherwood of The New York Times writes that “the play is marked by a perceptiveness about the echoing loneliness that many urban dwellers live with.”[24]

The Legend of Georgia McBride

The Legend of Georgia McBride debuted at Denver Center of Performing Arts[25] in 2014,[26] and premiered Off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre[27] in 2015. The play tells the story of Casey, a down-on-his-luck Elvis impersonator who is induced to turn his jumpsuits into dresses and become a drag queen. The play toggles between quippy comedy and show-stopping dance numbers, with Charles Isherwood of The New York Times commenting that the play was “full of sass and good spirits – along with a spritz or two of sentimentality.”[28]

In February 2018, New Regency announced it was developing the film adaptation of the play in association with Jim Parsons' production company.[29]

The Inheritance

Matthew's play The Inheritance, directed by Stephen Daldry[30], premiered London's Young Vic Theatre in 2018, where it was hailed by The Daily Telegraph[31] as “the most important American play of the century.”  It transferred to the Noel Coward Theatre in the West End later that year, and opened on Broadway last autumn. The Inheritance earned eleven nominations for the 74th Tony Awards, including Best Play, as well as eight nominations at the 2019 Laurence Olivier Awards, winning for Best New Play, Best Director (Stephen Daldry), Best Actor (Kyle Soller), and Best Lighting Design (Jon Clark). Lopez received the Evening Standard Award [32] and Critics Circle Theatre Award[33] for Best New Play as well. Sweeping the “Best Play” awards in both London and New York including the Olivier Award, Drama Desk Award, Evening Standard Award, London Critics Circle Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama League Award, WhatsOnStage Award, and the Southbank Sky Arts Award, The Inheritance is the most honoured American play in generation. Matthew is the first Latinx writer to win any of these awards for Best Play. The Inheritance was also selected as the recipient for the GLAAD Media Awards "Outstanding Broadway Production".[34]

Set in New York three decades after the height of the AIDS epidemic, The Inheritance wrestles with what it means to be a gay man today, exploring relationships and connections across age and social class and asking what one generation's responsibilities may be to the next. The play is a loose adaptation of E.M. Forster’s novel Howards End. The premiere featured a cast that included Vanessa Redgrave, John Benjamin Hickey, and Paul Hilton as Forster himself.

The play received widespread critical acclaim and was lauded as an instant modern classic by those who viewed it. The Evening Standard declared[35] the play “a work of rare grace, truth, and beauty.”

The play premiered on Broadway at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on September 27, 2019 in previews, with the official opening on November 17.[36]

In June 2020, in honor of the 50th anniversary of the first LGBTQ Pride parade, Queerty named him among the fifty heroes “leading the nation toward equality, acceptance, and dignity for all people”.[37][38]

Others

More recently, he signed a overall deal with Amazon Studios.[39]

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Work Result
2011 Outer Critics Circle Awards John Gassner Award The Whipping Man Won
2018 Critics' Circle Theatre Award[33] Best New Play The Inheritance Won
Evening Standard Theatre Award[40] Best Play Won
2019 Laurence Olivier Award[41] Best New Play Won
Won
South Bank Sky Arts Award[42] Theatre Won
WhatsOnStage Award[43] Best New Play Won
2020 Drama Desk Awards Outstanding Play Won
Drama League Awards Outstanding Production of a Play Won
Outer Critics Circle Awards Best Play Honoree
GLAAD Media Awards Outstanding Broadway Production Won
New York Theatre Critics Circle Awards Best Play finalist
Tony Awards Best Play Nominated

References
  1. "The Inheritance". Young Vic website. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  2. Skethway, Nathan (November 18, 2019). "Go Inside Opening Night for Matthew Lopez's The Inheritance on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  3. "The Inheritance wins three theatre awards". BBC News. 2019-01-29. Retrieved 2020-08-01.
  4. Lopez, Matthew (2020-02-07). "What I Wanted to Say in 'The Inheritance.' And What I Didn't". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  5. "The Whipping Man". Concord Theatricals. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  6. Purcell, Carey (April 11, 2014). "Matthew Lopez's Somewhere, Starring Tony Winner Priscilla Lopez, Opens at Hartford Stage April 11". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  7. "Matthew Lopez on Writing Reverberation". Hartford Stage. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  8. Wolf, Matt (2011-09-20). "Onstage in London, Works That Look Back in Time as They Move Forward". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  9. McPhee, Ryan (15 May 2020). "Some Like It Hot Musical to Go Straight to Broadway, Scraps Chicago Premiere". Playbill. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  10. "Matthew Lopez". IMDb. Retrieved 2020-08-03.
  11. "The Inheritance writer Matthew Lopez discusses his early influences, his Florida roots & his writing". Retrieved on 6 June 2019 – via soundcloud.com.
  12. Ross, Blake (19 June 2016). "Who’s Next: Matthew Lopez". Playbill. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  13. "Production History | Luna Stage | Equity Theatre | West Orange, New Jersey". Luna Stage. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  14. "Manhattan Theatre Club – The Whipping Man". Manhattan Theatre Club. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  15. The Whipping Man Internet Off-Broadway database, retrieved June 6, 2019
  16. Isherwood, Charles (1 February 2011). "‘The Whipping Man’ at City Center’s Stage I - Review". The New York Times, February 1, 2011, Retrieved on June 6, 2019
  17. Tran, Diep (21 September 2016). "The Top 10* Most-Produced Plays of the 2016-17 Season". AMERICAN THEATRE. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  18. theoldglobe.org
  19. Jones, Kenneth; Gans, Andrew. "Old Globe's Somewhere, With Priscilla Lopez, Leo Ash Evens, Jon Rua, Opens in CA" Playbill, September 29, 2011
  20. "Somewhere by Matthew Lopez: Live Musicals CT". hartfordstage.org, Retrieved on 6 June 2019
  21. "Theater review: 'Somewhere' at the Old Globe". Los Angeles Times, 5 October 5, 2011, Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  22. Taylor, Nicole Estvanik. "There Goes the Neighborhood!". American Theatre, February 1, 2013, Retrieved on 6 June 2019
  23. "Reverberation at Hartford Stage". Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  24. Isherwood, Charles. "Review: In ‘Reverberation,’ Singles Adrift in the Big City". The New York Times, March 6, 2015, Retrieved June 6, 2019
  25. "LASC Presents The Legend Of Georgia McBride ". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved on 6 June 2019
  26. Bows, Bob. "Denver Theater Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride " Variety, January 22, 2014
  27. "The Legend of Georgia McBride". Broadway.com, Retrieved on June 6, 2019
  28. Isherwood, Charles. "Review: The Legend of Georgia McBride, From Elvis Impersonator to Drag Queen". The New York Times, October 11, 2015
  29. McNary, Dave. "Jim Parsons to Star in The Legend of Georgia McBride Movie". Variety, February 12, 2018, Retrieved on June 6, 2019
  30. Trueman, Matt (29 March 2018). "London Theater Review: ‘The Inheritance’". Variety, Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  31. Cavendish, Dominic (29 March 2018). "The Inheritance, Young Vic review: perhaps the most important American play of the century so far". Retrieved on 6 June 2019 – via www.telegraph.co.uk.
  32. "I wrote The Inheritance to heal, says Best Play winner Matthew Lopez". Evening Standard. 18 November 2018. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  33. "The Inheritance and Company win big at Critics' Circle Awards 2018". Official London Theatre. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  34. Ramos, Dino-Ray (2020-07-31). "GLAAD Media Awards Winners List: 'Pose', 'Booksmart', 'Schitt's Creek' Among Honorees". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-07-31.
  35. "The Inheritance is a work of rare grace, truth and beauty". Evening Standard. 15 October 2018. Retrieved on 6 June 2019.
  36. McPhee, Ryan. "Two-Part, Gay-Themed 'The Inheritanc'e Will Play Broadway" Playbill, June 6, 2019
  37. "Queerty Pride50 2020 Honorees". Queerty. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  38. Reddish, David (2020-06-15). "Meet the entertainment creators fighting the good fight this year". Queerty. Retrieved 2020-06-30.
  39. White, Peter (2020-10-01). "Amazon Studios Strikes Overall TV Deal With Playwright Matthew López". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-10-02.
  40. Longman, Will (2018-11-19). "Evening Standard Theatre Awards 2018 winners announced". London Theatre Guide. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  41. "Winners list for the Olivier Awards 2019 with Mastercard | Official Website". Olivier Awards. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  42. "The Inheritance, Lenny Henry and Jessie Buckley win South Bank Sky Arts awards | WhatsOnStage". www.whatsonstage.com. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
  43. "WhatsOnStage Awards 2019: the winners in full |". WestEndTheatre.com - London Theatre Tickets. Retrieved 2020-12-03.
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