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Joshua Harmon (playwright)

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For the poet born 1971, see Joshua Harmon (poet).

Joshua Harmon
Born1983 (age 40–41)
New York City, New York, U.S.
OccupationPlaywright
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Carnegie Mellon University (MFA)
Juilliard School (GrDip)
GenreComedy, autobiography
Notable worksBad Jews
Admissions

Joshua Harmon (born 1983) is a New York City-based playwright, whose works include Bad Jews[1] and Significant Other,[2] both produced Off-Broadway by Roundabout Theatre Company.

Harmon is the recipient of two Drama Desk Awards for Outstanding Play and two Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play. His plays have been produced on Broadway, off-Broadway, on the West End, and internationally in a dozen countries.

Early life and education

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Harmon was born in Manhattan and was raised in Brooklyn and the suburbs (of New York). He is a graduate of Northwestern University, Carnegie Mellon University, and Juilliard[3] where he worked with playwrights Christopher Durang[4] and Marsha Norman.

Work

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Christopher Wallenberg, in The Boston Globe, wrote "...penchant for biting commentary suffuses Harmon’s fiercely funny yet poignant plays." Harmon said "I think I became really engaged by plays that are character-driven and that are grappling with some kind of moral question.”[5]

Bad Jews (2012)

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Bad Jews was the first play of Harmon's to be performed for longer than three nights.[6]

After its success in 2012 in Roundabout Theatre Company's 63-seat black box theatre, Bad Jews transferred to the company's 420-seat theatre the next year.[7] Bad Jews went on to be the third most-produced play in America in the 2014–2015 season, and earned nominations for best play from the Outer Critics Circle[8] and the Lucille Lortel awards.[9] It also ran for five months on the West End in London at the Arts Theatre,[7] after sold-out runs at London's St. James and Theatre Royal Bath, and has had productions in Australia,[10] Canada, Germany, Israel,[11] Poland and South Africa.

Significant Other (2015)

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The Roundabout Theatre Company produced Significant Other Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre.[12] The play premiered on May 16, 2015 in previews, officially on June 18, and closed on August 16, 2015. Directed by Trip Cullman, the cast featured Sas Goldberg, Gideon Glick, Carra Paterson, Lindsay Mendez, Luke Smith, John Behlmann and Barbara Barrie.[13] The play involves the lives of four college friends and their search for relationships. It was included in the New York Times Top Ten Productions of 2015.[14] Significant Other is forthcoming from Samuel French.[15] The play was produced by the SpeakEasy Stage Company, Boston Massachusetts, in September to October 2016. Harmon explained the premise: “How do you make life work for yourself when you feel that you’re not living the life you’re supposed to be living or want to be living? And how do you deal with that when the changes that you need to make are in some ways outside of your control?”[16] Harmon further noted that he did not intend to write a comedy. “I honestly thought that I’d written the saddest play... I don’t write thinking about the comedy. I am genuinely always surprised when something winds up being funny.”[17]

The play began previews on Broadway on February 14, 2017 at the Booth Theatre.[18] Directed by Trip Cullman, the Off-Broadway cast reprised their roles for the Broadway production, with the exception of Patterson, who was replaced by Rebecca Naomi Jones.[19][20]

Ivanka: A Medea for Right Now (2016)

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On the eve of the 2016 presidential election, four theaters held staged readings of Ivanka: A Medea for Right Now a reimagining of the Greek tragedy Medea inspired by the daughter of presidential candidate Donald Trump.[21]

Admissions (2018)

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Admissions opened Off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center Theater, Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on February 15, 2018, in previews, officially on March 12. Directed by Daniel Aukin, the cast includes Ben Edelman, Andrew Garman, Jessica Hecht, Ann McDonough and Sally Murphy. The play involves the values and ambitions of a couple who work in an exclusive school and their son.[22] The play received an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. The play won the 2018 Outer Critics Circle Award, Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play,[23] and the 2018 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play.[24]

Skintight (2018)

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Skintight is a new play commissioned by the Roundabout Theatre Company. It premiered Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre from May 31, 2018 in previews, officially on June 21, 2018 to August 26, 2018. The play revolves around Jodi and her father, and "the nature of love."[25] The play received the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award for 2017.[26] The play stars Idina Menzel as Jodi Isaac, and is directed by Daniel Aukin.[27]

Prayer for the French Republic (2022)

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Prayer for the French Republic opened Off-Broadway at the New York City Center on February 1, 2022 in a production by the Manhattan Theatre Club. Directed by David Cromer, the cast starred Betsy Aidem, Yair Ben-Dor, Francis Benhamou, Ari Brand, Pierre Epstein, Peyton Lusk, Molly Ranson, Nancy Robinette, Jeff Seymour, Kenneth Tigar, and Richard Topol.[28] The show follows five generations of a Jewish family living in France as they deal with anti-Semitism and the repeated question of "Are we safe?" The play won the 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play, the 2022 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Off-Broadway Play, and the inaugural Theater J Trish Vradenburg Jewish Play Prize.

On June 1, 2023, it was announced that the Manhattan Theatre Club would be producing the play on Broadway at its Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, with Cromer returning to direct and performances set to begin December 19, with an opening night of January 9, 2024.[29][30]The play was nominated for 3 Tony Awards, for Best Play, Best Actress and Best Lighting Design.

Honors

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He received a 2024 Guggenheim fellowship.

He was Playwright in Residence at the 2013 National Playwrights Conference of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (Waterford, Connecticut).[31]

He was in residence at SPACE at Ryder Farm in Brewster, New York.[32]

While at the MacDowell Colony (Peterborough, New Hampshire) he started writing Bad Jews.[3] He was the 2010–2011 National New Play Network Playwright-in-Residence at Actor's Express, Atlanta, Georgia.[33] He also worked on Bad Jews while in residence.[34]

Awards

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References

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  1. ^ Uhry, Alfred (April 13, 2014). "An Interview With 'Bad Jews' Playwright Joshua Harmon". American Theatre. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  2. ^ Soloski, Alexis (June 11, 2015). "With 'Significant Other,' Joshua Harmon Happily Writes About the Unhappy". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  3. ^ a b Lurie, Kathryn. "Playwright Joshua Harmon on What Inspired 'Bad Jews'". WSJ. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  4. ^ Ritzel, Rebecca (December 2, 2014). "Joshua Harmon may be a student yet, but he has shown his playwriting prowess". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  5. ^ Wallenberg, Christopher. "One is the loneliest number in Harmon’s 'Significant Other'" The Boston Globe, September 8, 2016
  6. ^ Losowsky, Andrew. "Joshua Harmon's 'Bad Jews'" The Guardian, March 13, 2015
  7. ^ a b Losowsky, Andrew (March 13, 2015). "Joshua Harmon's Bad Jews: 'They're doing bag checks outside the theatre'". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved March 16, 2016.
  8. ^ a b "AWARDS FOR 2012-2013". outercritics.org. Archived from the original on August 1, 2017. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  9. ^ a b "2014 Nominations". lortelaward.com. Archived from the original on May 8, 2014. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  10. ^ "Can I call it that? The play that drew hate mail comes to Melbourne". The Sydney Morning Herald. August 7, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  11. ^ Tel-Aviv, The Cameri Theatre Of. "The Cameri Theatre of Tel-Aviv- Bad Jews". www.cameri.co.il. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  12. ^ "Meet The Next Big Thing In Theater". BuzzFeed. July 20, 2015. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  13. ^ Sommer, Elyse. "A CurtainUp Review. 'Significant Other'" CurtainUp, June 12, 2015
  14. ^ Brantley, Ben; Isherwood, Charles (December 8, 2015). "The Best Theater of 2015". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved March 18, 2016.
  15. ^ "Search | Samuel French". www.samuelfrench.com. Retrieved March 15, 2016.
  16. ^ Wallenberg, Christopher. "One is the loneliest number in Harmon’s ‘Significant Other’" The Boston Globe, September 8, 2016
  17. ^ Clement, Olivia. "Just After a Breakup, Director Trip Cullman Found His Next Significant Project" Playbill, February 11, 2017
  18. ^ Hetrick, Adam. " 'Significant Other', With Gideon Glick and Lindsay Mendez, Aiming for Broadway’s Booth" Playbill, July 23, 2016
  19. ^ " 'Significant Other' Broadway" Playbill, retrieved February 12, 2017
  20. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Casting Complete for Broadway’s 'Significant Other'" Playbill, October 14, 2016
  21. ^ Evans, Suzy. "Ivanka Trump as Medea? Joshua Harmon Explains. The ‘Bad Jews’ playwright responds to a miserable election season with a comic take on a Greek tragedy." American Theatre, October 27, 2016.
  22. ^ Clement, Olivia. "Joshua Harmon’s 'Admissions' Begins at Lincoln Center Theater" Playbill, February 15, 2018
  23. ^ McPhee, Ryan. " 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child', 'My Fair Lady' Win Big at 2018 Outer Critics Circle Awards" Playbill, May 7, 2018
  24. ^ " 'SpongeBob SquarePants' Leads 2018 Drama Desk Awards" Playbill, June 3, 2018
  25. ^ Clement, Olvia. "Roundabout Announces 2017-18 Off-Broadway Season" Playbill, January 29, 2017
  26. ^ Clement, Olivia. " 'This Ain’t No Disco', Joshua Harmon’s 'Skintight', and More Are Recipients of Edgerton Foundation New Play Awards" Playbill, July 10, 2017
  27. ^ Skintight roundabouttheatre.org, retrieved June 4, 2018
  28. ^ "Prayer for the French Republic". Manhattan Theatre Club. Retrieved March 8, 2022.
  29. ^ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 1, 2023). "Joshua Harmon's Prayer for the French Republic Sets 2023 Broadway Bow via Manhattan Theatre Club". Playbill. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  30. ^ Paulson, Michael (June 1, 2023). "'Prayer for the French Republic' Transferring to Broadway". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 1, 2023.
  31. ^ "2013 Conference" Archived May 12, 2016, at the Wayback Machine theoneill.org, accessed July 24, 2016
  32. ^ "The month of July at Ryder Farm" spaceonryderfarm.org, July 8, 2012
  33. ^ "Joshua Harmon Biography" roundabouttheatre.org, accessed July 24, 2016
  34. ^ Harmon, Joshua. "Joshua Harmon on How His Family Helped Him Develop 'Bad Jews', a 'Very Strange Little Jewish Play'" broadway.com, October 1, 2013

Golubcow, Saul. 12-1-2015. "Bad Jews": A Personal Review. Washington Jewish Week.

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