- Alfred Uhry
Alfred Fox Uhry (born
December 3 ,1936 ) is an Americanplaywright ,screenwriter , and member of theFellowship of Southern Writers . As of 2006, he is the only American author who has received three of the most prestigious American awards for dramatic writing: theAcademy Award , thePulitzer Prize for Drama , and theTony Award . Born inAtlanta, Georgia , Uhry graduated fromBrown University . During his first years in New York City, learning the craft of lyric-writing, Uhry received a stipend fromFrank Loesser ; after his eventual success, Uhry often praised Loesser's generosity and encouragement. Uhry's early work for the stage was as a lyricist and librettist for a number of commercially unsuccessful musicals, including "America's Sweetheart " aboutAl Capone and a revival of "Little Johnny Jones " starringDonny Osmond . His first collaboration withRobert Waldman was the disastrous 1968 musical "Here's Where I Belong ", which closed after one performance. They had considerably better success with "The Robber Bridegroom", which was mounted on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976, enjoyed a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony nomination.Atlanta Trilogy
"
Driving Miss Daisy " (1987) is the first in what is known as his "Atlanta Trilogy" of plays, all set during the first half of the 20th century. Producedoff-Broadway atPlaywrights Horizons , the play earned him thePulitzer Prize for Drama . It deals with the relationship between an elderly Jewish woman and her blackchauffeur . He adapted it into the screenplay for a 1989 film starringJessica Tandy andMorgan Freeman , an adaptation which was awarded theAcademy Award for Writing Adapted Screenplay .The second of the trilogy, "
The Last Night of Ballyhoo " (1996), is set in 1939 during the premiere of the film "Gone with the Wind". It deals with a Jewish family during an important social event. It was commissioned for theCultural Olympiad in Atlanta which coincided with the1996 Summer Olympics , and received theTony Award for Best Play when produced on Broadway.The third was a 1998 musical called "Parade", about the 1913
lynching of Jewish factory managerLeo Frank . Thelibretto earned him aTony Award for Best Book of a Musical .Other Work
Uhry co-wrote the screenplay for the 1988 "
Mystic Pizza ".His play "
Edgardo Mine " is based on the true story ofEdgardo Mortara , an Italian child taken by police from his Jewish family in 1858 because one of their domestic servants had baptized him.In 2006
Manhattan Theatre Club announced that it would produce Uhry's musical "LoveMusik " on Broadway in 2007. His libretto depicts the relationship between composerKurt Weil and his wife,Lotte Lenya , using Weil's music. [ [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/103664.html Playbill News: MTC Announces Prince, Murphy, Cerveris, Uhry for New Broadway Musical, LoveMusik ] ]External links
* [http://thefsw.org/page/members/elected-members/alfred-uhry Bio at The Fellowship of Southern Writers]
* [http://thefsw.org The Fellowship of Southern Writers]Notes
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