The Playwrights Database
LARRY DEAN HARRIS
(1963 - )Nationality: USA
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Literary Agent: n/a
LaRRY DeaN HaRRIS is an Ohio native living in Los Angeles since 1997. His first play, Inverted Pyramid, a winner in the Midwest Playwrights Festival, was produced by the Performance Network in ann arbor, Michigan, and named Best Original Play and Best Drama of the Year by the ann arbor News. His second play, Bible Stories, was originally developed at the University of Toledo, performed at the Phoenix Theatre in Indianapolis in 1996 and later co-produced by Playwrights 6 and Celebration Theatre in 1999. Bible Stories received three La Weekly Theatre award nominations including Best Playwriting. His third play, Like an Old Song, (starring Tony winner Sammy Williams) was produced by Playwrights 6 in 2000 and was named "Best Gay-themed Play of the Year" by Backstage West. In 2006, his first musical, a collaboration with jazz singer/songwriter Mark Winkler titled Play It Cool, enjoyed an 8-week, sold-out run at Celebration Theatre and was awarded Critics Pick by the La Times, La Weekly and Backstage West, along with an Ovation award nomination for Best World Premiere Musical and a GLaaD Media award nomination. Play It Cool was presented at the 2008 New York Musical Theatre Festival, where it received a second GLaaD Media award nomination. His latest play, the Prodigal Father, was produced by Playwrights 6 and Celebration Theatre in 2009. the Prodigal Father was directed by Michael Matthews and starred Max Gail in the title role. Harris is the Los Angeles regional representative for the Dramatists Guild, a founding member of Playwrights 6 and a 10-year board member of Celebration Theatre. His essays have been published in magazines and e-zines, and he has performed excerpts from his upcoming solo piece Witness to the Bizarre at the Comedy Central Stage and Powerhouse Theatre.
Research: Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2015)
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below is a list of Larry Dean Harris's plays - click on a Play Title for more information
Bible Stories Inverted Pyramid Like An Old Song Play It Cool Prodigal Father, The Stage Moms there's Something About Larry When Harry Met HarryBible Stories
Synopsis:
In this age of spirituality when people are sorting out their own truths, this play is a mirror to those efforts: from a thirteen-year-old girl examining the myths of virginity to a grown woman who discovers the true meaning of charity. But what sets this play apart is its humor. We laugh as we discover how desensitized to death we've become. We alternate between laughter and tears as a gay man mourns the death of his best friend and finds a new home in an inclusive church. We see a modern day Mary Magdelene who leaves her job as a social worker and continues doing good deeds in the safer life of a prostitute. and finally, as God himself appears in mortal form to clear up a few misconceptions and tell some heaven jokes (with a nod to Elvis, of course), we come full circle. there are poignant moments, probably the most effective one about a man coming to terms with his relationship with his father, but even that is peppered with humor. This show requires no set.
Notes:
Roles can be double-cast. Three La Weekly theatre Award nominations including Best Playwriting.
1st Produced:
The Phoenix Theatre, Indianapolis Sep 1996
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Drama (monologues). - - Gay, theme/character full length
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageInverted Pyramid
Synopsis:
Two new friends, apparent opposites, try to find some common ground. Inverted Pyramid brings together its two main characters (Gary, a midwestern advertising executive, and Diana, his New York boss) to explore and defy the stereotypes of a gay man and a jewish woman. the result is a seriocomic journey that follows the characters' relationship over a period of about 18 months.
Notes:
a winner in the 1994/95 Midwestern Playwrights Festival. Best Drama And Best Original Play for 1998 - the Ann Arbor News.
1st Produced:
The Performance Network 12 Feb 1998
Organisations:
the Performance Network
1st Published:
Toledo Poets Center Press , 1995 -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
Dramatic comedy, full length. - - Gay, full length
Parts:
Male: 6 Female: 6 Other: doubling possible
Further Reference:
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Top of PageLike An Old Song
Synopsis:
the boys in this particular merry band are no longer interested in parades. Now they retire nightly to a gay-owned supper club in Ft. Lauderdale. there, they share the same old stories, maybe a dance, but mostly the familiar company of each other. On this particular evening, their routine is shattered by two events: the introduction of a young entertainer representing the new generation of gay sensibility and an act of violence from the world outside that threatens their safe haven. Like an Old Song explores life among the leftovers. they are aging gay men, easily dismissed but hardly uninteresting. there's alex, older than God, who sits at the end of the bar like the Cheshire Cat and spits barbs like olive pits. Lanny, the court jester. John, the Pulitzer prize-winning author. Jeff, his younger (by comparison) life partner. Carter, the resident intellectual. Ray, the good-ol-boy businessman. and Luis, the proprietor of the restaurant they call home. But beneath the surface surface are seven very different characters: a widow, a drunk, a closet case, a cheater, a has-been, a loser and a liar. as the evening unfolds, so do their stories.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Hudson AVenue Theatre 05 Nov 2000
Organisations:
Playwrights 6
1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, full length
Parts:
Male: 8 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PagePlay It Cool
In 1953 Hollywood, gay life was a world of shadows, innuendo and fear. But at Mary's Hideaway, a stiff gin, a wink and a hot jazz number made it all worthwhile. Play It Cool explores gay underground life in Hollywood in the early 1950s. a young man fresh off the bus finds his way to a speakaway and meets Mary, the very butch owner of the club, who teaches him about jazz, but what she really teaches him is how to live his life.
Notes:
Written by Larry Dean Harris And Mark Winkler. 4 Los Angeles Ovation Award nominations, including Best World Premiere Musical. 2 GLaaD Media Award nominations (Los Angeles And New York).
1st Produced:
Celebration Theatre 09 Jun 2006
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
Los Angeles cast album: Cafe Pacific Records (724101883828) 2006
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
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Genre:
Musical. - - Gay, full length
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: 2 Other: 3-piece combo (piano, bass, drums)
Further Reference:
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Top of PageProdigal Father, The
Synopsis:
the play explores the father-son relationship of earl and Jamey Sanders, 2 disparate personalities thrown together - along with Jamey's lover - in a Chicago loft. earl's alzheimer's provides the momentum for the narrative as scenes - and characters - shift instantly from present to past in a uniquely theatrical experience.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Celebration Theatre 27 Mar 2008
Organisations:
Playwrights 6
1st Published:
- -
Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Play/Drama. - - Gay, full length
Parts:
Male: 4 Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageStage Moms
Synopsis:
the mothers of Eugene O'Neil and Tennessee Williams haunt a theatre in this comical-yet-poignant one-act about the role mothers play in the artistic expression of their sons.
Notes:
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1st Produced:
Celebration Theatre May 1999
Organisations:
Playwrights 6
1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
One act
Parts:
Male: - Female: 2 Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of Pagethere's Something About Larry
Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Lillian Theater, Los Angeles 2002
Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
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Parts:
Male: - Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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Top of PageWhen Harry Met Harry
Synopsis:
Two men meet at the airport, but will they get it together?
Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Booksellers:
Genre:
Comedy One act. - - Gay, one act
Parts:
Male: 3 Female: - Other: -
Further Reference:
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