doollee banner
The Playwrights Database
contact doollee


Leslie Lee

LESLIE LEE

  
Nationality:    African American
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    n/a

Born in Bryn Mawr, Pa, now lives in New York City. B.A., University of Pennsylvania; M.A., Villanova University. Currently assistANT Pro-fessor in Theater at the College at Old Westbury, SUNY. He has published fiction, the Day after Tomorrow, a novella; film scripts, the First Breeze of Summer, for Theatre in America series; almos' a Man, adaptation, for he American Short Story series; the Split Cherry Tree, aBC-TV, and Go Tell It On the Mountain, adaptation for PBS, among others. Recipient: Rockefeller Foundation Playwriting Fellow, 1966-68; Shubert Foundation Playwriting Grant, 1971-72; Obie award; Best Play Tony Nomina-tIOn; Outer Circle Critics award, 1976; Mississip-pI eTV award; Special Mention, Black Film-makers.
address (in 1981): 708 Washington St., 2B, New York, NY 10014
agent (in 1981): Ellen Neuwald, 905 West end avenue, New York, NY 10025 (212) 633-1582

Buy Plays with Doollee

Each page of doollee.com has links to play/book outlets, either directly to the Publisher, through Stageplays.com and Amazon to the second hand and 1st editions of AbeBooks. These links will automatically take you to the relevant area obviating the need for further search.
AbeBooks.co.uk   AbeBooks.com   Stageplays.com   amazon.com   amazon.co.uk   amazon.ca
whether you are a Playwright who wishes to make their entry definitive, an unlisted Playwright or a User with a tale to tell - we want to hear from you.
download WORD submission template

below is a list of Leslie Lee's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         As I Lay Dying, A Victim Of Spring         Between Now And then         Black Eagles         Blues In A Broken Tongue         Book Of Lambert, The         Colored People's Time         Cops & Robbers         Elegy To A Down Queen         First Breeze Of Summer         Get Happy - The Judy Garland Story         Golden Boy         Ground People         Hannah Davis         Killing Time         Legends         Life, Love And Other Minor Matters         Martin         Mina         Night Of the Nomoon, The         Playing With Fire         Rabbit Foot, The         Sundown Names And Night-Gone Things         War Party, The         Willie

As I Lay Dying, A Victim Of Spring

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Walnut St. Theater, Philadelphia, Pa    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Between Now And then

Synopsis:
middle class Black family living in the suburbs as Father struggles to find a happy medium in his attitudes to bringing up his children

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York   978-0573619113

Music:
-

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

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Black Eagles

Synopsis:
about America's first black fighter pilots with flashbacks to World War II

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1991

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York, 1992   -

Music:
-

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

Parts:
Male:  12            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Blues In A Broken Tongue

Synopsis:
a black American family in the 1930s move to Russia to escape racism. Many years later one of the daughters finds a pile of Billie Holliday, Paul Robeson and Bessie Smith records.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Book Of Lambert, The

Synopsis:
the Book of Lambert depicts the lives of six lost souls hiding from society in the subterranean depths of an abandoned NYC subway tunnel. their leader is Lambert, an African American man who has been hurt-possibly beyond repair-by his former love, a beautiful Caucasian woman. a bright but disillusioned ex-college professor, Lambert begins writing a prophetic book on life. In an effort to guide and re-focus this wayward flock, Lambert unleashes his own identity issues while coming face to face with the demons of his past.
-press release

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Colored People's Time

Synopsis:
a history of Black America from the eve of the Civil War to the Montgomery bus boycott a century later

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1982

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French, NY,    -

Music:
-

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:
History play

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Cops & Robbers

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Composer: J. Frederick Magee

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Elegy To A Down Queen

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
Composer: Dominic Garvey

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
Drama & Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

First Breeze Of Summer

Synopsis:
an oversensitive boy who is about to graduate from high school worships his grandmother, the resolution of his problems and his acceptance of his sexuality and blackness form the backbone of the play

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Palace Theatre, New York    10 Jun 1975

Organisations:
Negro ensemble Company

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York   -

Music:
-

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:  8            Female:  6            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Get Happy - The Judy Garland Story

Synopsis:
a celebration of the life of the legendary entertainer Judy Garland. Beautifully written and certainly not a traditional tribute show, this thoroughly entertaining and moving production focuses on the inspirational life of the iconic performer, who Fred Astaire once described as "the greatest entertainer who ever lived." The show is a perfect blend of wonderful stories, fascinating facts, charming humour, moving moments and passionately performed Garland classics, including Over The Rainbow, The Man that Got Away and The Trolley Song.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
musical theatre

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Golden Boy

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1989

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Ground People

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1990

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Hannah Davis

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1987

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Killing Time

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Village Gate, NYC    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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 with Music

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Legends

Synopsis:
When is enough enough even for the dispossessed? a motley group of outcasts living in a flea bitten hotel on the Lower east Side find ways to set aside their differences and unite to force respect from their tormentors,the Hell's angels, even though it means risking their own lives and the little they have left.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Reading, Midtown International Theatre Festival, Ny    2009

Organisations:
Negro ensemble Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
120 minutes

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Life, Love And Other Minor Matters

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Village Gate, NYC    -

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
musical revue

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Martin

Synopsis:
Martin recounts Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.'s faltering journey from defiant teenager to leader of an improbable nonviolent bus boycott, which ultimately set the tone for the civil rights movement. In this new musical, Dr. King is stunned and disappointed that students from an urban high school, named after him, have little idea who he and his colleagues were in the civil rights movement. He takes them through his struggles with racism as a youth in Atlanta, his embrace of Mahatma Gandhi's peaceful means of protest, and the Montgomery bus boycott, where segregation on buses was declared illegal by the United States Supreme Court.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
Book By: Leslie Lee; Music & Lyrics By: Charles Strouse

1st Produced:
Kraine theater
85 East 4th Street, New York, NY 10003    19 Oct 2011

Organisations:
Negro ensemble Company

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
musical

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Mina

Synopsis:
In a fusion of music, poetry and art, an ensemble cast captivatingly depicts the early life of the revolutionary, yet surprisingly little known artist, Mina Loy. Visit Victorian england, Bavarian Munich, Bohemian Paris and Futurist Florence in a story of one woman's struggle to be herself in a world where women were subjects not artists. Leslie Lee, Obie-winning, Tony-nominated playwright, and author for television and film, has chosen to unearth an historical figure, the lesser-known yet pioneering poet and artist, Mina Loy (1882-1966). Mr. Lee's works have been praised as powerful, ground-breaking theater. His eloquent writing examines and embraces the life of this early feminist, whose talent, intellect and exceptional beauty made her one of the central figures of the literary and visual avant-garde in europe and America. In this visionary play, Mr. Lee concentrates on Loy's early years in europe during the height of experimental and Futurist thought in art. In a fusion of music, poetry and theatre, an ensemble cast will visit Victorian england, Bavarian Munich, Bohemian Paris, and Futurist Florence. at its core, Mina is the fascinating story of a deeply complicated woman, decades ahead of her time; a voice that saw '. . .art, love, sex, and childbirth from the perspective of a new woman.' (Becoming Modern, the Life of Mina Loy, Carolyn Burke)

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Night Of the Nomoon, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Playing With Fire

Synopsis:
August Strindberg's Chekhovian comedy, Playing With Fire (Leka med elden, 1893), in a translation by Ulrika Brand that has been newly adapted by Obie-winner Leslie Lee, executive Director of Negro ensemble Company, will be presented with an all-black cast as the inaugural production of August Strindberg Repertory theatre. the play, one of Strindberg's rare comedies, was written in 1893 after the playwright found himself involved in a love triangle within a love triangle within a love triangle. Leslie Lee has transformed its setting from a Swedish summer house in 1893 to a summer cottage of the black social elite in Oak Ridge, a neighborhood of Martha's Vineyard, in 1926. That is is around the time Oak Bluffs beach first became a mecca for the black upper crust from around the country.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
Original Playwright - August Strindberg. Translated by Ulrika Brand; Adapted by Leslie Lee

1st Produced:
The New School For Drama Theater, 151 Bank Street, New York    18 May 2012

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Rabbit Foot, The

Synopsis:
about a troupe of ragtag black vaudevillians travelling through the rural south shortly after world War I and about a black sharecropper family, both groups are divided about moving north

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    1988

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Samuel French Inc, New York   978-0573692277

Music:
-

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/Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Sundown Names And Night-Gone Things

Synopsis:
Four men work in the front office of the insurance company the South Side Burial Society. Travis, married and approaching middle aged and desperately seeking sexual encounters. Cairo Biggs who longs to be a teacher. the older arjay and the happy-go-lucky Boyd. they are all accepting sexual favours from their female clients.

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
Castillo Theatre    2009

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Best Black Plays" published by Northwestern University Press, 2007   -

Music:
-

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

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

War Party, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page

Willie

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   -

Music:
-

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:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

Top of Page Top of Page