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Paul Rudnick

PAUL RUDNICK

  (1957 - )
Nationality:    USA
facebook     email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    ICM Partners  

Dramatists Guild member playwrights whose works were produced in City Theatre's 2014 Summer Shorts Festival included LESLIE AYVAZIAN (The Click); RICHARD DRESSER (Halftime); HOLLI C. HARMS (Make John Patrick Shanley Go Home); ARLITIA M JONES (Tornado); PAUL RUDNICK (My Husband).

Research:    Member of the Dramatists Guild of America (as at 2016)

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

         Cabin Pressure         Cosmetic Surgery         Gay Agenda, The         I Hate Hamlet         Jeffrey         Most Fabulous Story Ever Told         Mr Charles, Currently of Palm Beach         My Husband         Naked Eye         New Century, The         On the Fence         Poor Little Lambs         Regrets Only         Rude Entertainment         Valhalla         Very Special Needs
Cabin Pressure

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Citywrights Conference Weekend For Playwrights     19 Jun 2013

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:
short play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cosmetic Surgery

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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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:
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Gay Agenda, The

Synopsis:
A pearl bedecked homophobic Ohio woman is addressing a ladies meeting. She talks about the two nice gay men who live next door to her and slowly her mind begins to change and she berates her straight audience for their attitudes to gay men

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Citywrights Conference Weekend For Playwrights     19 Jun 2013

Organisations:
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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:
Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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I Hate Hamlet

Synopsis:
Andrew Rally seems to have it all: celebrity and acclaim from his starring role in a hit television series; a rich, beautiful girlfriend; a glamorous, devoted agent; the perfect New York apartment; and the chance to play Hamlet in Central Park. there are, however, a couple of glitches in paradise. Andrew's series has been canceled; his girlfriend is clinging to her virginity with unyielding conviction; and he has no desire to play Hamlet. When Andrew's agent visits him, she reminisces about her brief romance with John Barrymore many years ago, in Andrew's apartment. This prompts a seance to summon his ghost. From the moment Barrymore returns, dressed in high Shakespearean garb, Andrew's life is no longer his own. Barrymore, fortified by champagne and ego, presses Andrew to accept the part and fulfill his actor's destiny. the action becomes more hilarious with the entrance of Andrew's deal-making friend from LA, spouting the laid-back hype of the Coast and offering Andrew a fabulous new TV deal worth millions

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Walter Kerr Theatre New York     1991

Organisations:
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1st Published:
American Theatre Magazine, NY - November, 1991    

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

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jeffrey

Synopsis:
Jeffrey, a gay actor/waiter, has sworn off sex after too many bouts with his partners about what is "safe" and what is not. In gay New York, though, sex is not something you can avoid. Whether catering a ditzy socialite's "Hoe-down for AIDS" or cruising at a funeral; at the gym or in the back rooms of an anonymous sex club; at the annual Gay Pride Parade, or in the libidinous hands of a father-confessor, Jeffrey finds the pursuit of love and just plain old physical gratification to be the number-one preoccupation of his times-and the source of plenty of hilarity. Suddenly, just after he's reconciled himself to celibacy, Jeffrey's flamboyant friends introduce him to the man of his dreams, who also happens to be HIV-positive. What follows is an audacious and moving romantic comedy with a difference-one in which the quest for love and really fabulous clothes meet, and where unflagging humor prevails even when tragedy might be just around the corner.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Greenwich, London     1995

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Most Fabulous Story Ever Told

Synopsis:
A stage manager, headset and prompt book at hand, brings the house lights to half, then dark, and cues the creation of the world. Throughout the play, she's in control of everything. In other words, she's either God, or she thinks she is. Act One recounts the major episodes of the Old Testament, only with a twist: Instead of Adam and Eve, our lead characters are Adam and Steve, and Jane and Mabel, a lesbian couple with whom they decide to start civilization (procreation proves to be a provocative challenge). Act One covers the Garden of Eden, an ark, a visit with a highly rambunctious Pharaoh and finally even the Nativity. Along the way, Mabel and Adam invent God, but Jane and Steve are skeptical. This brings about the Flood, during which Steve has a brief affair with a rhinoceros and invents infidelity. No longer blissful, Adam and Steve break up only to be reunited as two of the wise men at the Nativity. Act Two jumps to modern day Manhattan. Adam and Steve are together again, and Steve is HIV positive. It'

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, 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:
Comedy. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mr Charles, Currently of Palm Beach

Synopsis:
This acclaimed one act focuses on Mr. Charles, the most joyously, fiercely, politically incorrect creature imaginable. We watch as he hosts his own late-night cable show in South Florida, taking questions from the audience. What causes homosexuality? a viewer inquires. I do, Mr. Charles replies. Mr. Charles, in his bold yellow slacks, espadrilles and provocatively vivid hairstyle, also introduces Shane, his hunky young companion. Together they confront every hot-button topic from gay marriage to the history of gay theatre, finally delving into the highest matters of identity and flamboyance.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Ensemble Studio Theatre, New York     1998

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, 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:
Comedy One Act. - - Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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My Husband

Synopsis:
A Jewish mother tries to find a husband for her son

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Adrienne Arsht Center For The Performing Arts. Miami, Fl 33132     12 Jun 2014

Organisations:
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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:
Gay one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Naked Eye

Synopsis:
Alex DelFlavio is an ambitious downtown artist who plans to include sexually explicit photographs in his uptown show to advance his career. Nan Bemiss, the wife of a Republican senator who is running for the presidency and a gallery board member, appeals to DelFlavio to remove three of his most "offensive" photographs for the opening. Unexpectedly, Nan is liberated in the process.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, Inc. NY (2011)   

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. - - Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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New Century, The

Synopsis:
When the playwright is Paul Rudnick, expectations are geared for a play both hilarious and smart, and the NEW CENTURY is no exception. It is a provocative and outrageous comedy, featuring a collection of hilarious characters. In PRIDE AND JOY, Helene is a Long Island matron, the self-proclaimed "most loving mother of all time" to her three gay children, whom she brags about at the Massapequa chapter of Parents of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, the Transgendered, the Questioning, the Curious, the Creatively Concerned and Others (1 man, 1 woman). the flamboyant MR. CHARLES, CURRENTLY OF PALM BEACH is described by Mr. Rudnick as "an aging homosexual hounded out of New York City by younger gay men, who find his theatrical style a threatening throwback to an earlier, tougher time." Mr. Charles spends his exile in the company of the hunky Shane, with whom he produces a cable television show, Too Gay (2 men, 1 woman). In CRAFTY, Barbara Ellen is a Midwestern craftswoman and competitive cake-decorator who has lost a son to AIDS (1 woman). In the NEW CENTURY, all of these hilarious and poignant people collide under surprising and comical circumstances, providing evidence of just where our new century might be heading (2 men, 3 women).

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Mitzi Newhouse Theater     2008

Organisations:
Lincoln Center Theater

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, NY (2009)   

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:
four short plays Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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On the Fence

Synopsis:
In Laramie, Wyoming in 1998 Matthew Shepard was beaten, tied to a fence and left to die because he was gay. the aftermath of this and he finds himself in a nether world where he meets Eleanor Roosevelt - he knows that she is dead but does not believe her

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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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 One Act. - - Gay/Lesbian, historical characters

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Poor Little Lambs

Synopsis:
the antics of an all male Yale singing group the Wiffenpoofs

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-     1982

Organisations:
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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:
Gay, full length

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Regrets Only

Synopsis:
omedy of Manhattan manners exploring the very latest topics in marriage and friendship. the setting: a Park Avenue penthouse. the players: a powerhouse attorney, Jack McCullough, his deliriously social wife, Tibby and their closest friend Hank Hadley, one of the world's most staggeringly successful fashion designers. Add a daughter's engagement, some major gowns, the President of the United States, and stir.
nytheatre.com

Notes:
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1st Produced:

Organisations:
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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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  4            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Rude Entertainment

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Greenwich House, New York     29/2001

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:
-

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Valhalla

Synopsis:
intertwines two stories: the life of Ludwig of Bavaria, the 1880s Mad King responsible for building a series of storybook castles inspired by Wagnerian operas, and the fictional adventures of James Avery, a wild Texas teenager of the 1940s. these two iconoclasts are tracked from childhood through their deaths, and while they embody separate eras, they are ultimately revealed as time-traveling soul mates. the play explores questions of beauty and madness, as both Ludwig and James pursue lives of operatic passion, bringing them in contact with such diverse figures as a high-school quarterback, the prettiest girl in Dainsville, Texas, most of the characters of Lohengrin and princess Sophie, who declares herself the loneliest humpback in Europe. VALHALLA is a comic epic, confronting the price to be paid for wanting, and getting, everything you dream of.

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatists Play Service, 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:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  2            Other:  doubling

Further Reference:
-

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Very Special Needs

Synopsis:
A gay couple are going to adopt a baby. Timmy is more enthusiastic than partner Trent. When the child arrives it is much older than they expected and is a special needs child too.

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 One Act. - - Gay, one act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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