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John Strand

JOHN STRAND

  
Nationality:    USA
email:    Click here to contact     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Paradigm  

JOHN STRAND is a resident playwright with Arena Stage through the American Voices New Play Institute. His previous work at Arena Stage includes The Miser, an adaptation of the Moliere play set in Reagan-era America; Lovers and Executioners, winner of the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; and Tom Walker, also commissioned by Arena Stage. His recent work includes the book and lyrics for Hat! A Vaudeville, a new musical with a score by composer Dennis McCarthy (South Coast Repertory); Lincolnesque, a dark comedy about politics and madness in D.C. (The Old Globe, dir. by Joe Calarco); and Lorenzaccio, his adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1834 French classic (Shakespeare Theatre Company, dir. by Michael Kahn). Strand is the author of the book for the musical The Highest Yellow, with a score by Michael John LaChiusa, (Signature Theatre, dir. by Eric Schaeffer). Additional plays are The Diaries (commissioned by Signature Theatre, MacArthur nomination); Otabenga, (Signature Theatre, dir. by Michael Kahn, MacArthur nomination); Three Nights in Tehran, a comedy about the Iran-Contra affair (Signature Theatre); and The Cockburn Rituals (Woolly Mammoth Theatre). Strand spent 10 years in Paris, where he worked as a journalist and drama critic, writing in English and French, and directed New York University's Experimental Theater Wing in Paris. His novel Commieland was published by Kiwai Media, Paris (2013).

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

         Cockburn Rituals, The         Diaries, The         Highest Yellow, The         Italian Straw Hat, An         Lincolnesque         Lorenzaccio         Lovers and Executioners         Miser, The         Originalist, The         Otabenga         Our War         Three Nights in Tehran         Tom Walker

Cockburn Rituals, The

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Diaries, The

Synopsis:
A young man attempts to solve the mystery of his grandfather's past through his war diaries, written 60 years ago while he was stationed in Paris during World War Two. GrandFather was a religious and spiritual man, a celebrated novelist and scientist-and a Nazi officer. But are his diaries a work of fiction, deliberately calculated to prepare his defense for later generations? Or was he really the enlightened moralist he paints himself to be, an innocent bystander at the scene of a crime? Inspired by the life and journals of German author Ernst Junger (1895-1998). Questions of how and if we can interpret the past are raised in this gripping Drama. Single set, multiple locations. Approximate running time: 2 hours.

Notes:
A finalist for the-2002 MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play

1st Produced:
Signature Theater, Arlington Va    

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1st Published:
Dramatic Publishing,    -

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Genre:
Play/Drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  2            Other:  4 characters playing multiple roles

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Highest Yellow, The

Synopsis:
about the physician who first treated Van Gogh

Notes:
book by John Strand, Music/Lyrics by Michael John LaChiUSA.

1st Produced:
Signature Theater, Arlington Va     2005

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Genre:
Musical

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Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Italian Straw Hat, An

Synopsis:
Emmy Award-winning composer Dennis McCarthy teams up with Charles McArthur prize winner John Strand for this spirited American musical adaptation of the classic French farce An Italian Straw Hat. Drawing on elements from vaudeville, ragtime, light opera and even barbershop quartet, the rollicking new musical follows a hapless young bridegroom through turn-of-the-century New York, as he tries to correct a horrendous problem . . .

Notes:
Music by Dennis McCarthy; lyrics And book by John Strand. Based on the play by Eugene Labiche

1st Produced:
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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  7            Female:  3            Other:  -

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Lincolnesque

Synopsis:
Socially relevant without ever becoming preachy, clever enough to pass for cynical but also so subtly moving that its emotional payoff comes as a surprise, John Strand's new comedy is a political fantasy, a notoriously difficult genre, and it works, presenting politics in our nation's capital with a kind eye for human foibles and an unerring sagacity . . . lets us laugh as we begin to grapple with some truly horrifying question ~ Octavio Roca, Miami New Times

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1st Produced:
The Old Globe, San Diego     2006

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1st Published:
Broadway Play Publishing, 2007   -

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Genre:
dark comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  1            Other:  -

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Lorenzaccio

Synopsis:
a vast fresco of fifteenth century Florence mixing freely a depiction of public life, of court intrigue with intimate scenes and moments of great personal introspection

Notes:
Original Playwright - Alfred de Musset

1st Produced:
Shakespeare Theater, In Washington D.C     2005

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Genre:
Adaptation

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Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Lovers and Executioners

Synopsis:
This "startlingly modern" tale about attempted murder and a woman's revenge concerns a husband who discovers evidence that his wife has been unfaithful. He abandons her on a desert isle, expecting her to die. But she escapes and returns three years later disguised as a man. She manages to have herself appointed judge and promptly brings her husband to trial for the murder of his wife. Calling the play "funny, grim, superb" the Washington Post wrote: "Strand's very free adaptation is like the best comedy, wild yet precise. He's dared to translate Montfleury's 17th-century poetry into 20th-century verse, and the language rollicks along from comic anachronism to melancholy aphorism." Keeping certain conventions of the genre, such as the commedia dell'arte-inspired comedy, the play focuses on the very serious questions of justice and revenge. It features a superb leading-actress breeches role and a coup de theatre ending. "Darkly hilarious, brightly poetic and emotionally scary," said Washington City Paper." It's easy to imagine Lovers and Executioners having a long life on the repertory circuit in this country and Britain." Single set, two locations.

Notes:
1999 Winner of the Helen Hayes Award - the Charles MacArthur Prize for Outstanding New Play

1st Produced:
Arena Stage, Washington, Dc    

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1st Published:
Dramatic Publishing,    -

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Genre:
Dramatic Comedy

Parts:
Male:  4            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Miser, The

Synopsis:
an adaptation of the Moliere play set in Reagan-era America

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1st Produced:
Arena Stage, Washington, Dc    

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To Buy This Play:
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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

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Originalist, The

Synopsis:
Four-time Helen Hayes Award winner Edward Gero (Red) returns to Arena Stage as one of America's most brilliant and polarizing figures: Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. When a bright, liberal, Harvard Law School graduate embarks on a nerve-wracking clerkship with Justice Scalia, she discovers him to be both an infuriating sparring partner and an unexpected mentor. How will their relationship affect one of the most incendiary cases ever to reach the nation's highest court? From Charles MacArthur Award winner John Strand (Lovers and Executioners) comes this daring new work about passionate people risking heart and soul to defend their version of the truth. This production will be performed in the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle in an exciting new three-quarter thrust configuration.

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Genre:
one act 105 min political drama

Parts:
Male:  2            Female:  1            Other:  -

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Otabenga

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1st Produced:
Signature Theater, Arlington Va    

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Our War

Synopsis:
While the plays that took the perspective of participants were some of the most crisp, the last kind of play in the evening, plays that look at today with the eyes of the present (but through the lens or with the lighting of the Civil War), hit the hardest. Most of them use the Civil War as a way to talk about race in America, from Ken Narasaki's thoughts on racism that isn't divided into Black and White to Lydia Diamond's chastisement of White liberal guilt. - http://dctheatrescene.com/2014/10/28/war-arena-stage-resounding-success/

Notes:
An esteemed collection of American playwrights, including winners of the Pulitzer Prize, Tony Award and Olivier Award, creates a dynamic new theatrical event reflecting on the repercussions of the U.S. Civil War. Through a rich tapestry of short monologues, a core ensemble of gifted actors, accompanied by notable Washingtonians such as Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Eleanor Holmes Norton and Chris Matthews, explorethrough diverse perspectivesthe historical memory and present-day reverberations of the U.S. Civil War. Our War, commissioned by Arena Stage for the National Civil War Project, uses the power of live theater to bring new understanding to the shades of Blue and Gray that define one of the most significant periods of American history.

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Genre:
monologue

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Three Nights in Tehran

Synopsis:
about the Iran-Contra affair

Notes:
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1st Produced:
Signature Theater, Arlington Va    

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

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Genre:
comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Tom Walker

Synopsis:
Set in America's early colonial period, Tom Walker is "deep and provocative, smart and funny, finely crafted" (the Washington Post), a tale about one man's journey to hell and back. Tom, a chronically unemployed fiddler, is given the chance of a lifetime to turn his woeful fate around when he meets the devil in a dismal swamp outside Boston. Tom bargains away his soul for riches, and in the process, loses his wife, his friends and all joy in living. When the devil arrives one night to claim Tom's mortal life and send him off to hell, Tom is unexpectedly given another chance-to solve the mystery of this devil's true identity and reclaim his own soul. Full of stunning plot twists, the play offers up "a juicy web of deception and revenge" as we follow Tom's journey through an early American underworld of fugitives and runaways. Critics in Washington and Los Angeles called the play "wily and penetrating, richly entertaining. . .crowd-pleasing in the best way," "spooky and roaring fun," and "one of those rare experiences in theater, an almost perfect marriage of language and craft-a must-see!" (Curtain Up.com) One set, multiple locations. Approximate running time: 1 hour, 40 minutes.

Notes:
World Premiere

1st Produced:
Arena Stage, Washington, Dc     2001

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Dramatic Publishing,    -

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

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Genre:
Comedy Drama Comedy

Parts:
Male:  3            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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