Tom Griffin (playwright)

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Thomas E. Griffin Jr. (February 14, 1946[1] – March 20, 2018) was a playwright, best known for The Boys Next Door.[2] Other plays include Amateurs,[3] Pasta,[4] and Mrs. Sedgewick's Head.[5]

Career

Griffin was born in Providence, Rhode Island and grew up there and in Warwick, Rhode Island.[2][6] He graduated with a B.A. in theater from the University of Rhode Island in 1969.[2] He then acted with Trinity Repertory Company in Providence,[7][8] and taught playwriting at the University of Rhode Island.[7]

His play The Taking Away of Little Willie was performed at the 1979 Mark Taper Forum Playworks Festival, and then at Theatre Three in Dallas.[9][10] The characters were a child with disability, "a caring, self-sacrificing mother", "an intelligent, bitter father" and "a self-appointed community guardian".[9] A reviewer in Dallas wrote, "The development is predictable here and there, but the play nonetheless crackles with tension."[9] In 1980, Griffin's play Einstein and the Polar Bear was selected for the National Playwrights Conference.[11] The main characters are a reclusive novelist living in a small New England town and a woman from Manhattan who arrives claiming that her car has broken down.[12][13] It was picked up by Mark Lamos for the Hartford Stage Company,[10][14] and then transferred to the Cort Theater on Broadway.[12] Reviewers were highly critical, particularly about what they considered "achingly artificial dialogue",[12][13] and the play closed after four performances.[12]

References

  1. ^ "Tom Griffin Biography (1946-)".
  2. ^ a b c Ide, Stephen (March 27, 2018). "Acclaimed Barrington playwright Tom Griffin dies at 72". The Providence Journal. Providence, Rhode Island. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  3. ^ Lord, Mark (May 12, 2005). "Post-Modern Community Theater Explored In Griffin's "Amatuers"". Queens Chronicle. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  4. ^ McCULLOH, T. H. (September 17, 1993). "A Comedic Gamble : This production of 'Pasta,' although looking dated, takes every chance to turn its characters into recognizable people". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  5. ^ Taylor, Markland (November 7, 1993). "Mrs. Sedgewick's Head". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2025.
  6. ^ Kaye, Phyllis Johnson, ed. (1981). National Playwrights Directory. Eugene O'Neill Theater Center. p. 154. ISBN 9780960516001.
  7. ^ a b Dorsey, Kristina (Apr 20, 2017). "Chelsea Players take on 'Einstein and the Polar Bear'". The Day. New London, Connecticut. p. 39. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  8. ^ Montgomery, Roger (Nov 5, 1980). "Arsenic still seems funny in old favorite 'Old Lace'". The Day. New London, Connecticut. p. 38. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  9. ^ a b c Branch, John (March 1, 1980). "Taking Chances at Theatre Three". D Magazine. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  10. ^ a b McEnroe, Colin (Nov 9, 1980). "Success Worries 'Einstein' Playwright". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. G1. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  11. ^ "Play's the thing at 3 seminars". Tarrytown Daily News. Tarrytown, New York. Jun 27, 1980. p. 34. Retrieved 20 February 2025.
  12. ^ a b c d Hischak, Thomas S. (2001). American Theatre: A Chronicle of Comedy and Drama, 1969-2000. Oxford University Press. p. 195. ISBN 9780195352559.
  13. ^ a b Raidy, William A. (Oct 31, 1981). "Theater: 'Einstein' painfully artificial". Staten Island Advance. p. 29. Retrieved 22 February 2025.
  14. ^ McEnroe, Colin (Sep 7, 1980). "Surprises in Store For Theatergoers". Hartford Courant. Hartford, Connecticut. p. 1G. Retrieved 20 February 2025.


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