George C. Wolfe

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George C. Wolfe bigraphy, stories - American playwright

George C. Wolfe : biography

23 September 1954 –

George Costello Wolfe (born September 23, 1954) is an American playwright and director of theater and film. He won a Tony Award in 1993 for directing Angels in America: Millennium Approaches and another Tony Award in 1996 for his direction of the musical, Bring in ‘da Noise/Bring in ‘da Funk.

Filmography

Year Title Credit Role
1989 Trying Times (TV) Writer (1 episode)
1993 Fires in the Mirror (TV) Director
1994 Fresh Kill Actor Othello Yellow
2004 Garden State Actor restaurant manager
2005 Lackawanna Blues (TV) Director
2006 The Devil Wears Prada Actor Paul
2008 Nights in Rodanthe Director
TBA The Hairball Director, writer

Theater works

Broadway

Year Title Credit Venue
1992 Jelly’s Last Jam Director, writer (book) Virginia Theatre
1993 Angels in America: Millennium Approaches Director, producer Walter Kerr Theatre
1993 Angels in America: Perestroika Director, producer Walter Kerr Theatre
1994 Twilight: Los Angeles, 1992 Director, producer Cort Theatre
1995 The Tempest Director, producer Broadhurst Theatre
1996 Bring in ‘Da Noise, Bring in ‘Da Funk Director, producer, lyrics, idea Ambassador Theatre
1998 Golden Child Producer Longacre Theatre
1998 On the Town Director, producer George Gershwin Theatre
2000 The Ride Down Mt. Morgan Producer Ambassador Theatre
2000 The Wild Party Director, producer, writer (book) Virginia Theatre
2002 Elaine Stritch At Liberty Director, producer Neil Simon Theatre
2002 Topdog / Underdog Director, producer Ambassador Theatre
2003 Take Me Out Producer Walter Kerr Theatre
2004 Caroline, or Change Director, producer Eugene O’Neill Theatre
2006 Mother Courage and Her Children Director Delacorte Theatre in Central Park
2011 The Normal Heart Director John Golden Theatre
2013 Lucky Guy Director Broadhurst Theatre

Career

In 1977, Wolfe gave C. Bernard Jackson, the executive director of the Inner City Cultural Center in the Los Angeles, the first scene of a play he was working on. Rather than suggest that he finish writing it, Jackson said, "Here’s some money, go do it." The name of the play was "Tribal Rites, or The Coming of the Great God-bird Nabuku to the Age of Horace Lee Lizer." Wolfe stated in an article he wrote about Jackson for the Los Angeles Times that "this production was perhaps the most crucial to my evolution" as an artist.

Among Wolfe’s first major offerings—the musical Paradise (1985) and his play The Colored Museum (1986)–were off-Broadway productions that met with mixed reviews. In 1989, however, Wolfe won an Obie Award for best off-Broadway director for his play Spunk, an adaptation of three stories by Zora Neale Hurston.