RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#1
Posted: 5/22/26 at 4:49pm
He was only 71 but Playbill says he died on Wednesday following a lengthy illness. I hope we'll get to see his posthumous collab with David Yazbek sometime in the near future!
https://playbill.com/article/tony-nominated-book-writer-jeffrey-lane-has-died-at-71
From his Playbill obit:
On the small screen, he wrote and produced for Mad About You, Cagney & Lacey, The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd, The Murder of Mary Phagan, Lou Grant, Ryan’s Hope, and more. He was nominated for five Primetime Emmy awards, winning three, as well as three Writers Guild Awards, two Peabodys, and one Golden Globe.
On stage, Mr. Lane was the scribe behind the musicals Dirty Rotten Scoundrels andWomen on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Written alongside composer David Yazbek, both musicals explored the bounds of musical comedy, with Mr. Lane picking up a Tony nomination for Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
Prior to his death, Mr. Lane and Yazbek had completed a third original musical together: a period piece called Whiz-Bang!, inspired by the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drewnovels. It is unclear when or if the material will receive a public presentation.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#2
Posted: 5/23/26 at 8:55am
I had no idea that Mr. Lane wrote for so many TV shows including Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey and Mad About You.
I just loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and saw it twice on Broadway. Last year the Stratford revival was sublime. Fingers crossed for a Broadway revival soon. RIP Mr. Lane.
https://deadline.com/2026/05/jeffrey-lane-dead-1236919176/
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#3
Posted: 5/23/26 at 9:13pm
Melissa25 said: "I had no idea that Mr. Lane wrote for so many TV shows including Lou Grant, Cagney & Lacey and Mad About You.
I just loved Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and saw it twice on Broadway. Last year the Stratford revival was sublime. Fingers crossed for a Broadway revival soon. RIP Mr. Lane.
https://deadline.com/2026/05/jeffrey-lane-dead-1236919176/
Is it too soon to say a Dirty Rotten Scoundrels revival would be great, and I need Raul Esparza as Lawrence
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#4
Posted: 5/25/26 at 8:39am
As a fan of the show, I am a little upset there isn't very much mention of "Bette", the short lived sitcom he created for Miss M.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#5
Posted: 5/25/26 at 8:53am
Someday, and I hope I'm alive to see it, "Women On the Verge" will get the love and respect it deserves!!
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/20/18
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#6
Posted: 5/25/26 at 9:45am
I’d be shocked if SCOUNDRELS isn’t on the Encores shortlist. Or maybe Yaz & co are holding off for hopes of a commercial revival.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#7
Posted: 5/25/26 at 10:36am
Scoundrels is oddly underrated. It's a pretty great piece of musical comedy with great roles both lead and featured.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#8
Posted: 5/25/26 at 10:42am
A major theatre near me had been developing a cabaret-sized version of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels that trimmed it to a black-box size with a tiny cast. I feel like if that had ever gotten off the ground, it would have made the show MUCH more produceable nationwide.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#9
Posted: 5/25/26 at 11:00am
Re: the omission of “Bette” from the announcement of Jeffrey’s passing:
I was a friend of his and there may be a reason for this: not only was the show both a critical and ratings flop, but Bette reportedly hated the experience and Jeffrey hated working on it. (Bette, I believe, even went on Letterman and openly trashed the series.) As the Showrunner, he really had to battle through a difficult behind-the-scenes situation.
RIP to such a talented and genuinely lovely gentleman.
RIP to Jeffrey Lane, bookwriter of DIRTY ROTTEN SCOUNDRELS and WOMEN ON THE VERGE#10
Posted: 5/26/26 at 10:31am
Looooved The Days and Nights of Molly Dodd.
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