Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Who's the Funniest Playwright?
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#0Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:33pm
Who writes the most deliriously funny stage plays (not musicals this time) you've ever seen or read?
On or Off Broadway or from afar...written in English?
#1re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:37pmi love the play Incorruptible , by Michael Hollinger. My high school is hopefully doing it this year, and I've read the play and loved it.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#2re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:38pm
I think everything Chris Durang writes is funny.
I love satire and over the top.
#3re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:42pm
Mr Frayns' Noises Off is pretty gosh darn hilarious
Tom Stoppard has his moments
Alan Bennett's has written some truly hilarious material
I think we can scratch Eugene O'Neil off the list, though.
brdlwyr
Broadway Legend Joined: 1/14/05
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#5re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:52pm
I read Burn This by Lanford Wilson in a Barnes & Noble and just burst out loud laughing. People had to see what I was reading.
I saw it once in performance and the staging and acting wasn't up to how good I know it can be in my mind.
I never seen a Pinter comedy. Pause. Which Pinter play is funny? Pause. Which?
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#6re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:55pmOscar Wilde
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#7re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/16/06 at 11:59pm
Yup. Love Wilde. The man had style.
David Ives short play Time Flies about the short life cycle of mayflies, who are born live and breed all in a day, is very funny.
thevolleyballer
Broadway Legend Joined: 9/29/04
#8re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:03amMy first thought was Christopher Durang. He's one of the few playwrights that I know will make me laugh when I read his work. Notable mentions are Martin McDonagh and Neil Simon, of course.
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#9re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:09am
John Guare wrote a hilarious one-act, New York Actor. It's a must read.
I'd give a synopsis but I don't want to give any of it away. Suffice to say that it has some comparison of New York vs. L.A. acting, stage vs. televison.
blueroses
Broadway Legend Joined: 10/18/04
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#11re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:20am
Craig Lucas' Prelude To A Kiss is very funny.
Loved the old man taking the skin off his chicken like my grandfather used to do.
#12re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:32amMartin McDonagh. Hands down.
-Kad
"I have also met him in person, and I find him to be quite funny actually. Arrogant and often misinformed, but still funny."
-bjh2114 (on Michael Riedel)
queendork
Understudy Joined: 6/28/06
nomdeplume
Broadway Legend Joined: 6/20/05
#14re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 12:37am
Love the new icon, Wanna Be A Foster.
I was so surprised by Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore turning comedic after its quasi-serious beginning, and it was hysterical, and just kept getting somehow funnier.
Fantastic play. May be the funniest one on stage in NYC right now. I mean a graveyard humor kind. I can't think of a funnier one playing here...
#15re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 8:38am
Martin McDonagh is probably the funniest playwright working today. I also love the devilish comedy that Tony Kushner infuses his plays with.
Of course, one must also mention the greats: Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, George Bernard Shaw.
Mattbrain
Broadway Legend Joined: 11/23/05
#16re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 8:54amTony Kushner and the guy who wrote Moon Over Buffalo. And Shakespeare's stuff is pretty hilarious.
loverly
Understudy Joined: 8/6/06
#18re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 9:51amI'd have to cast a vote for David Lindsay-Abaire. Both "Fuddy Meers" and "Wonder of the World" made me laugh out loud when I read them. Even the more serious "Rabbit Hole" had its comic moments.
#19re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:20am"Auntie Mame" by Comden & Green. Too bad this show is never revived as a straight play.
MargoChanning
Broadway Legend Joined: 4/5/04
#20re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:25amAuntie Mame was written by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. And yes, it would be great to see it revived sometime, though given the enormous cast, probably only Roundabout (under a LORT contract) could afford to do it. And then, there's the problem of finding an actress who can live up to the incredibly high standard set by Roz Russell, who was pretty much definitive in the role (along with Lansbury who did the musical version).
#21re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:30am
'Man WHo Came To Dinner' and 'You Can't Take It With You' both written by Moss Hart and George Kaufman.
especially with Nathan Lane as Sheridan Whiteside in 'Man Who Came to Dinner'
~Dirty Rotten Scoundrels~
~Curtains~
~A Tale of Two Cities ~
Theatreboy33
Broadway Star Joined: 5/19/03
#23re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:51amI'd have to say McDonough. It's dark and terribly revolting, yet there are so many moments that the jokes are so dark you can't help but laugh.
To Kill A Mockingbird
#24re: Who's the Funniest Playwright?
Posted: 8/17/06 at 10:54amAnother vote for David Linday-Abaire. Love this man's work.
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