Playwright. Author. Librettist. Producer. Teacher. Any one of these roles is a full-time job, but LYNN NOTTAGE does them all—simultaneously.
Raised in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Boerum Hill by a school teacher and social worker/psychologist, Nottage showed early signs of talent. While still in high school, she wrote her first full-length play. In college, she learned that through playwrighting, “We [can] explore issues. We [can] find our history.” Today, she is recognized for well-researched works addressing social issues in a myriad of eras and settings.
Nottage is one of the most produced playwrights in contemporary America: her play, Intimate Apparel, is one of the most produced plays in America. In fact, she has written ten plays to date. She writes books to accompany Broadway musicals, such as The Secret Life of Bees, based on Sue Monk Kidd’s novel of the same name. She is the librettist for MJ: The Musical, about the life of Michael Jackson.
Among the many reasons Nottage should be celebrated: she’s won two Drama Critic awards and three Obies (among numerous other awards); Time magazine’s 2019 list: 100 Most Influential People; and the only woman to win two Pulitzers for drama (only the second person of color to have this distinction). In 2022, she became the only person to have a musical (MJ: The Musical), a play (Clyde’s), and an opera (Intimate Apparel) on a New York stage simultaneously! And before you ask—yes, she adapted this opera from her play.
Go read Lynn Nottage, see a performance if you can, and if you want to start a Lynn Nottage Reading Club, I’ll gladly join.
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