Comedic Playwrights?

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:26am

Can anyone help me out compiling a list of great comedic PLAYWRIGHTS? (no musical theatre, for once )

I'm having a hard time getting past works by the likes of Neil Simon and David Ives...

Any input?

[etoile]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:31am

Really? I have to question how hard have you really tried?

Have you done a search of: Plays Comedy?

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:35am

Actually, yes I've tried.

My searches keep coming up empty for some reason right now...

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:43am

You obviously aren't working very hard at this...but I'll throw some leads in that will hopefully lead you to others: Shakespeare, Kaufman, Hart, Herb Gardner, Philip Barry.

Akiva

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:43am

No limitations or parameters?

Aristophanes
Shakespeare
Moliere
Feydeau
Wilde
Coward
George S. Kaufman (and Moss Hart et al)
Hecht & MacArthur
Joseph Kesselring
Clare Booth Luce
Philip Barry
Mary Chase (Harvey)
Garson Kanin
Jean Kerr
Murray Schisgal
Alan Ayckbourn
Michael Frayn (Noises Off)
Herb Gardner
Charles Ludlam
Nicky Silver
Wendy Wasserstein
Caryl Churchill (sorta)
Christopher Durang
John Guare
Terrence McNally
Paul Rudnick
Joe Orton
Charles Busch
Douglas Carter Beane
Larry Shue

Updated On: 8/27/04 at 02:43 AM

[etoile]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:44am

Well I would start with one, if not THE most, revered playwright. His works are often broken down into categories like The Comedies of, the Tragedies of, the Historical Plays of, and oh...he's known for his Sonnets too.

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:46am

MArgo, you forgot Shaw.

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:50am

And we all forgot Stoppard.

Akiva

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:55am

wasn't really shootin for Shakespeare..

I don't usually use Shakespeare in an audition, unless I'm auditioning a Shakespeare show.

Thanks for the lists though. These will surely point me in the right direction!

:)

[MargoChanning]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:57am

The problem is most playwrights employ humor on one level or another in their writing -- how much do they have use it to be considered "comedic playwrights." In the case of both Stoppard and Shaw, I find it reductive to describe them as just "comedic" playwrights -- yeah they can be very funny, but they're so much MORE than that. Personally, I think Beckett, Ionesco, and Albee can be quite hysterical, but would you call any of them just "comedic playwrights?"

Updated On: 8/27/04 at 02:57 AM

[Christopher_Acts]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 3:04am

This is why we love Margo..

[Link Larkin Wanabe]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 3:18am

Margo,

I would consider all those mentioned as comedic writers. I think that comedy can be so much more than what is nowadays considered as such. These playwrights took the comedy to the next level by discussing serious issues with a satirical, lighthearted look at life. I find the greatest comedies to be the ones you don't instantly think to be comedies.

Akiva

[StickToPriest]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 3:27am

Correct. Charles Dickens was one of the greatest writers of comedy in English literature. Yet, when you think of him, you don't immediately think 'comedic'.

[MusicalDirector109]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 9:56am

Neil Simon.-Sorry I didn't read the first post!! Updated On: 8/27/04 at 09:56 AM

[lildogs]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 10:32am

don't forget woody allen!

also david lindsay aubaire, craig lucas, john patrick shanley, harvey fierstein, and paula vogel

[CurtainUp]

Posted: 8/27/04 at 2:52pm

Christopher Durang is fabulous

[jwheeler2]

Posted: 10/30/09 at 12:53pm

Rude.

[Kad]

Posted: 10/30/09 at 3:14pm

I'd include Martin McDonagh on that list.

[Weez]

Posted: 10/30/09 at 6:41pm

I'd wonder why jwheeler decided to bump such an elderly thread.