Playwright Joseph Robinette Dies at 86

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report that Joseph Robinette, Tony-nominated playwright, died on April 24, 2025 at age 86. According to his obituary on Legacy.com, he suffered from a long battle with dementia.

Robinette is a Tony Award nominee and Drama Desk Award nominee for the libretto of the acclaimed A Christmas Story, The Musical. He is the author or co-author of 55 published plays and musicals. Twelve of his works have been translated into foreign languages, and another five have been anthologized.

Robinette collaborated with E.B. White on the authorized stage version of Charlotte’s Web, and he wrote the musical version with Charles Strouse (Annie and Bye, Bye, Birdie).

Other dramatizations include The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Anne of Green Gables and Debbie Macomber's A Gift to Remember and The Inn at Rose Harbor. He is the recipient of the AATE Distinguished Play Award for Sarah, Plain and Tall and the Children's Theatre Foundation of America medallion for his "body of dramatic works for family audiences in the United States and beyond."