tracker
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Home For You Chat My Shows (beta) Register/Login Games Grosses
Paula Vogel Headshot

Paula Vogel

Get Paula Vogel Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

BIO

Paula Vogel is Playwright in Residence at Yale Repertory Theatre. Indecent was commissioned by Oregon Shakespeare Festival's American Revolutions and Yale Repertory Theatre in close collaboration with director Rebecca Taichman, and co-produced by La Jolla Playhouse. Indecent was developed at the Sundance Theatre Lab in 2013 and has been produced at Yale Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse and the Vineyard Theatre. Her play How I Learned To Drive received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Lortel Prize, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, and New York Drama Critics Awards for Best Play, as well as her second Obie Award. Other plays include Don Juan Comes Home From Iraq, The Long Christmas Ride Home, The Mineola Twins, The Baltimore Waltz, Hot 'N' Throbbing, Desdemona, And Baby Makes Seven, The Oldest Profession, and A Civil War Christmas. In 2004-05, she was the playwright in residence at New York's Signature Theatre. TCG has published four books of her work: "The Mammary Plays," "The Baltimore Waltz and Other Plays," "The Long Christmas Ride Home," and "A Civil War Christmas." Most recent awards include the Theatre Hall of Fame, Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dramatists Guild, and the 2015 Thornton Wilder Award. She is honored to have two awards to emerging playwrights named after her: the Paula Vogel Award, created by the American College Theatre Festival in 2003, and the Paula Vogel Playwriting Award, given annually by the Vineyard Theatre since 2007. Ms. Vogel won the 2004 Award for Literature from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the Obie for Best Play in 1992, the Rhode Island Pell Award in the Arts, the Hull-Warriner Award, The Laura Pels Award, the Pew Charitable Trust Senior Award, a Guggenheim, an AT&T New Plays Award, the Fund for New American Plays, the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center Fellowship, several National Endowment for the Arts Fellowships, the McKnight Fellowship, and the Bunting Fellowship from Radcliffe College. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. She was recently awarded a Thirtini from 13P in New York. She has been a fellow at the MacDowell Colony, the Double UCross Colony, as well as Yaddo. She has taught for 24 years at Brown University and for five years at Yale School of Drama where she was the Eugene O'Neill Professor of Playwriting. She is honored by Philadelphia Young Playwrights and Quiara Hudes, who is curating the Paula Vogel Mentors Project.

Photos

Productions

 
[Broadway, 2022]
Writer

Writing

Playwright
Playwright
Playwright
Playwright
Author

Awards and Nominations

Drama Desk Awards - 2024 - Outstanding Play

Paula Vogel, Mother Play

Outer Critics Circle Awards - 2024 - Outstanding New Broadway Play

Paula Vogel, Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions

Tony Awards - 2024 - Best Play

Paula Vogel, Mother Play


winner
- 2017 - Legend of Off-Broadway Honorees

Paula Vogel

Drama Desk Awards - 2017 - Outstanding Play

Paula Vogel, Indecent


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 2017 - Special Citation

Paula Vogel


winner
Obie Awards - 2017 - Lifetime Achievement

Paula Vogel

The Lortels - 2017 - Outstanding Play

Paula Vogel, Indecent

Tony Awards - 2017 - Best Play

Paula Vogel, Indecent


winner
The Pulitzer Prize - 1998 - The Pulitzer Prize for Drama

Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive


winner
Drama Desk Awards - 1997 - Outstanding New Play

Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive


winner
New York Drama Critics Circle Awards - 1997 - Best Play

Paula Vogel, How I Learned to Drive

Videos

News


Straphanger Theater Ensemble To Present HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE At Westbury Arts
by A.A. Cristi - Nov 26, 2025

Straphanger Theater Ensemble will present Paula Vogel's HOW I LEARNED TO DRIVE this December at Westbury Arts. Directed by Tarmo Kirsimae, the production will feature Michele Brisco as Li’l Bit and John Torres as Uncle Peck.
Bess Wohl, Jen Silverman and More Named as Finalists for The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 24, 2025

The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize has revealed this year's finalists for the prestigious international playwriting award- the largest and oldest award recognising women+ writers for plays of outstanding quality written for the English-speaking theatre. 
Review: THE MOTHER PLAY: A PLAY IN FIVE EVICTIONS at Studio Theatre
by David Friscic - Nov 19, 2025

The autobiographical world of playwright Paula Vogel comes alive in the illuminating and fragilely evocative “tone poem” of a play entitled The Mother Play at the Studio Theatre. This very moving and occasionally caustic play explores all the hard issues of life in a family—such as death, illness, financial problems and –above all—the dislocation that occurs from constant moving to new locations. (Indeed, the subtitle of the play is “ A Play in Five Evictions”). The Herman family is composed of a very peripatetic mother who has survived the onslaught of a divorce and unwanted children, but she passes so much rage onto her two children, and she drowns herself in martinis.
ArtsFairfax Funds 13 Local Organizations Through Project Support Grants
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 14, 2025

As part of the nonprofit's funding opportunities, ArtsFairfax awarded $160,000 in Project Support Grants to 13 local arts organizations to encourage wider participation in the arts through unique cultural programming.
Hudson Valley Shakespeare to Celebrate 10th Anniversary Community Bake-Off with Six New Plays
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Nov 5, 2025

Hudson Valley Shakespeare has revealed the six plays selected for their 10th annual Community Bake-Off, following the theme of “Wired for Connection.”
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld November 3, 2025- PUNCH Closes on Broadway and More
by - Nov 3, 2025

Wake up to all the latest buzz from the theatre world! Last night, the starry new play Little Bear Ridge Road opened on Broadway with Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock taking the stage—get an inside look at the celebration and check out photos from the curtain call.
Ro Reddick, Keenan Tyler Oliphant and Ato Blankson-Wood to Receive Vineyard Theatre Awards
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 31, 2025

Vineyard Theatre has revealed the recipients of the 2025-2026 Paula Vogel Playwriting Award and Colman Domingo Award and the 2025-2027 Susan Stroman Directing Award.
The History of Feminist Plays That Came Before LIBERATION
by Jennifer Ashley Tepper - Oct 28, 2025

As the fight for women to have equal rights and opportunities has evolved, so has the presence of plays telling these stories. When I wrote my book, Women Writing Musicals: The Legacy that the History Books Left Out, the first-ever book about female musical theatre writers, I researched many musicals that are in this genre as well.
Center Theatre Group Reveals 2025/26 LA Writers' Workshop and LA Artist Residencies
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Oct 24, 2025

Center Theatre Group is offering a slate of artistic programming that helps identify and support the next generation of great plays and playwrights. Learn more!
3Arts Commits Over $1M In Unrestricted Grants to Over 100 Artists
by Stephi Wild - Oct 9, 2025

3Arts has announced the 17 recipients of this year's 3Arts Awards. The organization will honor the new recipients next month at the Harris Theater for Music and Dance
Harold Clurman Lab Theater and Karakuva to Present Staged Reading of ROAR OF THE GRAIN
by A.A. Cristi - Oct 8, 2025

The Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company, in association with Karakuva Productions, will present a stage reading of Roar of the Grain, a new play by Satu inspired by true events during the Winter War between Finland and the USSR.
PALM SPRINGS YOUNG PLAYWRIGHT’S FESTIVAL Announces Call for Submissions
by Kay Kudukis - Oct 8, 2025

The Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival (PSYPF), which promotes and encourages theatrical creative writing among elementary, middle, and high school students within Riverside County, has announced that it is now accepting submissions for the 9th Annual Palm Springs Young Playwrights Festival.
Terrence McNally New Works Incubator Now Accepting Applications For Cycle Four
by Stephi Wild - Sep 26, 2025

Rattlestick Theater, the Terrence McNally Foundation, and Tom Kirdahy Productions have announced the opening of submissions for Cycle 4 of the Terrence McNally New Works Incubator.
Dave Malloy to Participate in Hudson Valley Shakespeare's COMMUNITY BAKE-OFF
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 19, 2025

Hudson Valley Shakespeare wisll present their 10th annual Community Bake-Off, following the theme of “Wired for Connection,” with ingredients selected by Obie Award winner and Tony Award nominee Dave Malloy.
Wake Up With BroadwayWorld September 11, 2025
by - Sep 11, 2025

Rise and shine, BroadwayWorld! It is September 11, 2025 and it's time to catch up on all of the theatrical happenings you may have missed in the last 24 hours.
Photos: Paula Vogel's INDECENT at Center REP First Look
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 10, 2025

You can now get a first look at photos from Paula Vogel’s Tony Award-winning play, INDECENT, performing at the Lesher Center for the Arts. Learn more here!
Review: MOTHER PLAY by Paula Vogel at Q Theatre, Auckland
by Glenda Pearce - Sep 6, 2025

Great drama has rich emotional audience connection. Paula Vogel’s superb script has been described as a modern American classic. It is lean and economical, ensuring that every line, every description, every character development moves the story forward – and respects the audience’s imagination and ability to infer the subtext.
Interview: Playwright Lauren M. Gunderson and I AND YOU: THE MUSICAL at McCarter Theater
by Marina Kennedy - Sep 5, 2025

McCarter Theatre Center has announced the all-woman creative team behind the highly anticipated world premiere of I & You: The Musical. It is inspired by Lauren Gunderson’s internationally acclaimed play by the same name. 
MOTHER MARY Comes to Boston Playwrights' Theatre
by Stephi Wild - Sep 5, 2025

Boston Playwrights' Theatre (BPT) will continue its 2025-26 season with Mother Mary by KJ Moran Velz, running October 9-26. Learn more about the production here!
Vineyard Theatre Artistic Director Douglas Aibel to Step Down
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 3, 2025

Douglas Aibel will step down as Artistic Director of Vineyard Theatre, a position he has held since 1985, and in partnership with Sarah Stern since 2011. Learn more!

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

How many shows has Paula Vogel written?

Paula Vogel has written 11 shows including The Baltimore Waltz (Playwright), And Baby Makes Seven (Playwright), Desdemona (Playwright), How I Learned to Drive (Playwright), The Mineola Twins (Playwright), The Long Christmas Ride Home (Playwright), The Oldest Profession (Playwright), Hot 'n' Throbbing (Playwright), Indecent (Author), Pride Plays (Author), Mother Play (Playwright).

What awards has Paula Vogel been nominated for?

Outstanding Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Mother Play, Outstanding New Broadway Play (Outer Critics Circle Awards) for Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions, Best Play (Tony Awards) for Mother Play, Legend of Off-Broadway Honorees (), Outstanding Play (Drama Desk Awards) for Indecent, Special Citation (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for , Lifetime Achievement (Obie Awards), Outstanding Play (The Lortels) for Indecent, Best Play (Tony Awards) for Indecent, The Pulitzer Prize for Drama (The Pulitzer Prize) for How I Learned to Drive, Outstanding New Play (Drama Desk Awards) for How I Learned to Drive and Best Play (New York Drama Critics Circle Awards) for How I Learned to Drive.

What awards has Paula Vogel won?

Paula Vogel has received several prestigious awards throughout her career. She was honored as a Legend of Off-Broadway Honoree. She received a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards. Vogel was also recognized with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the Obie Awards. She won The Pulitzer Prize for Drama for How I Learned to Drive. Additionally, she earned the Outstanding New Play award from the Drama Desk Awards and Best Play from the New York Drama Critics Circle Awards, both for How I Learned to Drive.

Get Paula Vogel Email Alerts

Be the first to get news, photos, videos & more.

Videos