Jordan Allen-Dutton

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Jordan Allen-Dutton (born April 16, 1977) is an American writer, producer, and director. He is best known for co-creating the play The Bomb-itty of Errors and for his writing on the stop-motion television series Robot Chicken . [1]

Contents

Biography

Allen-Dutton was born on April 16, 1977, in Palo Alto, California. [2] [3] [4] He graduated with a B.F.A. from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he studied at the Experimental Theatre Wing. [5] In 2000, he received the inaugural Tisch School of the Arts Award for The Bomb-itty of Errors . [6]

Early career

In 1999, Allen-Dutton co-created and starred in The Bomb-itty of Errors , a so-called “Add-Rap-Tation” of Shakespeare’s Comedy of Errors that mixed hip-hop and Shakespeare. The show debuted Off-Broadway at 45 Bleecker Street and went on to run in London’s West End, Chicago, Los Angeles, Amsterdam, Edinburgh, Dublin, Florida, Philadelphia, and St. Louis, and continues to play internationally. [7] The Bomb-itty of Errors is published by Samuel French.

In 2002, he co-created and starred in the MTV sketch comedy series Scratch & Burn and attended the Sundance Institute’s Screenwriting Lab with a film adaptation of The Bomb-itty of Errors.

Technology and Entrepreneurship

In 2004, Allen-Dutton founded the software company Talking Panda, which created applications for mobile devices. [8] Its talking phrasebook app iLingo was among the first products in the Apple App Store and was featured in Time magazine in November 2008. Talking Panda iLingo was also included in the iPhone App Store on launch day. [9] [10]

Famous Last Nerds and NERDS

Also in 2004, Allen-Dutton formed the company Famous Last Nerds with collaborator Erik Weiner to create their musical comedy NERDS, dramatizing the rise of Bill Gates and Steve Jobs from garage inventors to industry titans. [11] [12] Although its planned Broadway opening was halted, the production persisted through subsequent development and regional stagings. It gained renewed acclaim during a limited run at the Curve Theatre in Leicester in July 2025, where critics praised its wit and energy. [13] It then moved to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2025, where reviewers described it as “a rollicking rap battle” between Jobs and Gates, marking its full-fledged comeback. [14] [15]

Allen-Dutton and Weiner’s video Shawshank In A Minute , directed by John Landis, won JibJab’s Great Sketch Experiment in 2006. [16] The pair also co-wrote comedic songs including “I'm So Straight,” “One Line on the Sopranos,” and “I Google Myself,” produced by Yung Mars. [17]

Television and Film Work

Allen-Dutton has written for and produced television shows including America's Best Dance Crew , Snoop Dogg’s Father Hood (where he co-wrote the pilot episode “Downward Dogg” with Erik Weiner and David Roma [18] ), NBC’s The Sing-Off , the MTV Movie Awards, HBO’s Brave New Voices (as head writer), and Lip Sync Battle . [19]

On Robot Chicken, Allen-Dutton is credited as writer for numerous episodes spanning 2005–2012, including:

He also co-wrote the special Robot Chicken: Star Wars (2007). His work on the series earned three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Animated Program (2008, 2009, 2011). [20]

Recent and Upcoming Work

In 2024, Allen-Dutton was announced as the screenwriter for a forthcoming biopic on fitness icon Richard Simmons, to be produced by Warner Bros. Pictures. [21]

Awards and nominations

Selected filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1999The Bomb-itty of ErrorsCo-creator / PerformerOff-Broadway and international productions
2002Scratch & BurnCo-creator / ActorMTV series
2004Talking PandaFounderDeveloper of iLingo app
2004–2025NERDSCo-writer / ProducerMusical comedy; multiple productions
2005–2012Robot ChickenWriterMultiple episodes; Emmy-nominated
2007Robot Chicken: Star WarsWriterTV special
2007Snoop Dogg’s Father HoodWriterPilot episode “Downward Dogg”
2010Brave New VoicesHead WriterHBO series
2024Richard Simmons BiopicScreenwriterWarner Bros. Pictures

References

  1. ↑ "The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards Nominations". ComingSoon.net. 2008-07-17. Archived from the original on 2012-09-04. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  2. ↑ "A NIGHT OUT WITH: The 'Bomb-itty' Boys; Perchance to Rap". The New York Times. 2000-02-27. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  3. ↑ Walton, Mark (2016-01-15). "Nerds is a stage musical chronicling Steve Jobs vs. Bill Gates". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  4. ↑ Oberhaus, Daniel (2016-01-24). "The Steve Jobs and Bill Gates Musical Is Coming to Broadway". Vice. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  5. ↑ Jones, Kenneth (2006). "Apples & Windows: Bill Gates and Steve Jobs Are Nerds in New Musical". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-11-11.
  6. ↑ "Tisch School Honors Alumni: Inaugural Tisch Award Goes to The Bomb-itty of Errors". Playbill. 2000-04-19. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  7. ↑ Cagle, Jess (2000-02-10). "They're Da Bomb". EW.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-19. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  8. ↑ "Talking Panda – Software Publisher Profile – Download.com". Download.cnet.com. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  9. ↑ "XtremeMac announces Talking Panda iLingo - Language translator for iPod". iLounge.com. 2004-08-31. Archived from the original on 2012-03-07. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  10. ↑ "Bon Voyage: iLingo on iPhone". iPhone Footprint. 2008-07-30. Archived from the original on 2011-07-13. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  11. ↑ "The Fyre Festival of Broadway? How a Bill Gates–Steve Jobs Musical Became a "Trail of Disappointment, Anger and Unpaid Vendors"". The Hollywood Reporter. 2019-04-12. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  12. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2016-03-08). "'NERDS' on Broadway Is Canceled". The New York Times. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  13. ↑ "Review: NERDS, Curve Theatre Studio Leicester". East Midlands Theatre. 2025-07-26. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  14. ↑ "'NERDS' review – Steve Jobs and Bill Gates go toe-to-toe in a rollicking rap battle". The Guardian. 2025-08-12. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  15. ↑ "Nominees Are Announced for Musical Theatre Review's Best Musical Award at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025". Musical Theatre Review. 2025. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  16. ↑ "JibJab Audience Votes Comedy Troupe "Famous Last Nerds" Winner Of Great Sketch Experiment". PRWeb. 2006-11-20. Archived from the original on 2007-01-21. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  17. ↑ Ben Westhoff (2009-01-21). "Rappers with low self-esteem: Bragging about going broke". SF Weekly. Retrieved 2010-12-17.
  18. ↑ "Snoop Dogg's Fatherhood - IMDb" . Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  19. ↑ "Jordan Allen-Dutton – IMDb" . Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  20. ↑ "Jordan Allen-Dutton – Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  21. ↑ "Richard Simmons Biopic To Be Written By Jordan Allen-Dutton". Deadline. 2024-04-24. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  22. ↑ "Tisch School Honors Alumni: Inaugural Tisch Award Goes to The Bomb-itty of Errors". Playbill. 2000-04-19. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  23. ↑ "Jordan Allen-Dutton – Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  24. ↑ "Jordan Allen-Dutton – Awards". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
  25. ↑ "Jordan Allen-Dutton – Awards". IMDb. Retrieved 2025-10-27.
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