Theresa Rebeck

Theresa Rebeck
Born	(1958-02-19) February 19, 1958 (age 66) Kenwood, Ohio, U.S.
Education	University of Notre Dame (BA) Brandeis University (MA, MFA, PhD)
Occupations	Playwright writer novelist
Spouse	Jess Lynn
Children	2

Theresa Rebeck (born February 19, 1958) ^[1] is an American playwright, television writer, and novelist. Her work has appeared on the Broadway and Off-Broadway stage, in film, and on television. Among her awards are the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award. In 2012, she received the Athena Film Festival Award for Excellence as a Playwright and Author of Films, Books, and Television. ^[2] She is a 2009 recipient of the Alex Awards. Her works have influenced American playwrights by bringing a feminist edge in her old works.

Early life and education

Rebeck was born in Kenwood, Ohio, and graduated from Cincinnati's Ursuline Academy in 1976. ^{[3] [4]} She earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Notre Dame in 1980, ^[5] and followed that with three degrees from Brandeis University: an MA in English 1983, a MFA in Playwriting in 1986, and a PhD in Victorian era melodrama, awarded in 1989. ^[6]

Career

Past New York productions of her work include Mauritius on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre in a Manhattan Theater Club production; The Scene, The Water's Edge, Loose Knit, The Family of Mann and Spike Heels at Second Stage Theatre; Bad Dates and The Butterfly Collection at Playwrights Horizons; and View of the Dome at New York Theatre Workshop. Omnium Gatherum (co-written, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 2003) was featured at the Humana Festival, and had a commercial run at the Variety Arts Theatre in 2003. ^[7] Her play The Understudy, premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in the summer of 2008, with a cast including Reg Rogers, Bradley Cooper and Kristen Johnson, and ran in New York at the Roundabout Theatre from October 2009 – January 2010, featuring Julie White, Justin Kirk, and Mark-Paul Gosselaar in the cast. ^[8] The off-Broadway and regional theatre hit comedy premiered in 2015 at Artists Repertory Theatre in Portland. ^[9] Rebeck was attached as a book writer for the new musical Ever After, based on the Drew Barrymore movie of the same name. ^[10] That show was expected to start pre-Broadway tryouts in San Francisco in April 2009, but was postponed. Her play, Mauritius , ran at the Pasadena Playhouse in California from March 27 through April 26, 2009. ^[11]

Her play Seminar played on Broadway starting in October 2011, and starred Alan Rickman. ^[12] In May 2014 Seminar premiered in San Francisco at San Francisco Playhouse receiving outstanding reviews. ^[13] Her play Fool premiered at the Alley Theatre, Houston, Texas, in February 2014. ^[14] The theme of the play Seminar was women empowerment through sexuality and the struggles of what it is to be a female in an industry dominated by men.

Her play Poor Behavior opened Off-Broadway at Primary Stages in August 2014. The play premiered at the Mark Taper Forum in 2011. ^[15]

In an article in The New York Times in September 2007, she said that her plays were about "betrayal and treason and poor behavior. A lot of poor behavior." ^[16] Rebeck's other publications include Free Fire Zone, a book of comedic essays about writing and show business. She has written for American Theatre magazine and has had excerpts of her plays published in the Harvard Review . Rebeck's first novel, Three Girls and Their Brother, was published in 2008 by Random House/Shaye Areheart Books.

She has received awards including the Mystery Writers of America's Edgar Award, the Writers Guild of America Award for Episodic Drama, the Hispanic Images Imagen Award, and the Peabody Award, all for her work on NYPD Blue . She has won the National Theatre Conference Award (for The Family of Mann), and was awarded the William Inge New Voices Playwriting Award in 2003 for The Bells. Mauritius was originally produced at Boston's Huntington Theatre, where it received the 2007 IRNE Award for Best New Play as well as the Elliot Norton Award. In 2010, Rebeck was honored with the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award for an American playwright in mid-career.

In television, Rebeck has written for Dream On , Brooklyn Bridge , L.A. Law , American Dreamer , Maximum Bob , First Wave , and Third Watch . She has been a writer/producer for Canterbury's Law, Smith, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and NYPD Blue . Through March 2012 she was one of the executive producers for the NBC musical series Smash , which she created, and which also debuted on February 6, 2012. Her produced feature film screenplays include Harriet the Spy , Gossip, and the independent feature Sunday on the Rocks.

Academic

Rebeck is Distinguished Professor of Playwriting and holds the Lyndall Finley Wortham Chair in the Performing Arts at the University of Houston.

Rebeck is a board member of The Dramatists Guild and the Lark Play Development Center in New York City, and has taught at Brandeis University and Columbia University. From 2014 through 2023 she was a Distinguished Professor of Playwriting and the Lyndall Finley Wortham Chair in the Performing Arts in the McGovern College of the Arts at the University of Houston. ^[17]

Personal life

Rebeck is married, residing with her husband, Jess Lynn, and two children, Cooper and Cleo in Park Slope, Brooklyn. Three Girls and their Brother is dedicated to both Cooper and Cleo. ^[16]

Works

Theatre

Her other work as a playwright includes:

Year	Title	Venue	Ref.
2007	Mauritius	Biltmore Theatre, Broadway	[18]
2007	The Understudy	Williamstown Theatre Festival; World Premiere	[19]
2011	O Beautiful	University of Delaware	[20]
2011	Poor Behavior	Mark Taper Forum; World Premiere	[21]
2011	What We're Up Against	Magic Theatre, San Francisco	[21]
2011	Seminar	John Golden Theatre, Broadway	[22]
2012	Dead Accounts	Music Box Theatre, Broadway	[23]
2016	The Nest	Denver Center Theatre Company	[24]
2016	Seared	San Francisco Playhouse; World Premiere	[25]
2018	Bernhardt/Hamlet	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway	[26]
2019	Dig	Dorset Playhouse; World Premiere	[21]
2022	Mad House	Ambassadors Theatre, West End	[27]
2023	I Need That	American Airlines Theatre, Broadway	[28]

Television

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes	Ref.
1990–1991	American Dreamer	No	Yes	No		[29]
1992–1994	L.A. Law	No	Yes	No	2 episodes	[29]
1991–1992	Dream On	No	Yes	No	4 episodes	[29]
1991–1992	Brooklyn Bridge	No	Yes	No	2 episodes	[29]
1997	Total Security	No	Yes	No	Also Creator; 2 episodes	[29]
1998	Maximum Bob	No	Yes	Executive	Episode: "Bay of Big's"	[29]
2000	Third Watch	No	Yes	No	Episode: "Demolition Derby"	[29]
2001–2003	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	No	Yes	Executive	41 episodes	[29]
2007–2008	Law & Order: Criminal Mind	No	Yes	Yes	4 episodes	[29]
2007	Smith	No	Yes	Consulting	Episode: "Six"	[29]
2008	Canterbury's Law	No	Yes	Executive	5 episodes	[29]
2012–2013	Smash	No	Yes	Executive	Also Creator; 32 episodes	[30]
2013	Copper	No	Yes	No	Episode: "Think Gently of the Erring"	[29]
2014	The Divide	No	Yes	No	Episode: "I Can't Go Back"	[29]
2015	Hand of God	No	Yes	No	Episode: "A Flower That Bees Prefer"	[29]
2016	Of Kings and Prophets	No	Yes	No	2 episodes	[29]
2018	The Russian Cousin	Yes	No	No	Television Movie	[29]
2020	For the Record	Yes	No	No	Episode: "Autumn Elegy"	[29]

Film

Year	Title	Director	Writer	Producer	Notes	Ref.
1995	Harriet the Spy	No	Yes	No		[29]
2000	Gossip	No	Yes	No		[29]
2004	Catwoman	No	Yes	No	Story by	[31]
2004	Sunday on the Rocks	No	Yes	No		[29]
2010	Seducing Charlie Barker	No	Yes	No	Based on her play The Scene	[32]
2016	Poor Behavior	Yes	Yes	No		[29]
2016	Walk	No	Yes	No	Short film	[29]
2017	Trouble	Yes	Yes	Yes		[29]
2019	Date	No	Yes	Yes	Short film	[29]
2022	Spike Heels	No	Yes	No	Short film	[29]
2022	The 355	No	Yes	No		[33]
2022	Glimpse	Yes	Yes	No		[29]
2024	Eco Village	No	No	Yes		[29]

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Project	Result	Ref.
1996	Edgar Award	Best Television Episode	NYPD Blue (episode: "Torah! Torah! Torah!")	Won
1996	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Drama Series	NYPD Blue (season three)	Nominated	[34]
1997			NYPD Blue (season four)	Nominated	[35]
1997	Writers Guild of America	Episodic Drama	NYPD Blue (episode: "Girl Talk")	Won	[36]
2005	Razzie Award	Worst Screenplay	Catwoman	Won	[37]

Bibliography

Fiction

• I'm Glad About You (2016)
• Twelve Rooms with a View (2011)
• Three Girls and Their Brother: A Novel by Theresa Rebeck (2009)

Non-fiction

• "Free Fire Zone: A Playwright's Adventures on the Creative Battlefields of Film, TV, and Theater" (2007)

Volumes

• Rebeck, Theresa (1999), Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume I, 1989 – 1998 (1st ed.), Smith & Kraus, ISBN   1-57525-172-8
• Rebeck, Theresa (2007), Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume II 1999 - 2007 (1st ed.), Smith & Kraus, ISBN   978-1-57525-444-9
• Rebeck, Theresa (2007), Theresa Rebeck: Complete Plays Volume III Short Plays 1989 - 2005 (1st ed.), Smith & Kraus, ISBN   978-1-57525-447-0

References

1. "Theresa Rebeck | Writer, Producer, Director". IMDb .
2. The Athena Film Festival: http://athenafilmfestival.com/
3. Kiesewetter, John. title = Kenwood native delves into criminal mind on Law & Order. Cincinnati Enquirer . November 18, 2001.
4. "The Women of the Years". Ursuline Academy. Theresa Rebeck '76
5. FTT Talks presents Theresa RebeckAuthor, playwright, and screenwriter“Writing for the Stage, Screen and Page Archived July 8, 2012, at archive.today . University of Notre Dame Film, television, and Theatre Department. September 18, 2008. "ND '80".
6. "Class Notes: 1980s". Brandeis Magazine. Brandeis University. Summer 2011. Theresa Rebeck, M.A.'83, M.F.A.'86, Ph.D.'89
7. Brantley, Ben."Theater Review; A Feisty Feast Of Wicked Wit". The New York Times. September 26, 2003.
8. Laura Pels Theatre. Roundabout Theatre Company.
9. Artists Repertory Theatre.
10. "Kathleen Marshall Will Direct Broadway Debut of 'Ever After' Based On 1998 Cinderella Film" Archived January 4, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com
11. McNulty, Charles. "Review: 'Mauritius' at Pasadena Playhouse". Los Angeles Times. April 5, 2009.
12. Jones, Kenneth. Broadway's Seminar, Starring Alan Rickman, Available in Presale Sept. 6–16; General Sale Starts Sept. 17" Archived September 28, 2011, at the Wayback Machine . Playbill.com, September 6, 2011.
13. "San Francisco Playhouse" . Retrieved June 22, 2020.
14. Hetrick, Adam. "Theresa Rebeck's 'Fool' Opens at the Alley Theatre Feb. 26" Archived March 2, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, February 26, 2014
15. Hetrick, Adam."Ethics and Infidelity: Theresa Rebeck Comedy Poor Behavior Opens Off-Broadway Tonight" Archived August 19, 2014, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, August 17, 2014
16. Simonson, Robert. "An Acute Interest in Bad Behavior". The New York Times. September 23, 2007.
17. Acclaimed Playwright Theresa Rebeck Joining UH School of Theatre & Dance by Mike Emery. University of Houston News & Events, June 2, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2014.
18. Archived March 21, 2008, at the Wayback Machine pasadenaplayhouse.org
19. "Review: The Understudy". Time Out Boston. n.d. Retrieved January 22, 2014.
20. Healy, Patrick. Staging the Politics of Abortion. The New York Times. April 13, 2011.
21. "Theresa Rebeck". Abouttheartist. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
22. "Seminar (Broadway, 2011)". Playbill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
23. Hetrick, Adam."Katie Holmes to Return to Broadway in Theresa Rebeck's 'Dead Accounts' This Fall" Archived December 30, 2012, at the Wayback Machine playbill.com, July 19, 2012
24. Denver center.org, January 7, 2016
25. "Seared | World Premiere at San Francisco Playhouse" sfplayhouse.org, August 19, 2016
26. Bernhardt/Hamlet ibdb.com
27. "World Première - Mad House - Stars announced!". London Box Office. n.d. Retrieved March 17, 2022.
28. "I Need That". Playbill. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
29. "Theresa Rebeck". IMDB. Retrieved May 15, 2024./
30. "Read Smash creator's essay about being fired from her own show". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
31. "Catwoman Movie Still Alive and Purring?". IGN. February 5, 2001. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
32. "Seducing Charlie Barker". Village Voice. December 7, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
33. "How 'The 355' Rewrites Spy Tropes for Female-Fronted Action Thriller". The Hollywood Reporter . January 12, 2022. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
34. "48th Primetime Emmy Awards". Television Academy. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
35. "49th Primetime Emmy Awards". Television Academy. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
36. "DIANA 'THRILLED' TO MEET MANDELA IN SOUTH AFRICA". Sun-Sentinel. March 18, 1997. Retrieved May 15, 2024.
37. "DC's Lowest Rated Movie Ever Celebrated By Star 19 Years After Notorious Razzies Win". ScreenRant. February 27, 2024. Retrieved May 15, 2024.

External links

• Official website
• Theresa Rebeck at IMDb
• Theresa Rebeck at the Internet Broadway Database
• Who's Who entry from Playbill
• Channeling Theatre: A Chat with Theresa Rebeck, a January 2004 Playbill article
• Her Notre Dame study theatre work in the late 1970s ^{[ permanent dead link ]}, from the university's website
• Theresa Rebeck at Random House
• Theresa Rebeck: "I Am a Populist", an L Magazine article from December 11, 2009