David Cale (born David Egleton) is an
English-American
English Americans (historically known as Anglo-Americans) are Americans whose ancestry originates wholly or partly in England.
In the 2020 American Community Survey, 25.21 million self-identified as being of English origin.
The term is distin ...
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays.
Etymology
The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...
,
actor
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...
, and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...
, best known for his
solo performance
A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show or one-woman show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieties, including auto ...
works.
Early life
Cale was born in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
in 1958 or 1959
and grew up in the town of
Luton
Luton () is a town and unitary authority with borough status, in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 census, the Luton built-up area subdivision had a population of 211,228 and its built-up area, including the adjacent towns of Dunstable an ...
,
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire (; abbreviated Beds) is a ceremonial county in the East of England. The county has been administered by three unitary authorities, Borough of Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Borough of Luton, since Bedfordshire County Council wa ...
. He failed out of secondary school.
After an unsuccessful attempt to get by as a rock singer in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
,
he changed his name and moved to
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
in 1979—a decision that, as he later described in his play ''We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time'', was motivated by violent and traumatic experiences in his youth.
His early writing began as song lyrics, which he then began to read at poetry readings, until they developed into monologues.
Previously, his only experience in theater had been as a stagehand.
Playwright and solo performer
In 1986, Cale made his solo stage debut at New York's
PS 122
Performance Space New York, formerly known as Performance Space 122 or P.S. 122, is a non-profitable arts organization founded in 1980 in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan in an abandoned public school building.
Origin
The former eleme ...
with ''The Redthroats'', playing a semi-autobiographical character named Stephen Weird; the play won a
Bessie Award
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...
and was later featured in an HBO special. After touring the play across the country, he brought it to Chicago's
Goodman Theatre
Goodman Theatre is a professional theater company located in Chicago's Loop. A major part of the Chicago theatre scene, it is the city's oldest currently active nonprofit theater organization. Part of its present theater complex occupies the lan ...
, beginning a long association with the Goodman, which has presented many of his stage works and commissioned several of them.
He followed this the next year with ''Smooch Music'', opening at
The Kitchen
The Kitchen is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary avant-garde performance and experimental art institution located at 512 West 19th Street, between Tenth and Eleventh Avenues in the Chelsea neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City. It was founde ...
, featuring a live score by jazz musician
Roy Nathanson
Roy Jay Nathanson (born May 17, 1951) is an American saxophonist, composer, bandleader, actor and teacher. He became the leader and principal composer of the Jazz Passengers, a six piece group that he founded with Curtis Fowlkes in 1987. They have ...
.
Nathanson also composed and performed music for Cale's next play, ''Deep in a Dream of You'', a series of character monologues that Cale described as "the first time I've looked outside myself for material and consciously adopted a point of view other than my own onstage."
Cale premiered ''Deep in a Dream of You'' at the Goodman, where it was nominated for a 1991
Joseph Jefferson Award
The Joseph Jefferson Award, more commonly known informally as the Jeff Award, is given for theatre arts produced in the Chicago area. Founded in 1968, the awards are named in tribute to actor Joseph Jefferson, a 19th-century American theater star ...
for New Work; in New York he performed it at
The Knitting Factory
The Knitting Factory is a nightclub in New York City that features eclectic music and entertainment. After opening in 1987, various other locations were opened in the United States.
The Knitting Factory gave its audience poetry readings, perform ...
, where the ''
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' called it "a significant breakthrough for Mr. Cale" with "surreal imagery that evokes the connection between passion and dreams with a brilliant clarity," and at
The Public Theater
The Public Theater is a New York City arts organization founded as the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954 by Joseph Papp, with the intention of showcasing the works of up-and-coming playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: An American Li ...
, with these two productions collectively winning another
Bessie Award
The New York Dance and Performance Awards, also known as the Bessie Awards, are awarded annually for exceptional achievement by independent dance artists presenting their work in New York City. The broad categories of the awards are: choreography, ...
.
His next collection of character sketches, ''Somebody Else's House'', included pieces that focused on
homosexuality
Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between members of the same sex or gender. As a sexual orientation, homosexuality is "an enduring pattern of emotional, romantic, and/or sexual attractions" to peop ...
more directly than Cale had done before, which he said came from personal experience and an interest in "showing people who don't quite fit in with the mainstream gay and lesbian community," as well as a larger theme of "people who get overlooked, who are isolated, who might fall between the cracks." One sketch, about a London woman who begins an affair with a younger man, became the basis for Cale's play ''Lillian'', premiering at the Goodman in 1997.
''Lillian'' was broadcast on ''
This American Life
''This American Life'' (''TAL'') is an American monthly hour-long radio program produced in collaboration with Chicago Public Media and hosted by Ira Glass. It is broadcast on numerous public radio stations in the United States and internation ...
'', and the 1998 New York production at
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work.
Under the ...
won an
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...
Special Citation. The ''
San Francisco Chronicle
The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and M. H. de Young, Michael H. de ...
'' called Lillian "Cale's richest and most memorable character."
Cale's next two monologue collections, ''Betwixt'' (the first time he performed his own work alongside another actor:
Cara Seymour
Cara Seymour (born 6 January 1964) is a British actress from Essex, England. She has appeared in films such as ''You've Got Mail'', '' American Psycho'', ''Adaptation'', ''Dancer in the Dark'', ''Gangs of New York'', ''Hotel Rwanda'', '' The S ...
) and ''A Likely Story'', premiered in New York in the 2000s. He then returned to the Goodman in 2005 for his first non-monologue production, the
musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
''Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky'', for which he wrote the book and lyrics.
Cale acted the lead role, based on a character he had played in the film ''
The Slaughter Rule
''The Slaughter Rule'' is a 2002 independent film directed by Alex Smith and Andrew J. Smith and starring Ryan Gosling and David Morse. The film, set in contemporary Montana, explores the relationship between a small-town high school football ...
''. ''Floyd and Clea'' was negatively reviewed in Chicago, but in New York it was nominated for an
Outer Critics Circle
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...
Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical.
Long Wharf Theatre
Long Wharf Theatre is a nonprofit institution in New Haven, Connecticut, a pioneer in the not-for-profit regional theatre movement, the originator of several prominent plays, and a venue where many internationally known actors have appeared.
Fou ...
in
New Haven, Connecticut
New Haven is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut. It is located on New Haven Harbor on the northern shore of Long Island Sound in New Haven County, Connecticut and is part of the New York City metropolitan area. With a population of 134,02 ...
commissioned ''The Blue Album'' for its 2006–2007 season as a collaboration between Cale and New York playwright
Dael Orlandersmith
Dael Orlandersmith (born Donna Brown, 1960–) is an American actress, poet and playwright. She is known for her Obie Award-winning ''Beauty's Daughter'' and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, ''Yellowman''.
Early life
Orlandersmith, born ...
, with both of them playing a variety of characters that they each wrote for themselves and Cale also contributing songs.
''Palomino'', about an Irish immigrant working as a
carriage driver
Carriage driving is a form of competitive horse driving in harness in which larger two or four wheeled carriages (sometimes restored antiques) are pulled by a single horse, a pair, tandem or a four-in-hand team. Prince Philip helped to expand ...
in
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
who becomes a
gigolo
A gigolo () is a male escort or social companion who is supported by a person in a continuing relationship, often living in her residence or having to be present at her beck and call.
The term ''gigolo'' usually implies a man who adopts a lifest ...
, opened in 2010 at the
Kansas City Repertory Theatre
Kansas City Repertory Theatre is a professional resident theater company serving the Kansas City metropolitan area, and is the professional theater in residence at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC).
The theatre has had four artistic ...
. Cale had worked as a carriage driver to research a film role.
The play also toured the West Coast, to positive reviews.
This was followed by ''The History of Kisses'', which premiered at
Studio Theatre (Washington, D.C.)
The Studio Theatre is a non-profit theater production company located in the 14th Street corridor of Washington, D.C. It produces contemporary plays in a four-stage complex. Stages include the Metheny, the Mead and Milton, and Stage 4, a black b ...
in 2011.
His solo show ''Fluffing for Beginners'' appeared at
Dixon Place
Dixon Place is a theater organization in New York City dedicated to the development of works-in-progress from a broad range of performers and artists. It exists to serve the creative needs of artists—emerging, mid-career and established—who a ...
in 2017. In the same year, he created ''Harry Clarke''—the story of a
Midwesterner reinventing himself as a British libertine—as a co-production between New York's
Vineyard Theatre
The Vineyard Theatre is an Off-Broadway non-profit theatre company, located at 108 East 15th Street in Manhattan, New York City, near Union Square. Its first production was in 1981. It is best known for its productions of the Tony award-winning ...
and
Audible
Audible may refer to:
* Audible (service), an online audiobook store
* Audible (American football), a tactic used by quarterbacks
* ''Audible'' (film), a short documentary film featuring a deaf high school football player
* Audible finish or rush ...
, with Audible also releasing an
audiobook
An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements.
Spoken audio has been available in sc ...
of the play; both the stage production and the audiobook were performed by
Billy Crudup
William Gaither Crudup (; born July 8, 1968) is an American actor. He is a four-time Tony Award nominee, winning once for his performance in Tom Stoppard's play ''The Coast of Utopia'' in 2007. He has starred in numerous high-profile films, inc ...
, a rare case of Cale writing monologue work for another actor. The audiobook also features Cale performing ''Lillian''. ''Harry Clarke'' won a
Lucille Lortel Award
The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986. They are produced by the League of Off-Broadway Theatre ...
for Outstanding Solo Show.
Cale premiered ''We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time'' at the Goodman in 2018. He described it as his most directly autobiographical work, depicting his childhood in Luton, and said that he had avoided writing about these experiences earlier because "I didn't want people to feel sorry for me."
The ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' wrote that Cale "has been working his whole life toward this one show" and called it "deeply personal, indisputably courageous, frequently shocking and deeply moving".
Also in 2018, Cale and musician Matthew Dean Marsh began performing sketches and songs together at New York's Pangea Restaurant under the title ''More Songs for Charming Strangers'', intending to continue this as a "monthly concert residency."
Other acting work
As a stage actor, when not performing in his own plays, Cale has mostly worked in
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. He appeared in ''Curtains'', which received a 1996 Obie Award for the entire acting ensemble.
Cale's first screen role was in
Woody Allen
Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...
's ''
Radio Days
''Radio Days'' is a 1987 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, who also narrates the story. The film looks back on an American family's life during the Golden Age of Radio using both music and memories to tell the story. ...
'' in 1987.
He has since appeared in more than 20 films, as well as TV roles.
Songwriter
Cale's original songs have been recorded by several musicians including
The Jazz Passengers
The Jazz Passengers are an American jazz group founded in 1987 by saxophonist Roy Nathanson and trombonist Curtis Fowlkes.
The band grew out of a partnership between Nathanson and Fowlkes in 1987, after the two had played with John Lurie's band ...
,
Debbie Harry
Deborah Ann Harry (born Angela Trimble; July 1, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter and actress, best known as the lead vocalist of the band Blondie. Four of her songs with the band reached on the US charts between 1979 and 1981.
Born in ...
, and
Syd Straw
Syd Straw (born 1958) is an American rock singer and songwriter. The daughter of actor Jack Straw (''The Pajama Game''), she began her career singing backup for Pat Benatar, then took her distinct voice to the indie/alternative scene and joined ...
.
Plays
* ''The Redthroats'' (1986, PS 122: New York)
* ''Smooch Music'' (1989, The Kitchen: New York)
* ''Deep in a Dream of You'' (1991, Goodman Theater: Chicago)
* ''Somebody Else's House'' (1993, Goodman Theater: Chicago; presented earlier as a "workshop" at Sushi Performance Art Gallery, San Diego
)
* ''Lillian'' (1997, Goodman Theater: Chicago)
* ''Betwixt'' (2000, Theater at St. Clement's: New York)
* ''A Likely Story'' (2004, Lion Theater: New York)
* ''Floyd and Clea Under the Western Sky'' (2005, Goodman Theater: Chicago)
* ''The Blue Album'', with
Dael Orlandersmith
Dael Orlandersmith (born Donna Brown, 1960–) is an American actress, poet and playwright. She is known for her Obie Award-winning ''Beauty's Daughter'' and the 2002 Pulitzer Prize Finalist in Drama, ''Yellowman''.
Early life
Orlandersmith, born ...
(2007, Long Wharf Theatre: New Haven)
* ''Palomino'' (2010, Kansas City Repertory Theatre)
* ''The History of Kisses'' (2011, Studio Theatre: Washington, D.C.)
* ''Fluffing for Beginners'' (2017, Dixon Place: New York)
* ''Harry Clarke'' (2017, Vineyard Theatre: New York)
* ''We're Only Alive for a Short Amount of Time'' (2018, Goodman Theater: Chicago; 2019, The Public Theater: New York)
Publications
* ''The Redthroats''.
Vintage Books
Vintage Books is a trade paperback publishing imprint of Penguin Random House originally established by Alfred A. Knopf in 1954. The company was purchased by Random House in April 1960, and a British division was set up in 1990. After Random Hous ...
, 1989. . Contains two plays: ''The Redthroats'' and ''Smooch Music''.
* ''Shows''. NoPassport Press, 2016 (available via
Lulu.com
Lulu Press, Inc., doing business under trade name Lulu, is an online print-on-demand, self-publishing, and distribution platform. By 2014, it had issued approximately two million titles.
The company's founder is Red Hat co-founder Bob Young. Lu ...
). . Contains four plays: ''Deep in a Dream of You'', ''Lillian'', ''Palomino'', and ''The History of Kisses''.
* ''Harry Clarke: with Bonus Performance: Lillian'' (audiobook).
Audible Studios
Audible is an American online audiobook and podcast service that allows users to purchase and stream audiobooks and other forms of spoken word content. This content can be purchased individually or under a subscription model where the user receiv ...
, 2018. . ''Harry Clarke'' performed by Billy Crudup, ''Lillian'' performed by David Cale.
References
External links
*
David Cale on MySpaceVideo recording of ''Deep in a Dream of You'' performed at LaMama ETC (without music)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cale, David
English male stage actors
English male dramatists and playwrights
British songwriters
Living people
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
English expatriates in the United States
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century LGBT people