James A. Neu (November 18, 1943 – July 19, 2010) was an American playwright who was best known for his quirky, experimental plays, many of which were staged

Off-Off-Broadway Off-off-Broadway theaters are smaller New York City theaters than Broadway and off-Broadway theaters, and usually have fewer than 100 seats. The off-off-Broadway movement began in 1958 as part of a response to perceived commercialism of the prof ...

. Neu was born on November 18, 1943, in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and moved to

Huntington, New York The Town of Huntington is one of ten towns in Suffolk County, New York. Founded in 1653, it is located on the north shore of Long Island in northwestern Suffolk County, with Long Island Sound to its north and Nassau County adjacent to the west. ...

with his family when he was seven years old. He graduated from

State University of New York at Oneonta The State University of New York College at Oneonta, also known as SUNY Oneonta, is a public college in Oneonta, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. History SUNY Oneonta was established in 1889 as the Oneon ...

and was drafted into the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

, where he was stationed in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...

during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

.Weber, Bruce
"Jim Neu, Creator of Wry Plays, Is Dead at 66"
''

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 ...

'', July 21, 2010. Accessed July 21, 2010. As he described in his biography, he was "unlucky enough to be drafted after graduating college, but lucky enough not to be sent to Viet Nam".Biography
JimNeu.com. Accessed July 21, 2010. After completing his military service in 1967 he moved to

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally an im ...

, beginning a "quest for self" that many went through in that period. At a friend's suggestion, he attended a workshop with

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

theatrical director Robert Wilson in 1970. Wilson was looking for actors with no prior theater experience, and Neu became involved with Wilson's work as a performer with the Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds troupe and as a contributor to some of his plays. Neu started a career writing plays of his own, many of which were staged at

Ellen Stewart Ellen Stewart (November 7, 1919 – January 13, 2011) was an American theatre director and producer and the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodm ...

La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, the theatre began in the ...

. Neu would often appear in his own works and was fond of including jazz riffs from

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was based ...

and

Thelonious Monk Thelonious Sphere Monk (, October 10, 1917 – February 17, 1982) was an American jazz pianist and composer. He had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including " 'Round Midnight", "B ...

. Works he staged include his 1995 play ''The Floatones'', ''Mondo Beyondo'' in 1997 and 1999's ''Undercurrent Incorporated''. In a 2001 collaboration with choreographer

Douglas Dunn Douglas Eaglesham Dunn, OBE (born 23 October 1942) is a Scottish poet, academic, and critic. He is Professor of English and Director of St Andrew's Scottish Studies Institute at St Andrew's University. Background Dunn was born in Inchinnan, Re ...

, Neu presented ''Aerobia'', his first dance theater production, which told the story of six characters at a health club of the future where people come to exercise their "sociomuscularity". In what ''

'' called "a brief but engaging torrent of intriguing ideas and dizzying wordplay" that "rewards repeat viewing", his 2008 production of ''Gang of Seven'' directed by frequent collaborator

Keith McDermott Keith McDermott (born September 28, 1953) is an American actor, theater director, and writer. Life and career McDermott was born September 28, 1953, in Houston, Texas, the son of Betty Ray (Rees) and James E. McDermott. McDermott graduated Oh ...

featured seven stage cliche characters who are part of a focus group for an unidentified product interacting with each other using marketing neologisms.Webster, Andy
"No One Talks Media-Speak Like Product Pushers"
''

'', December 17, 2008. Accessed July 21, 2010.

Andrew Horn Andrew Horn (–1328) was a fishmonger of Bridge Street, London, lawyer and legal scholar. Biography He served as Chamberlain of the City of London from 1320 until his death in 1328. Sir William Blackstone's ''Commentaries on the Laws of Engla ...

directed two screenplays he wrote, the feature films ''Doomed Love'' in 1983 and ''The Big Blue'' in 1988. A resident of

Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn Carroll Gardens is a neighborhood in the northwestern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. Taking up around 40 city blocks, it is bounded by Degraw and Warren Streets (north), Hoyt and Smith Streets (east), Ninth Street or the Gowan ...

, Neu died at his home there at age 66 on July 19, 2010, due to

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissue (biology), tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from tran ...

. He was survived by his wife, Carol Mullins.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Neu, Jim 1943 births 2010 deaths American theatre directors Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) Writers from Brooklyn People from Huntington, New York People from the Lower East Side State University of New York at Oneonta alumni United States Army soldiers 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights People from Carroll Gardens, Brooklyn