Elizabeth S. "Lisa" Kron (born May 20, 1961) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), 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 ...
and
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 ...
. She is best known for writing the lyrics and book to the musical ''
Fun Home
''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 Graphic novel, graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, Uni ...
'' for which she won both the
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
and the
Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...
. ''Fun Home'' was also awarded the
Tony Award for Best Musical
The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical play, musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The awa ...
in 2015 and the 2014
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 ...
for writing for musical theater.
Early life
Kron was born in
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County, Michigan, Washtenaw County. The 2020 United States census, 2020 census recorded its population to be 123,851. It is the principal city of the Ann Arbor ...
. She jokes in one of her plays that her life began on her parents' trip to Europe: "I was conceived in Venice, you know. (Well, not actually in Venice, but in the nearby town of Mestra where hotels are a lot cheaper.)"
Her mother is Ann Kron, born in 1932. Ann is a former antiques dealer and community activist. In the 1960s she founded the Westside Neighborhood Organization in
Lansing, Michigan
Lansing () is the capital of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is mostly in Ingham County, although portions of the city extend west into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. The 2020 census placed the city's population at 112,644, making ...
. In a time when neighborhood segregation was the norm, the WNO helped to bring people from diverse racial and socioeconomic backgrounds together. Ann
converted to
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in the ...
when she married Lisa's father.
Her father is Walter Kron, a retired lawyer born in Germany in 1922. He was born to a
Jewish
Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
family, and is a
Holocaust
The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...
survivor. In 1937 as the
Nazi
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in ...
persecution of the Jews escalated, his parents sent him out of Germany via the
Kindertransport
The ''Kindertransport'' (German for "children's transport") was an organised rescue effort of children (but not their parents) from Nazi-controlled territory that took place during the nine months prior to the outbreak of the Second World ...
program. He went back to Germany after
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, serving as a US army interrogator of Nazi war criminals. In the 1990s Kron and her father visited Auschwitz, where he believed his parents were murdered by the Nazis in the 1940s. She later found out that her father's parents were actually killed in
Chelmno.
Her brother is David Kron, born in 1963. He is a sound engineer and is married with a son. He says of his sister: "She is very funny, with a very sharp wit...And she always had her own way of looking at things."
In her play ''Well'' Kron says that she felt like an outsider even in her own family because she, her parents and her brother David were the only Jews. Her maternal family is
Christian
Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...
and none of her Jewish paternal family survived the Holocaust. Her play ''2.5 Minute Ride'' describes this contradiction as she recalls her mother asking her to come home for the holidays:
"...she asks me every year, 'Are you going to make it home for Christmas this year?' And I say ' I don't come home for Christmas Mom. I have never come home for Christmas. We are not Christians. Stop trying to trick me!"
Kron's family moved to Lansing, Michigan in 1965. One of the main story lines in her play ''Well'' recounts her experiences attending a predominantly African American elementary school in that city. Kron's parents sent her to the school in an effort to help integrate it. Lansing began mandatory racial integration in its schools three years later.
Kron became interested in theatre at an early age. She traces her acting roots to the
Purim
Purim (; , ; see Name below) is a Jewish holiday which commemorates the saving of the Jews, Jewish people from Haman, an official of the Achaemenid Empire who was planning to have all of Persia's Jewish subjects killed, as recounted in the Boo ...
plays that she performed as a child at her
synagogue
A synagogue, ', 'house of assembly', or ', "house of prayer"; Yiddish: ''shul'', Ladino: or ' (from synagogue); or ', "community". sometimes referred to as shul, and interchangeably used with the word temple, is a Jewish house of worshi ...
in Lansing. In junior high she was determined to be the funniest girl that people knew. "Her avenue for that was telling humorous stories, something that everyone in her family did…"
[Miller]
She graduated from
Everett High School as a valedictorian in 1979. In her senior year she attended special theater classes at Lansing School District's Academic Interest Center. An early mentor was her theater teacher at the Center, the late Robert L. Burpee.
She attended
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...
, where she majored in theatre. At Kalamazoo College theater professor Lowry Marshall mentored her and helped her land a role with a national touring theater company.
She furthered her studies at Chautauqua Professional Actors Studio and the British European Studies Group 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 ...
.
Major works
Kron's major works to date are ''2.5 Minute Ride'',
''Well'', and
''Fun Home''. The first two are critically acclaimed autobiographical plays, and the third a critically acclaimed biographical musical. ''2.5 Minute Ride'' blends a trip she took with her father Walter to
Auschwitz
Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in occupied Poland (in a portion annexed into Germany in 1939) during World War II and the Holocaust. It con ...
, the scene of his parents' extermination by the
Nazis
Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Na ...
and her family's annual trip to an amusement park in Ohio. Kron says in the introduction to her play: "Humor and horror are juxtaposed and you might not know for a second whether you are at Auschwitz or at the amusement park. The show does not tell you when to laugh and when to be solemn. The response is up to you."
The play recounts her father's remarkable experiences: "When my father… heard that his parents had been sent to Auschwitz, he immediately tried to order a ham sandwich, to distance himself from Judaism. But he couldn't. He'd say to the waitress, 'Um . . . tuna fish.' " Kron also reflects on looking at a poem on exhibit during their trip to Auschwitz: "I repeat the words that have undone me. 'People burn people here.'" One of the most memorable scenes in the play is when her father tells her about the death of her grandparents at Auschwitz:
"...I don't think I accepted it until a few years ago, in Lansing. It was the winter and it was so cold and I was shivering…And I realized this would only happen to them once. They were old and they stood outside, lined up in the cold and they were of no use to anyone and they were killed..."
''Well'' explores her mother Ann's experiences with social activism and illness, The play uses physical illness as a metaphor for social "illnesses" such as racism. Kron's description of ''Well'': "A multicharacter theatrical exploration of issues of health and illness both in the individual and in a community." Kron describes her mother:
"My mother is a fantastically energetic person trapped in an utterly exhausted body…when she has a burst of energy it's awe inspiring. For instance, when we were very young she decided she wanted my brother and me to be raised in a racially integrated neighborhood, and then she set about to create one."
''Fun Home'' (2013) was Kron's first musical and first work based on an existing work by another artist.
Alison Bechdel
Alison Bechdel ( ; born September 10, 1960) is an American cartoonist. Originally known for the long-running comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For'', she came to critical and commercial success in 2006 with her graphic memoir ''Fun Home'', which ...
's acclaimed graphic novel/memoir ''
Fun Home
''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 Graphic novel, graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, Uni ...
'' serves as the basis for the musical. Kron wrote the book and lyrics, and
Tony
Tony may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters
* Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer
* Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leagu ...
-nominated composer
Jeanine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway m ...
wrote the score. It looks at the experience of cartoonist Bechdel growing up in small-town Pennsylvania as the not-yet-out lesbian daughter of a closeted gay man. All of Kron's previous works have been based on her own experiences. She discussed the process of adapting another person's work in an interview for
GLAAD
GLAAD (), an acronym of Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation, is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals ...
.
The thing about adaptation is you have to re-originate a thing. You can't just say, "This is a musicalized version of this graphic novel." It has to have its own originating impulse, so that you feel like the experience you are having is the primary experience. And at the same time, you don't feel like you're watching a different thing, that whatever the effect of the book was, you'll feel like it's represented.
All three works have been very well received, ''2.5 Minute Ride'', directed by
Mark Brokaw
Mark Brokaw is an American theatre director. He won the Drama Desk Award, Obie Award and Lucille Lortel Award as Outstanding Director of a Play for ''How I Learned to Drive''.
Life and career
Brokaw was raised in Aledo, Illinois, and graduated fr ...
, won an Obie award among others. ''Well'' was anthologized in ''Best Plays of 2003-2004,'' listed among the year's best plays by the ''New York Times'' and received two Tony Award nominations. Ben Brantley says of ''2.5 Minute Ride'': "(it)… puts Ms. Kron on a level with sterling monologists like Spalding Gray, autobiographers who combine novelistic complexity with stage-smart impudence."
[Brantley, ''Laughter and Horror in a Journey of the Heart''] Michael Sommers says of ''Well'': "Truly a beautiful play in many ways, ''Well'' paints a mother-and-daughter picture of rich, unusual artistry." Of Kron's recent work, ''Fun Home,'' ''The New York Times''
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...
said it is "a beautiful heartbreaker of a musical," and that "Ms. Kron has already established herself as a vibrant family memoirist with her plays ''2.5 Minute Ride'' and ''Well'', and her book and resonantly precise lyrics give this show its essential spine."
The first college performance of ''Well'' occurred in the winter of 2008 at
Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...
, Kron's alma mater. It starred a group of students as well as local professional actress Sharon Williams. Kron traveled to Kalamazoo for the week of the run, participating in "Lisa Kron Week in Kalamazoo" which, besides ''Well'', included a performance of the Five Lesbian Brothers' "The Secretaries" as well as a public reading in which she read excerpts from all three of her works in addition to one of the pieces she is currently working on.
The world premiere of Kron's play ''In the Wake'' opened at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles on March 28, 2010.
Leigh Silverman (who also directed ''Well'') directed. The play is about a family gathering set just after the presidential election of 2000. The main protagonist Ellen deals with the political turmoil as well as upheaval in her personal life. Charlotte Stoudt describes ''In the Wake'': "Kron's comedy of deprecation and provocative social critique is part Sedaris, part Kushner, yet utterly her own."
Career in theatre
Kron's works are humorous and poignant looks at life by someone who has often described herself an outsider. Her experiences as a Jewish woman living in a predominantly Christian
Midwestern
The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
city or life as a
lesbian
A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...
working in traditional theatre provide rich material for her plays. Her reflections from the outside looking in are insightful but not bitter. The critic Ben Brantley says of her: "…there is never condescension in her humor. It is simply a crucial part of her navigational equipment in finding her way through life's absurd course of non sequiturs."
She describes her creative process in her usual humorous and self-deprecating way: "I wish I had more of a technique for constructing these things. I keep banging my head against the wall until it pops through on the other side…"
She arrived 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 ...
in 1984. She worked as an office temp and various other jobs while pursuing an acting career. Some of her adventures during her early days in New York are chronicled in her play ''101 Humiliating Stories''. She was soon performing at the
WOW Cafe, a creative venue for women in the performing arts in the
East Village, Manhattan
The East Village is a neighborhood on the East Side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. It is roughly defined as the area east of the Bowery and Third Avenue, between 14th Street on the north and Houston Street on the south. The East Villag ...
.
In 1989 Kron, Maureen Angelos, Dominique Dibbell, Peg Healey and Babs Davy founded the theater company
The Five Lesbian Brothers. The group writes and performs witty satiric works from a feminist and lesbian perspective. "Five Lesbian Brothers was chosen, in part, to refute the perception of lesbian theatre as combative and didactic." Their plays have been produced by the
New York Theatre Workshop
__NOTOC__
New York Theatre Workshop (NYTW) is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 4th Street (Manhattan), East 4th Street between Second Avenue (Manhattan), Second Avenue and Bowery in the East Village, ...
, the
Joseph Papp 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 ...
, the WOW Cafe Theatre and others. The Brothers have also toured all over the United States. The Brothers have won the
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 ...
as well as other awards and have published ''The Five Lesbian Brothers' Guide to Life'' and ''Five Lesbian Brothers Four Plays''.
She also would star in
Paul Rudnick
Paul Rudnick (born December 29, 1957) is an American writer. His plays have been produced both on and off Broadway and around the world. He is also known for having written the screenplays for several movies, including ''Sister Act'', ''Addams F ...
's 1998 play ''
The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told
'' The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told'' is a metaphysical/existentialist comedy written in 1998 by Paul Rudnick.
Plot
Original Production
The play was originally produced at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on the Nikos Stage, opening on ...
'' playing a multitude of characters, one of her most memorable, according to
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 to ...
, was as Rabbi Sharon, a lesbian wheelchair bound rabbi.
Kron developed stories about her family into autobiographical plays and performed them in New York and London. Her work was critically well received. ''New York Times'' critic Ben Brantley said in his review: "…Fans of that beleaguered literary form, the memoir, can breathe a little more easily this morning. Kron's sparkling autobiographical play ''Well'' has arrived on Broadway…to restore the honor of a genre that was slipping into disgrace... ''Well'' opened on
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
March 10, 2006, to critical acclaim and received two Tony nominations. Kron was nominated for Actress in a Play and Jayne Houdyshell was nominated for Featured Actress in a Play. In spite of good reviews, ''Well'' had low attendance and closed on May 14, 2006. It has since been performed in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
in 2007.
While Kron's musical ''Fun Home'' was having its premiere run 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 ...
, Kron was simultaneously performing in a production of ''Good Person of Szechwan'' at the same theater. Kron's unusual experience of working on the final touches of one play as a writer while rehearsing to act in another was discussed in a ''New York Times'' article "A Quick Trip From Playwright to Player, Lisa Kron Juggles Two Shows at Public Theater."
Kron received the 27th Annual Kleban Prize in 2017 for the most promising musical theatre librettist; the award includes a $100,000 prize.
[Viagas, Robert]
" 'Fun Home' Librettist Wins Kleban Prize for Musical Theatre"
Playbill, January 17, 2017
Personal life
Kron has lived in New York City since 1984 and is a full-time actress. She also teaches playwriting part-time at
Yale University
Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...
and
New York University
New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin.
In 1832, the ...
. She is married to fellow
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
-nominated playwright
Madeleine George. She is a lesbian.
Selected theatre performances
* ''All My Hopes and Dreams'' Performance Space 122 New York 1989-91
* ''Voyage to Lesbos'' WOW Café New York 1990
* ''Brave Smiles'' WOW Café New York 1991
* ''Facing Life's Problems'' Performance Space 122 New York 1991
* ''101 Humiliating Stories'' Performance Space 122; Serious Fun! at Lincoln Center New York 1993-95
* ''The Secretaries'' Theatre Rhinoceros, New York Theatre Workshop 1994
* ''Brides of the Moon'' Theatre Rhinoceros, New York Theatre Workshop 1996
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' La Jolla Playhouse, (premiere)1996
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' The Barbican Theatre London, 1998
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' American Repertory Theatre, Boston, 1998
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' Joseph Papp Public Theater, New York City, 1999
* ''
Well
A well is an excavation or structure created in the ground by digging, driving, or drilling to access liquid resources, usually water. The oldest and most common kind of well is a water well, to access groundwater in underground aquifers. The ...
'' Public Theater, New York City, Spring 2004
* ''Well'' Longacre Theater on Broadway, New York City 2006
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' Anchorage 2006
* ''Well'' The Huntington Theatre Boston 2007
* ''Spain'' MCC Theater New York City October 2007
* ''Time is the Mercy of Eternity'' West End Theater New York City April 2008
* ''In the Wake''
Berkeley Repertory Theatre
Berkeley Repertory Theatre is a regional theater company located in Berkeley, California. It runs seven productions each season from its two stages in Downtown Berkeley.
History
The company was founded in 1968, as the East Bay's first resident p ...
, (premiere) May 2010
* ''
Fun Home
''Fun Home: A Family Tragicomic'' is a 2006 Graphic novel, graphic memoir by the American cartoonist Alison Bechdel, author of the comic strip ''Dykes to Watch Out For''. It chronicles the author's childhood and youth in rural Pennsylvania, Uni ...
''
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 ...
New York City, (premiere) October 2013
* ''Fun Home''
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, in the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. It is one of two Broadway theaters that use a thrust stage that extends ...
, New York City, 2015
Selected works
* ''The Five Lesbian Brothers' Guide to Life'' by the Five Lesbian Brothers, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
* ''Oedipus at Palm Springs'' – a "Five Lesbian Brothers play" with Maureen Angelos, Dominique Dibbell and Peg Healey (2010). Samuel French.
* ''2.5 Minute Ride and 101 Humiliating Stories'', New York : Theatre Communications Group, 2001.
* ''Voyage to Lesbos'' in ''Five Lesbian Brothers Four Plays'', New York : Theatre Communications Group, 2000.
* ''Well'', New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2006.
Selected anthologies
* ''Brave Smiles'' by the Five Lesbian Brothers, ''The Actor's Book of Gay and Lesbian Plays'', Eric Lane and Nina Shengold, eds. New York: Penguin, 1995
* ''Cast Out: Queer Lives In Theater'' Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press 2006
* ''Extreme Exposure: An Anthology of Solo Performance Texts from the Twentieth Century'' New York: Theatre Communications Group 2000
* ''Out Of Character: Rants, Raves, And Monologues From Today's Top Performance Artists'' New York : Bantam Books 1997 ,
* ''2.5 Minute Ride'' in ''Talk to Me: Monologue Plays'' New York : Vintage Books 2004
* ''Voyage to Lesbos'' in ''Five Lesbian Brothers Four Plays'' New York : Theatre Communications Group, 2000
* ''Well'' in The ''Best Plays Theater Yearbook 2003-2004'' New York : Limelight Editions, c2005.
Articles written
"Lithe I'm Not. And Trained I'm Not. But I Danced.
'New York Times'', December 12, 1999.
Audiobooks
''2.5 Minute Ride''
BRIDGED(Audio CD) New Millennium Audio; Abridged edition 2001
Awards and fellowships
''2.5 Minute Ride''
* Los Angeles Dramalogue Award
* Obie Award
* 2000 GLAAD Media Award
''Well''
* Listed among the year's best plays by the ''New York Times'', the Associated Press, the ''Newark Star Ledger'', ''Backstage'' and the ''Advocate''
* Part of the 2004 Sundance Institute Theatre Lab
''Fun Home''
* 2014 Pulitzer Prize finalist for ''Fun Home''
* 2014 Obie Award for ''Fun Home''
* 2015
Tony Award for Best Original Score
The Tony Award for Best Original Score is the Tony Award given to the composers and lyricists of the best original score written for a musical theatre, musical or Play (theatre), play in that year. The score consists of music and/or lyrics. To be ...
(shared with
Jeanine Tesori
Jeanine Tesori (known earlier in her career as Jeanine Levenson) is an American composer and musical arranger best known for her work in the theater. She is the most prolific and honored female theatrical composer in history, with five Broadway m ...
, making them the first female writing team to win that award
'Fun Home' songwriters become 1st winning female team
Yahoo News)
* 2015 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical is awarded to librettists of the spoken, non-sung dialogue, and storyline of a musical play. Eligibility is restricted to works with original narrative framework; plotless revues and revivals are ineligib ...
Other
* 1993 New York Dance and Performance Award Bessie Awards
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, ...
with The Five Lesbian Brothers
* 1994 Robert Chesley Gay and Lesbian Playwriting Award
* 1994 New York Foundation for the Arts
The New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA) is an independent 501(c)(3) charity, funded through government, foundation, corporate, and individual support, established in 1971. It is part of a network of national not-for-profit arts organizations ...
fellowship in playwriting
* 1995 Obie Award for ''The Secretaries'' with The Five Lesbian Brothers
* 1997 Cal Arts/Alpert Award
* 2000 Creative Capital
Creative Capital is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization based in New York City that supports artists across the United States through funding, counsel, gatherings, and career development services. Since its founding in 1999, Creative Capital has commi ...
Foundation Grant
* 2000 NEA/TCG Theatre Residency Program for Playwrights
* 2000 NEA/TCG playwriting fellowship
* 2003 Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award, Kalamazoo College
Kalamazoo College, also known as Kalamazoo, K College, KC or simply K, is a private liberal arts college in Kalamazoo, Michigan. Founded in 1833 by Baptist ministers as the Michigan and Huron Institute, Kalamazoo is the oldest private college in ...
* 2004 New York Foundation for the Arts grant
* 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...
* 2007 The Lucille Lortel Foundation Playwrighting Fellowship
* 2008 Chosen to participate in the 2008 Sundance Institute
Sundance Institute is a non-profit organization founded by Robert Redford committed to the growth of independent artists. The institute is driven by its programs that discover and support independent filmmakers, theatre artists and composers f ...
Theatre Lab
* 2008 Lark Play Development Center Fellowship
* 2011 Lilly Award for ''In the Wake''
* 2017 Edward Kleban Edward "Ed" Kleban (April 30, 1939 – December 28, 1987) was an American musical theatre composer and lyricist. Kleban was born in the Bronx, New York City, in 1939 and graduated from New York's High School of Music & Art and Columbia Universi ...
Prize for most promising musical theatre librettist[
]
Awards nominated
''101 Humiliating Stories''
* Drama Desk nomination in solo performance
''2.5 Minute Ride''
* Outer Critics Circle Award
* L.A. Drama-Logue Award
* Drama Desk nomination in solo performance
* Outer Critics Circle nomination in solo performance
* 1999 New York Press Award for Best Autobiographical Solo Show
''Well''
* Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play
* Tony Award for Best Best Featured Actress in a Play
* 2004 Drama League Nomination
* 2004 Outer Critics Circle Best Play nomination
Other
* 1994 Nomination for Drama Desk Award in Solo Performance
Television and film performances
* ''Cater-Waiter'' 1996
* ''Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
: "''Atonement" 1996 CSU Warren
*''Law & Order:'' "Trophy" 1996 CSU Warren
* ''Law & Order: "''Disciple" 1999 CSU Technician Andrews
* ''Strong Medicine
''Strong Medicine'' is an American medical drama with a focus on feminism, feminist politics, health issues and class conflict that aired on the Lifetime Television, Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It was created and produced in part by Who ...
:'' "Family History" 2002 Nooch
* ''Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...
'' 2005 Paramedic #2
* ''Deception
Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...
'' 2008 Receptionist
* ''Sex and the City
''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...
'' 2008 Junior's Waitress
Quotes
"Bizarre Murder!! Lesbian Forces Blind Holocaust Victim on Roller Coaster!" - ''2.5 Minute Ride And 101 Humiliating Stories''
"…Judaism, you know, is viewed in the Midwest as kind of an accessory that you wear on top of your Christianity." ''- Well''
"I come from a family with a deep distrust of the body. I believe my family would have their bodies surgically removed from their heads if they could figure out a way to still get to the mall." - "Lithe I'm Not. And Trained I'm Not. But I Danced''."''
References
Sources
* Brantley, Ben. ''Laughter And Horror In a Journey of the Heart'
The New York Times March 29, 1999
* Brantley, Ben. ''Lisa Kron's 'Well' Opens on Broadway, With Mom Keeping Watch.'
The New York Times. March 31, 2006
* Drukman, Steven. ''70 Minutes on an Emotional Roller-Coaster: A Solo Journey from Ohio to Auschwitz.'
''New York Times'' March 28, 1999
* Five Lesbian Brothers. ''The Five Lesbian Brothers' Guide to Life'' New York: Simon & Schuster, 1997.
* Five Lesbian Brothers. ''Four Plays'' New York : Theatre Communications Group, 2000.
* Hughes, Mike. ''Westside Stories''. ''Lansing State Journal'' April 27, 2004
* Kron, Lisa. ''2.5 Minute Ride And 101 Humiliating Stories'' New York : Theatre Communications Group, 2001.
* Kron, Lisa. ''Well'' New York: Theatre Communications Group, 2006.
* Lester, Gideon. "Journey of a Lifetime"
* Miller, Stuart. "Playwright Draws from a Personal ''Well''." ''The Star-Ledger'', Newark: New Jersey March 26, 2006
* Miller, Winter. "In Dialogue: All's Well That Ends in ''Well'': Lisa Kron and Leigh Silverman." ''The Brooklyn Rail
''The Brooklyn Rail'' is a publication and platform for the arts, culture, humanities, and politics. The ''Rail'' is based out of Brooklyn, New York. It features in-depth critical essays, fiction, poetry, as well as interviews with artists, criti ...
'', April 2006
* Sommers, Michael. ""Well" Written, "Well" Staged, "Well" Acted." ''The Star-Ledger'', Newark: NJ March 31, 2006
* Weisman, Wendy. "The Importance of Being Lisa Kron: In ''Well'', She Plays Herself Writing A Play About Herself. Will Broadway Get It?"
''American Theatre'' March 2006
* WOW Caf
Further reading
* Glickman, Ken. "Theater Review: ''Well''". ''Lansing State Journal'' April 27, 2006
* Green, Jesse. "One-Woman Show Learns to Share"
''New York Times'' March 21, 2004
* Nightingale, Benedict. "Story Tells Vivid Picture." ''The Times'' London July 23, 1998
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kron, Lisa
1961 births
Actors from Ann Arbor, Michigan
Writers from Ann Arbor, Michigan
American lesbian actresses
Living people
LGBT Jews
LGBT people from Michigan
Lambda Literary Award for Drama winners
Jewish American dramatists and playwrights
American women dramatists and playwrights
American lesbian writers
LGBT dramatists and playwrights
American stage actresses
20th-century American actresses
20th-century American dramatists and playwrights
20th-century American women writers
21st-century American actresses
21st-century American dramatists and playwrights
21st-century American women writers
Yale School of Drama faculty
New York University faculty
American people of German-Jewish descent
Kalamazoo College alumni
Actresses from Lansing, Michigan
Tony Award winners
American women academics
21st-century American Jews