Peter Parnell (; born 1953) is an American Broadway and Off-Broadway

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 ...

, television writer, and children's book author. Parnell is also Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America, the professional association of playwrights, composers, lyricists, and librettists.

Personal life

Parnell is gay and is married to the psychiatrist

Justin Richardson Justin Richardson (born 1963) is an American author and psychiatrist best known for co-authoring ''And Tango Makes Three'' with Peter Parnell. Richardson was profiled in the New York Times is 1997 in an article entitled "Elite Schools Face the Ga ...

. They live in Manhattan with their daughter.

Plays

* ''

The Hunchback of Notre Dame ''The Hunchback of Notre-Dame'' (french: Notre-Dame de Paris, translation=''Our Lady of Paris'', originally titled ''Notre-Dame de Paris. 1482'') is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story o ...

'' - Disney Theatricals - music by

Alan Menken Alan Irwin Menken (born July 22, 1949) is an American composer, best known for his scores and songs for films produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios. His scores and songs for ''The Little Mermaid'' (1989), ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1991), ''A ...

, lyrics by

Stephen Schwartz Stephen Lawrence Schwartz (born March 6, 1948) is an American musical theatre lyricist and composer. In a career spanning over five decades, Schwartz has written such hit musicals as ''Godspell'' (1971), ''Pippin'' (1972), and ''Wicked'' (20 ...

* ''

On a Clear Day You Can See Forever ''On a Clear Day You Can See Forever'' is a musical with music by Burton Lane and a book and lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner based loosely on ''Berkeley Square'', written in 1926 by John L. Balderston. It concerns a woman who has ESP and has been ...

'' - St. James Theater, Broadway - 2011 - starring Harry Connick Jr., Jessie Mueller, and David Turner * ''Trumpery'' -

Atlantic Theatre Company Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acti ...

- 2007 ''Trumpery'' received its European and British premiere in Oxford, UK during June 2014. * '' QED'' -

Lincoln Center Theater The Vivian Beaumont Theater is a Broadway theater in the Lincoln Center complex at 150 West 65th Street on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. Operated by the nonprofit Lincoln Center Theater (LCT), the Beaumont is the only Broad ...

- starring Alan Alda - 2001 * ''The Cider House Rules, Part One'', adapted from John Irving's novel -

Mark Taper Forum The Mark Taper Forum is a 739-seat thrust stage at the Los Angeles Music Center designed by Welton Becket and Associates on the Bunker Hill section of Downtown Los Angeles. Named for real estate developer Mark Taper, the Forum, the neighboring ...

Seattle Rep Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of ...

* ''The Cider House Rules, Part Two'',

* ''Flaubert's Latest'' -

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 ...

- 1992 * ''Hyde in Hollywood'' -

- 1989 * ''An Imaginary Life'' -

- 1993 * ''Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket'' - starring Thomas Hulce -

* ''Romance Language'' -

- 1985 * ''Scooter Thomas Makes It to the Top of the World'' - National Playwrights Conference at the

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut, is a 501(c)(3) non-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. It is commonly referred to as The O'Neill. The center has received two Tony Awards, the 1979 Special Awa ...

, 1977 * ''

Sorrows of Stephen ''Sorrows of Stephen'' is a play by Peter Parnell, and was originally published in 1980. The original production was at the New York Shakespeare Festival. Synopsis In the first scene, Stephen reads ''The Sorrows of Young Werther ''The Sorrows ...

'' - The Public Theater - 1979

Television

* ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

'', Season One - Executive Story Editor - 1999–2000 * ''The West Wing'', Season Two - Co-Producer - 2000–2001 * ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'', Season One - Producer - 2001–2002 * '' Inconceivable'', Season One - Producer - 2005 * '' Six Degrees'', Season One - Consulting Producer - 2006–2007 * ''

BrainDead ''BrainDead'' is an American political satire science fiction comedy-drama television series created by Robert and Michelle King. The series stars Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Laurel Healy, a documentary film-maker who takes a job working for he ...

'' - Producer - 2017

Children's literature

* ''

And Tango Makes Three ''And Tango Makes Three'' is a children's book written by Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson and illustrated by Henry Cole which was published in 2005. The book tells the story of two male penguins, Roy and Silo, who create a family together. Wit ...

'' with

. The book tells the true story of two male penguins living in the Central Park Zoo who pair-bonded and together hatched a chick named Tango. The book has received numerous awards and was the single most challenged or banned book in the United States in the years 2006, 2007, 2008, and 2010. It remains one of the ten most banned books in several countries. * ''Christian, the Hugging Lion'', a children's book about the true story of

Christian the lion 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'' (Χρισ ...

Grants and awards

NEA, Guggenheim, Ingram Merrill and Lecomte de Nouy foundations; the Fund for New American Plays, Kennedy Center, American Theatre Critics' Association and Ovation awards for Best Play (for The Cider House Rules). For And Tango Makes Three" *

American Library Association Notable Children's Book American Library Association Notable lists are announced each year in January by various divisions within the American Library Association (ALA). There are six lists, part of the larger ALA awards structure. * ''ALA Notable Books for Adults'' (est ...

- 2006 *

ASPCA The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to preventing animal cruelty. Based in New York City since its inception in 1866, the organization's mission is "to provide effective mea ...

's Henry Bergh Award - 2005 * Gustavus Myer Outstanding Book Award- 2006 *

Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...

Family Magazine Best Book of the Year - 2006 * Bank Street Best Book of the Year - 2006 *

Cooperative Children's Book Council A cooperative (also known as co-operative, co-op, or coop) is "an autonomous association of persons united voluntarily to meet their common economic, social and cultural needs and aspirations through a jointly owned and democratically-control ...

Choice, and CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book - 2006 *

Lambda Literary Award Lambda Literary Awards, also known as the "Lammys", are awarded yearly by Lambda Literary to recognize the crucial role LGBTQ writers play in shaping the world. The Lammys celebrate the very best in LGBTQ literature.The awards were instituted i ...

finalist - 2006 * Sheffield Children's Book Award - shortlisted - 2008

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parnell, Peter 1953 births Living people 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights American children's writers American television writers American male television writers LGBT dramatists and playwrights American gay writers Dartmouth College alumni American male dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American male writers