Alex Finlayson was an American playwright whose work found more success on the English stage than in the United States. After winning a Mobil Oil International Playwriting Prize, ''Winding the Ball'' was produced by The Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, which also commissioned and produced Finlayson's ''Misfits'' (1996) and ''Tobaccoland'' (1999). All three plays starred American stage and film actress Lisa Eichhorn and were directed by Greg Hersov. Finlayson's play, ''Misfits'', was inspired by Arthur Miller's autobiography, '' Timebends'', specifically his account of the 1961 film The Misfits as a "valentine" for his wife

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe ( ; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 August 4, 1962) was an American actress and model. Known for playing comic "Blonde stereotype#Blonde bombshell, blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex ...

. ''Misfits'' portrays the film's historic box office and artistic failure as the fault of screenwriter Miller, director

John Huston John Marcellus Huston ( ; August 5, 1906 – August 28, 1987) was an American film director, screenwriter and actor. He wrote the screenplays for most of the 37 feature films he directed, many of which are today considered classics. He rec ...

, and producer Frank Taylor, and not its star,

, who is most often blamed for the film disaster. ''Misfits'' received mixed reviews, with some critics attacking Finlayson for daring to put Miller onstage as a character. However, ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' proclaimed the play "riveting" and "inventive." (Arthur Miller's last play, Finishing the Picture, would present his version of Marilyn Monroe and the making of The Misfits (film) eleven years after Finlayson’s ''Misfits'' had debuted and been challenged by his lawyers. Alex Finlayson was born and grew up in East Texas the daughter of an actor. She was an early protege of Julia Miles and the Women's Project. Her first play, ''Ladies' Side'', was produced by the Source Theatre,

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, and received a

Helen Hayes Helen Hayes MacArthur (; October 10, 1900 – March 17, 1993) was an American actress. Often referred to as the "First Lady of American Theatre", she was the second person and first woman to win EGOT, the EGOT (an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and ...

nomination for Best New Play. Another early play ''World of Beauty'' won the Texas Playwrights Festival (1988) at Stages Repertory Theatre,

Houston Houston ( ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in the U.S. state of Texas and in the Southern United States. Located in Southeast Texas near Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, it is the county seat, seat of ...

during producer Ted Swindley’s tenure as Artistic Director. Three of Finlayson's plays were published by Oberon Books.

Produced Work

* Ladies Side - Source Theatre Company, Washington D.C.(1985) * Last Piece of Flat Land - Zachary Scott Theater, Austin TX (1985) * World of Beauty - Stages Repertory Theater, Houston TX (1987 * Winding the Ball - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester England with David Schofield (1989) / Burning Coal Theater, Raleigh NC (1999) * Love and Adultery - Studio Theater, Richmond VA with Kathryn Harrold (1989) * Misfits - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester England (1996) / Barksdale Theatre, Richmond VA (2001) / Black Dahlia Theatre, Los Angeles CA directed by Matt Shakman (2005) * Tobaccoland - Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester, England (1999) * Why Men Hate Women - The Orchard Theatre, Ararat VA (2002)

References

Media

Triangle Regional Playwrights: A Brief History by Byron Woods

Misfits explores Myth of Marilyn Monroe in Courageous Fashion, ''Style Weekly''

Don't Mess with Arthur Miller, ''Chicago Reader''

Tobaccoland review, The Guardian

Helen Hayes Awards

{{DEFAULTSORT:Finlayson, Alex 1951 births Living people People from Tyler, Texas Wellesley College alumni 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights