Marsha Norman (born September 21, 1947) is an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just Readin ...

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

, and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living wage, living writing novels and other fiction, while other ...

. She received the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play '' 'night, Mother''. She wrote the book and

lyrics Lyrics are words that make up a song, usually consisting of verses and choruses. The writer of lyrics is a lyricist. The words to an extended musical composition such as an opera are, however, usually known as a "libretto" and their writer, ...

for such Broadway musicals as ''

The Secret Garden ''The Secret Garden'' is a children's novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett first published in book form in 1911, after serialisation in ''The American Magazine'' (November 1910 – August 1911). Set in England, it is seen as a classic of English c ...

'', for which she won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

and the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical, and '' The Red Shoes'', as well as the

libretto A libretto (From the Italian word , ) is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to th ...

for the musical '' The Color Purple'' and the book for the musical '' The Bridges of Madison County''. She was co-chair of the playwriting department at The Juilliard School until stepping down in 2020.

Biography

Early years

Norman was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the oldest of four children of Billie and Bertha Williams. As a child, she read and played the piano. She later began attending productions by the newly founded Actors Theatre of Louisville. She received a bachelor's degree from Agnes Scott College and a master's degree from the University of Louisville. She worked as a

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

for '' The Louisville Times'' newspaper, and also wrote for Kentucky Educational Television. She taught young children and adolescents in mental institutions and hospitals. These were perhaps her biggest influence on her writing, especially a 13-year-old girl who influenced her play ''Getting Out''. She also taught English at the J. Graham Brown School and Prestonia Elementary School in Louisville.

Career

Norman's first play '' Getting Out'' was produced at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and then

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

in 1979. The play concerns a young woman just paroled after an eight-year prison sentence for robbery, kidnapping and

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th ce ...

. It reflects Norman's experience working with disturbed adolescents at

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

's Central State Hospital. Norman's success with ''Getting Out'' led her to move to New York City where she continued to write for the Actors Theatre of Louisville. Her full-length play, ''Circus Valentine'' was produced at the Humana Festival in 1978. The play concerns a travelling circus and its star attraction, Siamese twins. Her next play, '' 'night, Mother'', became her best-known work, given its Broadway success and its star-powered film version. The play brought Norman a great deal of recognition, dealing frankly with the subject of

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

, and won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Hull-Warriner, the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Awards are among the most esteemed honors in New York theater, recognizing outstanding achievements across Broadway, Off-Broadway, and Off-Off-Broadway productions within the same categories. The awards are considered a signific ...

, and the 1986 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement. However, her follow-up play, ''Traveller in the Dark'' received scathing reviews from the New York critics, some of whom were as blunt to say she could not have written it. According to an interview in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', "Ms. Norman stayed away from the theater and turned to screenplays, including a 1986 movie adaptation of night, Mother'' that starred Sissy Spacek and Anne Bancroft and failed to impress critics. She was in high demand in Hollywood, though not always for films that she liked, or that studios would approve." Norman wrote the book and lyrics for the musical ''

'', an adaptation of the Frances Hodgson Burnett novel ''

'', and won the

for Best Book in 1991. Her work in musical theatre continued with the book and lyrics for the musical '' The Red Shoes'', which failed on Broadway in 1993. Her one-act play, ''Trudy Blue'', was produced off-Broadway in 1999. That play revolved around a woman who is mistakenly told that she has two months to live. She also wrote the

for the musical version of '' The Color Purple'' which opened on Broadway in 2005, receiving a Tony Award nomination for Best Book of a Musical. Norman and composer Jason Robert Brown made a symphonic adaptation of the children's novel '' The Trumpet of the Swan'', which premiered at the

Kennedy Center The John F. Kennedy Memorial Center for the Performing Arts, commonly known as the Kennedy Center, is the national cultural center of the United States, located on the eastern bank of the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. Opened on September 8, ...

in 2008. Norman has since written the libretto for the musical adaptation of the film '' The Bridges of Madison County'', with a score by Brown. The musical premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival on August 1, 2013, and ran briefly on Broadway from February 20, 2014.

Television and film

Norman's scripts for television and film include the film version of '' 'night, Mother''. She has written the television films ''Face of a Stranger'' (1991), '' A Cooler Climate'' (1999), ''Custody of the Heart'' (2000), and '' The Audrey Hepburn Story'' (2000). She has written screenplays for episodes of the HBO series '' In Treatment''.

Other

Norman has served on the faculty of the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

in New York City as Co-Director of Juilliard's Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program, and was Vice-President of the Dramatists Guild of America. She was honored at the 2011 William Inge Festival for Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre. She will leave Juilliard at the end of the 2019–2020 academic year.

Bibliography

''Note: plays or musicals unless otherwise indicated'' *'' Getting Out'' (1977) *''Circus Valentine'' (1979) *'' 'night, Mother'' (1983) *''Traveller in the Dark'' (1984) *''The Fortune Teller'' (1987) (novel) *''Third and Oak'' *''The Laundromat'' *''The Poolhall'' *''The Holdup'' *''Sarah and Abraham'' *''Loving Daniel Boone (1992)'' *''Lunch With Ginger'', one-act play *''

'' (1991), musical stage adaptation of the novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett. Collaboration with Lucy Simon. *''The Red Shoes'' (1993) *''Trudy Blue'' (play written around ''Lunch With Ginger'') (1999) *'' The Color Purple'' (2005), musical stage adaptation of the Alice Walker novel. Collaboration with

Brenda Russell Brenda Russell (née Gordon; born April 8, 1949) is an American singer-songwriter, producer, and keyboardist. Russell has a diverse musical range which encompasses Rhythm and blues, R&B, pop music, pop, soul music, soul, dance music, dance, and ...

, Allee Willis, and Stephen Bray. *'' The Master Butchers Singing Club'' (2010)Kerr, Eua
"Guthrie will premier Erdrich's "Master Butcher's Singing Club"
mpr.org, April 7, 2010 *'' The Trumpet of the Swan'' (2011), musical stage adaptation of the book by E. B. White. Collaboration with Jason Robert Brown. *'' The Bridges of Madison County'' (2014), musical stage adaptation of the novel by Robert James Waller. Collaboration with Jason Robert Brown.

References

External links

* *
Marsha Norman papers, circa 1947-2011
Houghton Library,

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

*
Marsha Norman
''Downstage Center'' XM radio interview at American Theatre Wing.org, October 2006 {{DEFAULTSORT:Norman, Marsha 1947 births 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers Agnes Scott College alumni American women dramatists and playwrights American women screenwriters Broadway composers and lyricists Educators from New York City American women educators Juilliard School faculty Kentucky women musicians Living people Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Screenwriters from Kentucky Screenwriters from New York (state) Tony Award winners University of Louisville alumni American music educators American women music educators Writers from Louisville, Kentucky