View source for Lynn Nottage

{{Short description|American playwright (born 1964)}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Lynn Nottage
| image            = LynnNottage-byPhilipRomano.jpg
| birth_date       = {{Birth date and age|1964|11|2}}
| birth_place      = [[Brooklyn]], New York, U.S.
| occupation       = Playwright, professor
| education        = [[Brown University]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|AB]])<br>[[Yale University]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])
| spouse           = [[Tony Gerber]]
| children         = 2
| awards           = [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] (2009, 2017) <br>[[Obie Award]]
| caption          = Nottage in 2025
}}
'''Lynn Nottage''' (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright whose work often focuses on the experience of working-class people, particularly working-class people who are [[Black people|black]]. She has received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] twice: in 2009 for her play ''[[Ruined (Play)|Ruined]]'', and in 2017 for her play ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''. She was the first (and remains the only) woman to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Dominus|first=Susan|date=2021-10-14|title=Lynn Nottage|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/10/14/t-magazine/lynn-nottage-theater-greats.html|access-date=2022-01-19|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

Nottage is the recipient of a [[MacArthur Fellows Program|MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship]] and was included in [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine's 2019 list of the 100 Most Influential People.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title=Lynn Nottage: The 100 Most Influential People of 2019|url=https://time.com/collection/100-most-influential-people-2019/5569480/lynn-nottage/|access-date=2020-09-22|magazine=TIME|language=en-us}}</ref> She is currently a professor of playwriting at [[Columbia University]] and an artist-in-residence at the [[Park Avenue Armory]].

==Early and personal life==
Lynn Nottage was born on November 2, 1964, in [[Brooklyn]], New York.<ref name="camguide">{{Cite book|editor-last1=Wilmeth|editor-first1=Don B.|chapter=Nottage, Lynn|title=The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre|year=2007|publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]]|isbn=978-0-521-83538-1|edition=2nd hardcover|oclc=84996586|page=[[iarchive:cambridgeguideto0000unse i6g7/page/486/mode/1up|486]]}}</ref><ref name="contempblackbiog">{{Cite web|title=Nottage, Lynn 1964–|url=https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/nottage-lynn-1964|access-date=2021-11-08|website=Contemporary Black Biography}}</ref> Her mother Ruby Nottage was a schoolteacher and principal; her father Wallace was a child psychologist. She went to [[Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn)|Saint Ann's School]] for elementary school before graduating from [[Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School]].<ref>Kilian, Michael. [https://www.chicagotribune.com/2004/06/17/playwright-tells-intimate-tales/ "Playwright tells intimate tales: Lynn Nottage wrote 2 works simultaneously"], ''Chicago Tribune'', June 17, 2004.</ref> While in high school, she wrote her first full-length play, ''The Darker Side of Verona'', about an African-American Shakespeare company traveling through the South.

She attended [[Brown University]] ([[A.B.]], 1986) and the [[Yale School of Drama]] ([[Master of Fine Arts|M.F.A.]], 1989). After graduation, Nottage worked in [[Amnesty International]]'s press office for four years.<ref>{{cite video|people = Michel Martin |date = September 25, 2007 |title = Tell Me More |url  = https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=14683563 |format = mpeg |medium = Radio broadcast |publisher  = NPR}}</ref> More recently, Nottage has received honorary degrees from Brown ([[Doctor of Fine Arts|D.F.A.]], 2011), the [[Juilliard School]] and [[Albright College]].

Nottage is married to filmmaker [[Tony Gerber]], with whom she has two children, Ruby Aiyo and Melkamu Gerber.

==Career==
Nottage's plays have been produced widely in the United States and throughout the world.

===Plays===

====''Intimate Apparel''====
{{main|Intimate Apparel (play){{!}} ''Intimate Apparel'' (play)}}
One of her best-known plays is ''[[Intimate Apparel (play)|Intimate Apparel]]''.

In 1905 New York, Esther, a Black seamstress, lives in a boarding house for women, and sews intimate apparel for clients who range from wealthy white patrons to prostitutes. One by one, the other denizens of the boarding house marry and move away, but Esther remains, lonely and longing for a husband and a future. Her plan is to find the right man and use the money she's saved to open a beauty parlor where Black women will be treated as royally as the white women she sews for.

Co-commissioned and produced at [[Baltimore]]'s [[Center Stage (theater)|Center Stage]], it premiered in February 2003<ref>{{cite web |last=Simonson |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Simonson |title=Baltimore's Center Stage Presents New Lynn Nottage Play, ''Intimate Apparel'', Feb. 26 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/baltimores-center-stage-presents-new-lynn-nottage-play-intimate-apparel-feb-26-com-111424 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=February 8, 2003}}</ref> and [[South Coast Repertory]].<ref>[http://www.scr.org/docs/default-source/media/02-03season/intimateaprog.pdf ''Intimate Apparel''], scr.org, Retrieved November 17, 2017.</ref> The [[Off-Broadway]] production at [[Roundabout Theatre Company]] opened in 2004, starring [[Viola Davis]], and receiving critical acclaim. It received the 2004 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting; [[AUDELCO]] (Audience Development Committee) recognizes and honors excellence in Black theatre. ''Intimate Apparel'' has since been commissioned by the MET / Lincoln Center to be adapted into an opera, and will be composed by Ricky Ian Gordon.

Since 2004, ''Intimate Apparel'' has become one of the most produced plays in America.

====''Ruined''====
{{main|Ruined (play){{!}}''Ruined'' (play)}}
''[[Ruined (play)|Ruined]]'' dramatizes the plight of [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congolese]] women surviving [[civil war]]. Set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo, ''Ruined'' follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman protecting and profiting from the women she shelters.The play deals with the role of women in war and the societal stigma around Female Genital Mutilation (FGM).

It premiered in 2007 in the [[Goodman Theatre]] (Chicago) New Stages Series,<ref>[http://www.goodmantheatre.org/season/0809/ruined/ "'Ruined' Goodman Theatre"], goodmantheatre.org, Retrieved November 17, 2017.</ref> and transferred to Off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club in February 2009.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |title=Pulitzer Winner ''Ruined'' Gets Six Extra Weeks at MTC |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/pulitzer-winner-ruined-gets-six-extra-weeks-at-mtc-com-160455 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=April 30, 2009}}</ref> ''Ruined'' was awarded the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. ''Ruined'' also received the 2009 AUDELCO Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year.

On May 13, 2009, Nottage spoke at a public reception in [[Washington, D.C.]] following a [[United States Senate]] [[Foreign Relations]] joint subcommittee hearing entitled "Confronting Rape and Other Forms of Violence Against Women in Conflict Zones," with case studies on the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Democratic Republic of Congo]] and [[Sudan]].<ref>Patrick Healy. [http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/12/women-of-ruined-to-speak-in-washington-about-rape/ "Women of ‘Ruined’ to Speak in Washington About Rape"], ''The New York Times'', May 12, 2009.</ref>

On October 12, 2009, Nottage spoke at the [[United Nations]] as part of the Exhibit ''CONGO/WOMEN Portraits of War: The Democratic Republic of Congo.''

====''By the Way, Meet Vera Stark''====
{{main|By the Way, Meet Vera Stark}}
''[[By the Way, Meet Vera Stark]]'' is a seventy-year journey through the life of Vera Stark, a headstrong African-American maid and budding actress, and her tangled relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star desperately grasping to hold on to her career. When both women land roles in the same [[Southern United States|Southern]] epic, the story behind the camera leaves Vera with a surprising and controversial legacy.

It premiered Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theatre on May 9, 2011, with direction by [[Jo Bonney]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://theater.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/theater/reviews/by-the-way-meet-vera-stark-at-second-stage-review.html |title=A Black Actress Trying to Rise Above a Maid |author=Brantley, Ben |date=May 9, 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=November 6, 2011}}</ref> The play is a "funny and irreverent look at racial stereotypes in Hollywood."<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |title=Nottage's ''By the Way, Meet Vera Stark'' Gets Extra Week at Off-Broadway's Second Stage |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/nottages-by-the-way-meet-vera-stark-gets-extra-week-at-off-broadways-second-stage-com-178630 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=April 27, 2011}}</ref> The play was nominated for the 2012 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Play.<ref>{{cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |title=Drama Desk Nominations Announced; ''Death Takes a Holiday'' and ''Follies'' Lead the Pack |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/drama-desk-nominations-announced-death-takes-a-holiday-and-follies-lead-the-pack-com-192815 |website=Playbill |date=April 27, 2012}}</ref> The play ran at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in September 2012, starring [[Sanaa Lathan]], who played the role of the maid who becomes a stage star.<ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |title=''Vera Stark'', Ready for Her L.A. Close-Up, Opens Sept. 26; Sanaa Lathan Stars |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/vera-stark-ready-for-her-la-close-up-opens-sept-26-sanaa-lathan-stars-com-197974 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=September 26, 2012}}</ref>

====''Sweat''====
{{main|Sweat (play){{!}} ''Sweat'' (play)}}
''Sweat'' tells the story of a group of friends who have spent their lives sharing drinks, secrets, and laughs while working together on the factory floor. But when layoffs and picket lines begin to chip away at their trust, the friends find themselves pitted against each other in a heart-wrenching fight to stay afloat.

Nottage received a commission from [[Oregon Shakespeare Festival]] and the Arena Stage. The play that she wrote as a result, ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]'', was presented at the festival in [[Ashland, Oregon]] from July 29, 2015, to October 31, 2015, directed by [[Kate Whoriskey]].<ref>Weinerdt-Kent, Rob. [http://www.americantheatre.org/2015/07/10/how-lynn-nottage-inveterate-wanderer-found-her-way-to-reading-and-sweat/# "How Lynn Nottage, Inveterate Wanderer, Found Her Way to Reading and ‘Sweat’"], americantheatre.org, July 10, 2015.</ref><ref>[https://www.osfashland.org/en/productions/2015-plays/sweat.aspx ''Sweat''], osfashland.org, accessed August 25, 2015.</ref> The play takes place in Reading, Pennsylvania, and involves steel workers who have been locked out of their factory workplace.<ref>Scott, Aaron. [http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-shakespeare-festival-2015-sweat-lynn-nottage/# "Oregon Shakespeare Festival Sweats America's De-Industrialization With New Play"], opb.org, July 30, 2015.</ref> The play was produced at the Arena Stage (Washington, D.C.) from January 15 to February 21, 2016, directed by Whoriskey.<ref>[https://www.arenastage.org/news-press/press-room/press-releases/releases/15-16/Sweat%20release%20web.pdf "Press Release. ''Sweat''"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160201012752/https://www.arenastage.org/news-press/press-room/press-releases/releases/15-16/Sweat%20release%20web.pdf |date=February 1, 2016 }} arenastage.org, December 2, 2015.</ref> Nottage won the 2015–16 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for this play.<ref>Gordon, David. [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/lynn-nottage-susan-smith-blackburn-prize-sweat_76048.html "Lynn Nottage Receives 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize"], theatermania.com, February 22, 2016.</ref><ref>Editors. [http://www.americantheatre.org/2016/01/26/the-susan-blackburn-prize-announces-2015-16-finalists/ "Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Announces 2015–16 Finalists"], ''American Theatre'', January 26, 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Clement |first=Olivia |title=Susan Smith Blackburn Prize Finalists Announced |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/susan-smith-blackburn-prize-finalists-announced-com-382615 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=January 27, 2016}}</ref><ref>[http://www.talkinbroadway.com/allthatchat_new/d.php?id=2323249 "Sweat" by Lynn Nottage Wins 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize"] talkinbroadway.com, accessed February 22, 2016.</ref> ''Sweat'' premiered Off-Broadway at the [[Public Theater]] on October 18, 2016 (previews), officially on November 3, again directed by Whoriskey. Here, the play was awarded the 2017 [[Obie Award]] for Playwriting.<ref>Obie Awards, [http://www.obieawards.com/events/year-2017/ 2017 Winners.]</ref> The play closed on December 18, 2016.<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/david-byrne-harvey-fierstein-nia-vardalos-and-lynn-nottage-tapped-for-public-season# "David Byrne, Harvey Fierstein, Nia Vardalos and Lynn Nottage Tapped For Public Season"], ''Playbill'', May 19, 2016.</ref><ref>Rickwald, Bethany. [http://www.theatermania.com/off-broadway/news/full-casting-lynn-nottage-sweat-the-public-theater_78410.html "Miriam Shor, John Earl Jelks, and More Cast in Lynn Nottage's ''Sweat''"], theatermania.com, September 13, 2016.</ref><ref>Clement, Olivia, [http://www.playbill.com/article/lynn-nottages-sweat-opens-at-the-public-tonight# "Lynn Nottage’s ''Sweat'' Opens at The Public Tonight"] Playbill, November 3, 2016</ref> ''Sweat'' opened on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] at [[Studio 54]] on March 4, 2017, in previews, officially on March 26. This marks Nottage's Broadway debut.<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/lynn-nottage-to-make-broadway-debut-with-transfer-of-sweat# "Lynn Nottage to Make Broadway Debut with Transfer of ''Sweat''"], ''Playbill'', December 5, 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Clement |first=Olivia |title=''Sweat'' Announces Mobile Rush |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/sweat-announces-mobile-rush |website=Playbill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170303204256/http://www.playbill.com/article/sweat-announces-mobile-rush |archive-date=March 3, 2017 |date=March 3, 2017}}</ref>

''Sweat'' was a finalist for the 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama.<ref>[https://kennedyprize.columbia.edu/archives/191 "Finalists Announced for 2016 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired By American History"] kennedyprize.columbia.edu, January 27, 2016, accessed January 28, 2016</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Viagas |first=Robert |title=Kennedy Prize for Drama Goes to ''Hamilton'' |url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kennedy-prize-for-drama-goes-to-hamilton-387995 |website=Playbill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160223101746/http://www.playbill.com/news/article/kennedy-prize-for-drama-goes-to-hamilton-387995 |archive-date=February 23, 2016 |date=February 22, 2016}}</ref> ''Sweat'' was again a finalist for the 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History. The award is administered by Columbia University.<ref>[http://www.broadwayworld.com/article/SWEAT-INDECENT-and-VIETGONE-Among-Finalists-for-2017-Edward-M-Kennedy-Prize-20170113 " 'Sweat', 'Indecent' and 'Vietgone' Among Finalists for 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize"] broadwayworld.com, January 13, 2017</ref><ref>[https://kennedyprize.columbia.edu/archives/458 "Winner of the 2017 Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama Inspired by American History Announced"], kennedyprize.columbia.edu, February 27, 2017.</ref> The play won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

====Other plays====

Her short play ''Poof!'' ([[Heideman Award]]) was presented in 1993 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville during the Humana Festival of New American Plays.<ref name=doollee>[http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/nottage-lynn.html "Lynn Nottage at Doollee"] doollee.com, accessed February 24, 2016.</ref><ref>Nottage, Lynn. ''Poof!'', "'Crumbs from the Table of Joy' and Other Plays", Theatre Communications Group, 2003, {{ISBN|1559367075}}, p. 89.</ref> It was then broadcast on [[PBS]] in 2002, with a cast that featured [[Rosie Perez]] and [[Viola Davis]].<ref>[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/538303/poof "'Poof!' Overview and Cast"], tcm.com, accessed February 24, 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |title=Nottage's 'Poof!' to Be Part of PBS' American Shorts Series |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/nottages-poof-to-be-part-of-pbs-american-shorts-series-com-107350 |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=July 29, 2001}}</ref> ''[https://playingonair.org/new-releases/poof-rerelease Poof!]'' was also recorded for podcast and public radio by [https://playingonair.org/ Playing on Air], with a cast that featured [[Audra McDonald]], [[Tonya Pinkins]], and [[Keith Randolph Smith]] with direction by [[Seret Scott]].

Her political satire ''Por'Knockers'' premiered in 1995 at the [[Vineyard Theatre]], directed by Michael Rogers, featuring [[Sanaa Lathan]].

The West Coast premiere of her ''[[Crumbs from the Table of Joy]]'', at [[South Coast Repertory]] in September 1996,<ref>Nottage, Lynn. [https://books.google.com/books?id=sYAagKyeJJUC&dq=%22South+Coast+Repertory%22+%22Crumbs+from+the+Table+of+Joy%22&pg=PA3 "Introduction"] ''Crumbs from the Table of Joy'', Dramatists Play Service Inc, 1998, {{ISBN|0822215721}}, p. 3.</ref> earned two [[NAACP]] Theatre Awards for performance.

''Mud, River, Stone'' premiered in 1996 at The Acting Company directed by Seret Scott; it premiered in New York in 1997 at [[Playwrights Horizons]], directed by [[Roger Rees]]. It was a finalist for the [[Susan Smith Blackburn Award]], and won numerous regional theatre awards.

''Las Meninas'' premiered in 2002 at San Jose Rep, directed by Michael Edwards. It was awarded a Rockefeller Grant, as well as the AT&T OnStage Award. It follows the true story of Queen [[Maria Theresa of Spain]] (wife of [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]]) and her affair with her African servant, Nabo, a dwarf from Dahomey.

[[Obie Award]]-winning ''[[Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine]]'' (her companion piece to ''Intimate Apparel'', set one hundred years later), opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in June 2004.<ref>Jones, Kenneth. [http://www.playbill.com/article/lynn-nottages-fabulation-gets-world-premiere-at-playwrights-horizons-opening-june-13-com-120303# "Lynn Nottage's 'Fabulation' Gets World Premiere at Playwrights Horizons, Opening June 13"], ''Playbill'', June 13, 2004.</ref>

Her play ''Mlima's Tale'' premiered Off-Broadway at The Public Theater on March 27, 2018, in previews, officially on April 15 in a limited engagement to May 20. Direction is by Jo Bonney. The play concerns an elephant, Mlima, "trapped inside the clandestine international ivory market". [[Sahr Ngaujah]] plays Mlima.<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/lynn-nottages-mlimas-tale-finds-its-cast-at-the-public# "Lynn Nottage's ''Mlima's Tale'' Finds its Cast at The Public"], ''Playbill'', February 8, 2018.</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Clement |first=Olivia |title=Lynn Nottage's ''Mlima's Tale'' Opens Off-Broadway |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/lynn-nottages-mlimas-tale-opens-off-broadway |website=Playbill |access-date=March 29, 2022 |date=April 15, 2018}}</ref> ''Mlima's Tale'' was nominated for the 2018 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play, Outstanding Lighting Design (Play or Musical) (Lap Chi Chu) and Outstanding Sound Design (Play or Musical) (Darron L. West).<ref>Clement, Olivia. [http://www.playbill.com/article/spongebob-squarepants-leads-outer-critics-circle-nominations# "''SpongeBob SquarePants'' Leads Outer Critics Circle Nominations"], ''Playbill'', April 24, 2018.</ref> The play was nominated for the 2019 [[Lucille Lortel Awards]] for Outstanding Play, Outstanding Director (Bonney), Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play (Sahr Ngaujah), Outstanding Costume Design (Jennifer Moeller) and Outstanding Lighting Design (Lap Chi Chu).<ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/nominations-for-34th-annual-lucille-lortel-awards-announced-carmen-jones-and-rags-parkland-sings-the-songs-of-the-future-lead-the-pack# "Nominations for 34th Annual Lucille Lortel Awards Announced; ''Carmen Jones'' and ''Rags Parkland Sings the Songs of the Future'' Lead the Pack"] playbill, April 3, 2019</ref>

Nottage wrote the book for the world premiere musical adaptation of [[Sue Monk Kidd]]'s novel ''[[The Secret Life of Bees (musical)|The Secret Life of Bees]]'', with music by [[Duncan Sheik]] and lyrics by Susan Birkenhead. It premiered at the Off-Broadway [[Atlantic Theater Company]] on May 12, 2019. The musical is directed by [[Sam Gold]] and featured [[Saycon Sengbloh]] as Rosaleen, Elizabeth Teeter as Lily, [[LaChanze]], Eisa Davis and Anastacia McCleskey.<ref>{{cite web |last=Clement |first=Olivia |title=New Musical Adaptation of ''The Secret Life of Bees'' Begins Off-Broadway May 12 |url=http://www.playbill.com/article/new-musical-adaptation-of-the-secret-life-of-bees-begins-off-broadway-may-12 |website=Playbill |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190512193814/http://www.playbill.com/article/new-musical-adaptation-of-the-secret-life-of-bees-begins-off-broadway-may-12 |archive-date=May 12, 2019 |date=May 12, 2019}}</ref> The musical had a workshop at the [[Vassar College|Vassar Powerhouse Theater]], Martel Theatre in July 2017, directed by Sam Gold.<ref>[https://powerhouse.vassar.edu/season/2017/musicals/the-secret-life-of-bees.html ''The Secret Life Of Bees''] powerhouse.vassar.edu, retrieved May 12, 2019</ref><ref>Gans, Andrew. [http://www.playbill.com/article/orange-is-the-new-blacks-uzo-aduba-stars-in-secret-life-of-bees-musical-workshop-beginning-july-27# "''Orange Is the New Black''{{'}}s Uzo Aduba Stars in ''Secret Life of Bees'' Musical Workshop, Beginning July 27"] Playbill, July 27, 2017</ref>

===Other work===

Nottage wrote a monologue, ''The Grey Rooster'', following a former slave and his slaveholder's cockfighting rooster in post-Civil War Kentucky. It was performed as part of the National Civil War Project's production ''Our War'', produced in 2014 at [[Arena Stage]], directed by Anita Maynard-Losh.

Nottage contributed to the "dance-theatre musical" written [[Stephen Flaherty]] and [[Lynn Ahrens]] titled ''In Your Arms'' which premiered at the [[Old Globe Theatre]], San Diego, in September 2015. The piece consists of ten vignettes and was directed and choreographed by [[Christopher Gattelli]]. Her vignette is titled ''A Wedding Dance'' and was performed by Marija Juliette Abney and Adesola Osakalumi with The {{not a typo|Company}}.<ref>Viagas, Robert, [http://www.playbill.com/article/the-verdict-critics-review-in-your-arms-with-donna-mckechnie-at-old-globe-com-364443# "The Verdict: Critics Review ''In Your Arms'', With Donna McKechnie, at Old Globe"], ''Playbill'', September 28, 2015.</ref>

Nottage wrote the book for a jukebox musical centered on [[Michael Jackson]] and titled ''[[MJ the Musical]]'', originally aiming to premiere on Broadway in 2020; previews were delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the musical premiering in February 2022. MJ is currently running on Broadway, London's West End and is touring the United States. It is set to premiere in Sydney and in Hamburg in Spring 2025.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/production/mj-the-musicalneil-simon-theatre-2020-2021|title=MJ the Musical Broadway @ Neil Simon Theatre - Tickets and Discounts}}</ref>

====''This is Reading''====

Nottage co-conceived ''This is Reading'', an immersive transmedia project exploring the decline and rebirth of Reading, Pennsylvania: the setting of Nottage's play ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last=Considine |first=Allison |title=This Is Reading, This Is Home |url=https://www.americantheatre.org/2017/07/26/this-is-reading-this-is-home/ |website=American Theatre |date=July 26, 2017}}</ref> This site-specific multimedia installation blended live performance and visual media, occupying the Franklin Street Railroad Station in Downtown Reading in May 2017, re-animating the long vacant building. Using as its foundation, the hardships, challenges, and triumphs of people living in and around Reading, ''This is Reading'' weaved individual stories into one cohesive tale of the city. It was produced in association with Market Road Films, the Labyrinth Theater Company and Project&.

''This Is Reading'' was conceived by Nottage, and co-created by an award-winning team of artists, including filmmaker [[Tony Gerber]], director Kate Whoriskey and Choreographer Rennie Harris. The creative team included composer Kashaka, projection designer Jeff Sugg, set designer Deb O, costume designer Jennifer Moeller, lighting designer Amith Chandrashaker, sound designer Nick Kourtides, muralist Katie Merz and producers Jane M. Saks, Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Allison Bressi and Santo D. Marabella.

====Market Road Films====
[[File:Lynn Nottage Occupy Wall Street 2011 Shankbone.JPG|thumb|Nottage reading at [[Occupy Wall Street]], November 2011]]
She is the co-founder of a production company, [[Market Road Films]], whose most recent projects include ''The Notorious Mr. Bout'', directed by Tony Gerber and Maxim Pozdorovkin (Premiere/Sundance 2014); ''First to Fall'', directed by Rachel Beth Anderson (Premiere/ IDFA, 2013); and ''Remote Control'' (Premiere/Busan 2013–New Currents Award).

Over the years, she has developed original projects for HBO, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment, Showtime, This is That, and [[Harpo Productions]].<ref>{{cite video|people=Jim Lehrer|date=June 15, 2009|title=NewsHour with Jim Lehrer|url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/|format=mpeg|medium=Television production|publisher=PBS}}</ref>

====Film and television====
Nottage was a producer and writer for the first season of ''[[She's Gotta Have It (TV series)|She's Gotta Have It]]''.

==Themes==
''The Guardian'' noted: 
{{Blockquote
|text="Nottage's two decades of work has garnered praise for bringing challenging and often forgotten, stories onto the stage. ... ''Ruined'' explored the use of rape as a weapon against women in the Democratic Republic of Congo, while ''Intimate Apparel'' focused on a lonely Black seamstress working in New York in 1905... Future areas the 51-year-old is keen to explore in her plays includes the American prison industrial complex, which is "destroying the lives of so many men of colour" but is barely talked about in the national conversation or on the stage. Yet Nottage also expressed disappointment that her work was constantly defined by both her own race and gender, unlike her white male counterparts."<ref>Ellis-Petersen, Hannah, [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2016/feb/22/playwright-lynn-nottage-theatre-is-the-last-bastion-of-segregation "Playwright Lynn Nottage: theatre is the last bastion of segregation"], ''The Guardian'', February 22, 2016.</ref>
}}

==Works==

===Full-length plays===
*''[[Crumbs from the Table of Joy]]'' (1995)
*''Por'Knockers'' (1995)<ref name=knockers>{{cite web |title=Por'Knockers |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/647 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=March 29, 2022}}</ref>
*''Mud, River, Stone'' (1997)<ref name=mud>Daniels, Robert L. [https://variety.com/1997/film/reviews/mud-river-stone-1200452152/ "Review. 'Mud, River, Stone'"], ''Variety'', December 21, 1997.</ref>
*''Las Meninas'' (2002)<ref name=ehren>Ehren, Christine. [http://www.playbill.com/article/forbidden-love-reigns-in-san-jose-with-nottages-las-meninas-march-16-april-14-com-104466# "Forbidden Love Reigns in San Jose With Nottage's ''Las Meninas'' March 16-April 14"], ''Playbill'', March 14, 2002.</ref>
*''[[Intimate Apparel (play)|Intimate Apparel]]'' (2003)
*''[[Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine]]'' (2004)
*''[[Ruined (play)|Ruined]]'' (2008)
*''[[By the Way, Meet Vera Stark]]'' (2011)<ref>Manohla Dargis. [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/04/24/theater/theresa-harris-a-black-actress-who-left-an-impression.html "Just a Maid in Movies, but Not Forgotten"], ''The New York Times'', April 21, 2011.</ref>
*''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]'' (2015)
*''One More River to Cross: A Verbatim Fugue'' (2015)
*''Mlima's Tale'' (2018)
*''[[Clyde's (2021 Play)|Clyde's]]'' (2021)<ref>{{cite web |title=Clyde's |url=https://www.broadway.com/shows/clydes/ |website=Broadway |access-date=10 December 2021}}</ref> – originally debuted as ''Floyd's'' in 2019<ref name=green>Green, Jesse. [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/theater/clydes-review.html "‘Clyde’s’ Review: Sometimes a Hero Is More Than Just a Sandwich"], ''NY Times'', Nov. 23, 2021.</ref>

===Musicals===
*''[[The Secret Life of Bees (musical)|The Secret Life of Bees]]'' (2019) – wrote book
*''[[MJ the Musical]]'' (2021) – wrote book

===Operas===
*''Intimate Apparel'' (2020) – wrote libretto
*''This House'' (2025) – co-wrote libretto
*''The Highlands'' (TBD) – co-wrote libretto

===Other works===
*''Rhinestones and Paste'' (1989) – first play produced in New York<ref>[https://artny.memberclicks.net/assets/documents/lynn-nottage-laura-pels-keynote-2011.pdf ''Laura Pels Keynote Address May 2, 2011''], accessed April 30, 2023.</ref>
*''Poof'' (1993)<ref>[http://www.playscripts.com/play/1062 ''Poof''], playscripts.com, accessed November 6, 2016.</ref> – short play
*''A Walk Through Time'' (2000) – children's musical
*''Our War'' (2014)<ref>Perry, Jennifer. [http://www.broadwayworld.com/washington-dc/article/BWW-Reviews-Arena-Stages-OUR-WAR-Nothing-if-Not-Ambitious-20141027 "BWW Reviews: Arena Stage's 'Our War' - Nothing if Not Ambitious"], broadwayworld.com, October 27, 2014.</ref> – contributed material
*''In Your Arms'' (2015) – contributed material
* ''This Is Reading'' (2017) – co-conceived / multimedia installation
* ''The Watering Hole'' (2021) – co-conceived and co-created

==Awards and nominations==
{{refbegin|30em}}

'''Awards'''
* 2025 [[Washington University International Humanities Medal]]
* 2023 [[Langston Hughes Medal]]
* 2022 [[Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award]] 
* 2019 [[Evening Standard Theatre Award]] for Best Play – ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''
* 2017 [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] – ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''
* 2017 [[Obie Award]], Best New American Play – ''Sweat''
* 2016 [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]] – ''Sweat''
* 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – ''[[Ruined (play)|Ruined]]''
* 2009 [[Lucille Lortel Award]] for Outstanding Play – ''Ruined''
* 2009 [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play]] – ''Ruined''
* 2009 Obie Award for Best New American Play - ''Ruined''
* 2009 [[AUDELCO]] Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year – ''Ruined''
* 2009 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play – ''Ruined''
* 2009 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – ''Ruined''
* 2005 Obie Award, Best New American Play - ''[[Fabulation]]''
* 2004 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – ''[[Intimate Apparel (play)|Intimate Apparel]]''
* 2004 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – ''Intimate Apparel''
* 2004 Outer Critics Circle Award, John Gassner Award – ''Intimate Apparel''

'''Nominations'''
* 2022 [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical]] – ''[[MJ the Musical|MJ]]''
* 2022 [[Tony Award for Best Play]] – ''Clyde's''
* 2022 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Lyrics – ''[[Intimate Apparel (play)#Adaptation|Intimate Apparel]]''
* 2022 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Book of a Musical – ''[[Intimate Apparel (play)#Adaptation|Intimate Apparel]]''
* 2019 [[Lucille Lortel Award]] for Outstanding New Play – ''Mlima's Tale''
* 2019 [[Lucille Lortel Award]] for Outstanding New Revival – ''Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine''
* 2019 [[Drama Desk Award]] for Outstanding Revival – ''Fabulation, or The Re-Education of Undine''
* 2019 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Outstanding Revival – ''By the Way, Meet Vera Starke''
* 2019 [[Laurence Olivier Award]] for Best New Play – ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''
* 2019 [[South Bank Sky Arts Award]] for Theatre – ''[[Sweat (play)|Sweat]]''
* 2018 [[Outer Critics Circle Award]] for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play – ''Mlima's Tale''
* 2017 [[Tony Award for Best Play]] – ''Sweat''
* 2017 Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best Play – ''Sweat''
* 2017 [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play]] – ''Sweat''
* 2017 [[AUDELCO]] Viv Award for Dramatic Production of the Year – ''Sweat''
* 2017 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – ''Sweat''
* 2012 [[Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play]] – ''[[By the Way, Meet Vera Stark]]''
* 2011 AUDELCO Viv Award for Playwriting – ''By the Way, Meet Vera Stark''
* 2009 [[Susan Smith Blackburn Prize]] – ''Ruined''
* 2005 [[Lucille Lortel Award]] for Outstanding Play – ''Intimate Apparel''
* 2001 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize – ''Mud, River, Stone''

'''Other awards'''
* 2019 Golden Plate Award of the [[Academy of Achievement|American Academy of Achievement]] presented by Awards Council member [[Bartlett Sher]]<ref>{{cite web|title= Golden Plate Awardees of the American Academy of Achievement |website=www.achievement.org|publisher=[[American Academy of Achievement]]|url= https://achievement.org/our-history/golden-plate-awards/}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=2019 Summit Highlights Photo | url= https://achievement.org/summit/2019/|quote= Tony Award-winning theater director Bartlett Sher presenting the Golden Plate Award to Lynn Nottage, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, at the Banquet of the Golden Plate Award ceremonies at the St. Regis in New York City.}}</ref>
* 2018 Induction into the American Academy of Arts and Letters
* 2017 Induction into The American Academy of Arts and Science
* 2017 Award of Merit, American Academy of Arts and Letters to "an outstanding playwright for her body of work"
* 2017 AUDELCO Award for Outstanding Achievement
* 2017 Lucille Lortel Sidewalk Star
* 2016 PEN/Laura Pels "Master American Dramatist" Award
* 2016 Literature Award from The Academy of Arts and Letters
* 2016 Columbia University Provost Grant
* 2016 Doris Duke Artist Award, 2016
* 2013 Madge Evans-Sidney Kingsley Award
* 2012 Nelson A. Rockefeller Award For Creativity
* 2010 Steinberg "Distinguished Playwright" Award
* 2010 Horton Foote Award
* 2007 MacArthur "Genius Grant" Fellowship
* 2005 Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship for Drama and Performance Art
* 2004 PEN/Laura Pels "Mid-Career Playwright" Award
* 2000 & 1994 New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship
* 1994 Van Lier Playwright Fellowship
* National Black Theatre Festival August Wilson Playwriting Award

'''Fellowships, commissions, and residencies'''
* [[Signature Theatre Company]], 2018–2019 Residency One
* [[Park Avenue Armory]] (2017–2018)
* [[Arena Stage]]
* [[New Freedom Theatre]]
* [[New Dramatists]] (1999–2006)
{{refend}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{wikiquote}}
{{commons category}}
*[https://archive.today/20130222050512/http://www.lynnnottage.net/ Official site] 
*Nosheen Iqbal, [https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/apr/20/lynn-nottage-ruined "Interview: Lynn Nottage: a bar, a brothel and Brecht"], ''The Guardian'', April 20, 2010. Accessed April 20, 2010
*{{IBDB name|483794}}
*{{IOBDB name|3672}}
*[http://www.newdramatists.org/lynn_nottage.htm#CRUMBS_FROM_THE_TABLE_OF_JOY Biography at New Dramatists]
*[http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsN/nottage-lynn.html "The Playwrights Database, Lynn Nottage" doollee.com] {{subscription required}}

{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 2001-2025}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nottage, Lynn}}
[[Category:1964 births]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:African-American dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:MacArthur Fellows]]
[[Category:Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners]]
[[Category:David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University alumni]]
[[Category:Brown University alumni]]
[[Category:Columbia University faculty]]
[[Category:American women dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:Saint Ann's School (Brooklyn) alumni]]
[[Category:Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni]]
[[Category:American women academics]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women writers]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American people]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American women]]
[[Category:Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters]]
[[Category:African-American opera librettists]]
[[Category:American opera librettists]]