View source for Tony Kushner

{{short description|American playwright and screenwriter (born 1956)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name             = Tony Kushner
| image            = Tony Kushner - Hollywood and Socialism - The Laura Flanders Show 2.png
| caption          = Kushner in 2016
| birth_date       = {{birth date and age|1956|7|16|mf=yes}}
| birth_place      = [[Manhattan, New York City]], U.S.
| occupation       = {{flatlist|
*Playwright
*author
*screenwriter}}
| education        = [[Columbia University]] {{small|([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]])}}<br>[[New York University]] {{small|([[Master of Fine Arts|MFA]])}}
| spouse           = {{marriage|[[Mark Harris (journalist)|Mark Harris]]|2008}}
| awards           = [[List of awards and nominations received by Tony Kushner|Full list]]
}}

'''Anthony Robert Kushner''' (born July 16, 1956) is an American author, playwright, and screenwriter. Among his stage work, he is most known for ''[[Angels in America]]'', which earned a [[Pulitzer Prize]] and a [[Tony Award]], as well as its subsequent acclaimed [[HBO]] [[Angels in America (miniseries)|miniseries of the same name]]. At the turn of the 21st century, he became known for his numerous film collaborations with [[Steven Spielberg]]. He received the [[National Medal of Arts]] from President [[Barack Obama]] in 2013.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/blog/inside-politics/2013/jul/3/white-house-honor-star-wars-lucas-playwright-kushn/|title=White House to honor Star Wars' Lucas, playwright Kushner among others|work=washingtontimes.com}}</ref> Kushner is among the few writers in history nominated for an [[EGOT|Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Award]].

Kushner made his [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] debut in 1993 with both ''[[Angels in America: Millennium Approaches]]'' and ''[[Angels in America: Perestroika]]''. He received the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] and the [[Tony Award for Best Play]]. His 2003 television adaptation of the play earned him the [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie|Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Writing for a Limited Series or Movie]].

In 2003, Kushner wrote the lyrics and book to the musical ''[[Caroline, or Change]]'' which earned him Tony Award nominations for [[Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical|Best Book of a Musical]] and [[Tony Award for Best Original Score|Best Original Score]]. The 2021 Broadway revival of ''Caroline, or Change'' earned Kushner a nomination for the [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album]].

He has collaborated with director Steven Spielberg on the films ''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]'' (2005), ''[[Lincoln (film)|Lincoln]]'' (2012), ''[[West Side Story (2021 film)|West Side Story]]'' (2021), and ''[[The Fabelmans]]'' (2022). His work with Spielberg has earned him four [[Academy Award]] nominations, one for [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]], two for [[Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay|Best Adapted Screenplay]], and one for [[Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay|Best Original Screenplay]].

== Early life and education ==
[[File:Tony-kushner.1978-graduation.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Kushner protesting at [[Columbia University]] in 1978]]
Kushner was born in [[Manhattan]], the son of Sylvia (née Deutscher), a [[bassoonist]], and William David Kushner, a [[clarinetist]] and conductor.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fisher|first=James|title=The Theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope|year=2001|publisher=Psychology Press|isbn=978-0-8153-3150-6|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VBm4oe3W_ewC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/08/29/obituaries/sylvia-deutscher-kushner-bassoonist-65.html|title=Sylvia Deutscher Kushner, Bassoonist, 65|date=August 29, 1990|work=The New York Times}}</ref> His family is Jewish, descended from immigrants from [[Russia]] and [[Poland]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jewishjournal.com/culture/lifestyle/134378/|title='Finding Your Roots' explores Jewish genealogy|last=Miller|first=Gerri|date=October 23, 2014|work=[[The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|Jewish Journal]]|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/may/05/tony-kushner-university-snub-israel|title=University snub for 'anti-Israel' playwright Tony Kushner|access-date=June 5, 2018|date=May 5, 2011|last=Harris|first=Paul|work=[[The Guardian]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://jewishjournal.com/cover_story/98640/|title=Tony Kushner awarded $100,000 prize for challenging status quo|last=Berrin|first=Danielle|date=November 29, 2011|work=Jewish Journal|access-date=June 5, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2017/may/14/tony-kushner-interview-angels-in-america-to-love-someone-recognise-life-not-eternal-national-theatre|title=Tony Kushner: 'To love someone puts you at the risk of loss'|access-date=June 5, 2018|date=May 14, 2017|last=Kellaway|first=Kate|work=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>Stated on ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'', PBS, November 4, 2014</ref> Shortly after his birth, Kushner's parents moved to [[Lake Charles, Louisiana|Lake Charles]], Louisiana, the seat of [[Calcasieu Parish]] where he spent his childhood. During high school Kushner was active in policy debate. He first developed an interest in the figure of [[Roy Cohn]]—who features as a major character in his play ''Angels in America''—when he was ten years old, after asking his father about the meaning of [[McCarthyism]], to which his father responded by giving his son a copy of [[Fred J. Cook]]’s ''The Nightmare Decade''.<sup>{{YouTube|id=a5e9Vqrtr_4|time=1h9m45s}}</sup>

In 1974, Kushner moved back to New York to begin his [[undergraduate degree|undergraduate]] college education at [[Columbia University]], where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in [[Medieval studies]] in 1978.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://c250.columbia.edu/c250_celebrates/remarkable_columbians/tony_kushner.html|title=Tony Kushner|work=columbia.edu}}</ref> He attended the [[Tisch School of the Arts]] at [[New York University|NYU]], graduating in 1984. During graduate school, he spent the summers of 1978–1981 directing both early original works (''Masque of the Owls'' and ''Incidents and Occurrences During the Travels of the Tailor Max'') and plays by Shakespeare (''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]'' and ''[[The Tempest]]'') starring the children attending the Governor's Program for Gifted Children (GPGC) in Lake Charles.

Kushner has received several honorary degrees: in 2003 from [[Columbia College Chicago]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lib.colum.edu/archives/college/honorarydegrees.php|department=Library|website=Columbia College Chicago|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110509190148/http://www.lib.colum.edu/archives/college/honorarydegrees.php|archive-date=2011-05-09|title=Honorary Degree Recipients}}</ref> in 2006 an honorary doctorate from [[Brandeis University]], in 2008 an honorary [[Doctor of Letters]] from [[SUNY Purchase]] College,<ref Name="Guardian" /> in May 2011 an honorary doctorate from CUNY's [[John Jay College of Criminal Justice]] and also an Honorary Doctorate from [[The New School]],<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2011/06/06/pomp-and-circumstance-mark-singer|title=POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE|magazine=The New Yorker |date=June 6, 2011}}</ref> and in May 2015, an honorary Doctor of Letters from [[Ithaca College]].<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YuzfPs5OS2M|title=Ithaca College Honorary Degree Recipient Tony Kushner's Commencement Speech|date=May 18, 2015|work=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead Youtube links|date=February 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ithaca.edu/commencement/docs/Citation.pdf|title=Commencement – Ithaca College}}</ref>

== Career ==
As a student at NYU, Kushner cofounded the theatre company 3P Productions (short for "Politics, Poetry, and Popcorn") for which he wrote and directed plays such as the dance-theatre piece ''La Fin de la Baleine: An Opera for the Apocalypse''.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Lubow |first=Arthur |date=1992-11-23 |title=Tony Kushner’s Paradise Lost |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1992/11/30/tony-kushners-paradise-lost |access-date=2025-10-18 |work=The New Yorker |language=en-US |issn=0028-792X}}</ref> In 1985, he received a yearlong [[National Endowment for the Arts]] directing fellowship at the [[St. Louis Repertory Theater]]. His first commercially produced play was ''[[A Bright Room Called Day]]'', which premiered at San Francisco's [[Eureka Theatre Company]] in 1987. The company subsequently commissioned a play from Kushner, which along with a $50,000 National Endowment for the Arts grant, spawned Kushner's best known work, ''[[Angels in America]]''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Butler |first=Isaac |title=The World Only Spins Forward: The Ascent of Angels in America |last2=Kois |first2=Dan |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |year=2018 |pages=31-35}}</ref> A play in two parts (''Millennium Approaches'' and ''Perestroika''), ''Angels in America'' is a seven-hour epic about the AIDS epidemic in [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan-era]] New York. It had its world premiere at the Eureka Theatre in 1991, followed by productions at the [[Royal National Theatre]], the [[Mark Taper Forum]], and the [[Walter Kerr Theatre]] on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]]. ''Millennium Approaches'' won the [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]], and both parts of the play won consecutive [[Tony Awards]] for [[Tony Award for Best Play|Best Play]] in 1993 and 1994. 

Kushner's later plays include ''[[Slavs!: Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness]]'' and ''Homebody/Kabul''. He wrote the book for the musical ''[[Caroline, or Change]]'', which premiered on Broadway in 2004. His new translation of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[Mother Courage and Her Children]]'' was performed at the Delacorte Theater in the summer of 2006, starring [[Meryl Streep]] and directed by [[George C. Wolfe]]. Kushner has also adapted Brecht's ''[[The Good Person of Szechwan]]'', [[Pierre Corneille]]'s ''[[The Illusion (play)|The Illusion]]'', and [[S. Ansky]]'s play ''[[The Dybbuk]]''. 

Kushner is famous for frequent revisions and years-long gestations of his plays. Both ''Angels in America: Perestroika'' and ''Homebody/Kabul'' were significantly revised even after they were first published. Kushner has admitted that the original script version of ''Angels in America: Perestroika'' is nearly double the length of the theatrical version.<ref>Lucas, Craig. [http://bombsite.com/issues/43/articles/1656 "Tony Kushner"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110520015104/http://bombsite.com/issues/43/articles/1656|date=May 20, 2011}}, "[[BOMB Magazine]]", Spring, 1993. Retrieved July 25, 2011.</ref> His newest completed play, ''[[The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures]]'', began as a novel more than a decade before it finally opened on May 15, 2009. 

In the early 2000s, Kushner began writing for film and television. He wrote the screenplay for a [[HBO]] miniseries adaptation of ''[[Angels in America (miniseries)|Angels in America]]'' directed by [[Mike Nichols]], for which Kushner won a [[Primetime Emmy Awards|Primetime Emmy Award]]. His screenplay ''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]'' (co-written with [[Eric Roth]]) was produced and directed by [[Steven Spielberg]] in 2005. In January 2006, a documentary feature about Kushner titled ''[[Wrestling with Angels: Playwright Tony Kushner|Wrestling with Angels]]'' debuted at the [[Sundance Film Festival]]. The film was directed by [[Freida Lee Mock]]. In April 2011 it was announced that he would collaborate with Spielberg again, writing the screenplay for an adaptation of historian [[Doris Kearns Goodwin]]'s book ''[[Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=Yin|first=Maryann|title=Steven Spielberg & Tony Kushner To Adapt Team of Rivals|url=http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/steven-spielberg-tony-kushner-to-adapt-team-of-rivals_b27796|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110417090339/http://www.mediabistro.com/galleycat/steven-spielberg-tony-kushner-to-adapt-team-of-rivals_b27796|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 17, 2011|access-date=May 5, 2011|newspaper=Mediabistro|date=May 14, 2011}}</ref> The screenplay for [[Lincoln (film)|''Lincoln'']] would go on to receive multiple awards, in addition to nominations for Best Adapted Screenplay at the [[Golden Globe Award|Golden Globes]] and [[Academy Awards]].<ref>{{Citation|title=Lincoln|url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443272/awards|access-date=January 19, 2018}}</ref>

In a 2015 interview actress/producer [[Viola Davis]] revealed she had hired Kushner to write an as yet untitled biopic about the life of [[Barbara Jordan]] that she planned to star in.<ref>{{cite news|last1=SYME|first1=RACHEL|title=Viola Davis, on Finding Creative Space in TV With No Limitations|newspaper=The New York Times|date=August 25, 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/26/arts/television/viola-davis-on-finding-creative-space-in-tv-with-no-limitations.html|access-date=August 27, 2015}}</ref> In 2016, Kushner worked on a screenplay version of [[August Wilson]]'s play ''[[Fences (play)|Fences]]''; the [[Fences (film)|resulting film]], directed by [[Denzel Washington]], was released in December 2016. Though his work as a writer was ultimately uncredited, Kushner served as co-producer on the film.

In 2018, it was announced that Kushner was working on a script of a remake of ''[[West Side Story (2021 film)|West Side Story]]'' for Spielberg to direct.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://deadline.com/2018/01/steven-spielberg-indiana-jones-west-side-story-directing-vehicles-1202262857/ |title=Steven Spielberg Eyes Indiana Jones & 'West Side Story' Atop Next Directing Vehicles |last=Fleming |first=Mike Jr. |date=January 19, 2018 |work=Deadline |access-date=January 19, 2018 |language=en-US}}</ref> ''West Side Story'' was released in December 2021 to positive reviews and received seven Academy Award nominations including [[Academy Award for Best Picture|Best Picture]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021-12-10 |title=West Side Story - Rotten Tomatoes |url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/west_side_story_2021 |access-date=2023-09-12 |website=www.rottentomatoes.com |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Cohn |first=Gabe |date=2022-02-08 |title=Oscars 2022 Nominee List: 'Power of the Dog' and 'Dune' Lead |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/08/movies/2022-oscars-nominees-list.html |access-date=2023-09-12 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 2022, Kushner collaborated again with Spielberg on ''[[The Fabelmans]]'', a fictionalized account of Spielberg's childhood. The film premiered at the [[2022 Toronto International Film Festival]] to widespread critical acclaim and won the festival's [[Toronto International Film Festival People's Choice Award|People's Choice Award]].<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://variety.com/2022/film/news/steven-spielberg-the-fabelmans-toronto-film-festival-peoples-choice-award-1235375979/|title=Steven Spielberg's 'The Fabelmans' Wins Toronto International Film Festival's People's Choice Award|last=Rubin|first=Rebecca|date=September 18, 2022|work=Variety|access-date=September 18, 2022|language=en-US}}</ref> ''The Fabelmans'' received seven Academy Award nominations including Best Picture and Best Original Screenplay.

In 2023, with his [[Grammy Award]] nomination for [[Grammy Award for Best Musical Theater Album|Best Musical Theater Album]] for ''Caroline, or Change'', Kushner became one of the few writers in history nominated for all four major American entertainment awards: [[EGOT|the Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, and Tony Awards]].

== Beliefs and activism ==
[[File:Tony Kushner..jpg|thumb|Kushner speaking at the [[University of Maryland]] in 2011]]
Kushner's [[six-word memoir]] was "At least I never voted [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]."<ref>{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Larry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WWQHh1zMNuwC |title=It All Changed in an Instant: More Six-Word Memoirs by Writers Famous & Obscure |last2=Fershleiser |first2=Rachel |date=2010<!---01-05-->|publisher=Harper Collins |isbn=978-0-06-196348-3 |page=76}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=February 3, 2010|title=Can You Tell Your Life Story In Exactly Six Words? |work=NPR |url=https://www.npr.org/2010/02/03/123289019/can-you-tell-your-life-story-in-exactly-six-words |access-date=October 12, 2022}}</ref> His [[criticism of the Israeli government]]'s treatment of [[Palestinians]] and the increased [[religious extremism]] in [[Israeli politics]] and culture has created some controversy with American Jews,<ref>David Zax and Ted Merwin, (2007), [http://www.momentmag.com/the-playwrights-politics/ The Playwright's Politics] Moment Magazine</ref> including some opposition to his receiving an honorary doctorate at the 2006 commencement of [[Brandeis University]]. During the controversy, quotes critical of [[Zionism]] and Israel made by Kushner were circulated. Kushner said at the time that his quotes were "grossly mischaracterized". Kushner told the ''[[Jewish Advocate]]'' in an interview, "All that anybody seems to be reading is a couple of right-wing Web sites taking things deliberately out of context and excluding anything that would complicate the picture by making me seem like a reasonable person, which I basically think I am."<ref>Shayndi Raice. "Brandeis graduation honoree draws fire." ''The Jewish Advocate''. May 4, 2006.</ref>

In an interview with the ''Jewish Independent'', Kushner commented, "I want the state of Israel to continue to exist. I've always said that. I've never said anything else. My positions have been lied about and misrepresented in so many ways. People claim that I'm for a [[one-state solution]], which is not true." He later stated that he hopes that "there might be a merging of the two countries because [they're] geographically kind of ridiculous looking on a map", although he acknowledged that political realities make this unlikely in the near future.<ref name=JewishIndependent>{{cite news|url=http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Aug07/archives07Aug24-01.html|date=August 24, 2007|title=Tony Kushner as film subject|author=Cynthia Ramsey|publisher=Jewish Independent|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071107022644/http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/Aug07/archives07Aug24-01.html|archive-date=November 7, 2007}}</ref> Kushner has received backlash from family members due to his political views of Israel.<ref>David Zax and Ted Merwin (2007), [http://www.momentmag.com/the-playwrights-politics/ The Playwright's Politics] Moment Magazine</ref>

[[File:Tony Kushner National Medal of Arts.jpg|thumb|left|Kushner receiving a [[National Medal of Arts]] from President [[Barack Obama]], 2013]]
On May 2, 2011, the Board of Trustees of the [[City University of New York]] (CUNY),<ref>[http://www.cuny.edu/about/trustees/board.html The Board of Trustees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150929031928/http://www.cuny.edu/about/trustees/board.html |date=September 29, 2015 }}, ''UNY''</ref> at their monthly public meeting, voted to remove (by tabling to avoid debate) Kushner's name from the list of people invited to receive honorary degrees, based on a statement by trustee Jeffrey S. Wiesenfeld about Kushner's purported statements and beliefs about Zionism and Israel.<ref>[http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/podcasts/2011/05/02/public-meeting-of-the-board-of-trustees-6/ Podcast: Board of Trustees Public Hearing, May 2, 2011] (1:04:00-1:14:00), ''[[CUNY]]'', May 2, 2011</ref><ref>[http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2011/05/06/transcript-of-cuny-trustees-speech-on-kushner-award/ Transcript of CUNY Trustee's Speech on Kushner Award], ''[[The New York Times]]'', May 6, 2011</ref> In response, the ''CUNY Graduate Center Advocate'' began a live blog on the "Kushner Crisis" situation, including news coverage and statements of support from faculty and academics.<ref>[http://www.gcadvocate.com/2011/05/kushner-crisis-day-4/ Kushner Crisis (blog)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110508081755/http://www.gcadvocate.com/2011/05/kushner-crisis-day-4/ |date=May 8, 2011 }}, ''CUNY GC Advocate''</ref> Three days later, CUNY issued a public statement that the Board is independent.<ref>[http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2011/05/05/statement-on-honorary-degrees-at-the-city-university-of-new-york/ Statement on Honorary Degrees at the City University of New York] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622033119/http://www1.cuny.edu/mu/forum/2011/05/05/statement-on-honorary-degrees-at-the-city-university-of-new-york/ |date=June 22, 2018 }}, ''[[CUNY]]'', May 5, 2011</ref>

On May 6, three previous honorees stated they intended to return their degrees: [[Barbara Ehrenreich]], [[Michael Cunningham]], and [[Ellen Schrecker]].<ref Name="Guardian">[https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/may/06/tony-kushner-supporters-renounce-degrees Tony Kushner row deepens as supporters renounce honorary degrees], ''[[The Guardian]]'', May 6, 2011</ref> Wiesenfeld said that if Kushner would renounce his anti-Israel statements in front of the Board, he would be willing to vote for him.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Shamir |first1=Shlomo |last2=Mozgovaya |first2=Natasha |url=https://www.haaretz.com/news/international/cuny-trustee-kushner-must-renounce-anti-israel-statements-to-get-honorary-degree-1.360282 |title=CUNY trustee: Kushner must renounce anti-Israel statements to get honorary degree |publisher=Haaretz |date=May 6, 2011 |access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref> The same day, the Board moved to reverse its decision.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/07/nyregion/after-reversal-honor-is-likely-for-kushner.html|title=After Reversal, Honor Is Likely for Kushner|work=The New York Times | first=Winnie|last=Hu|date=May 6, 2011}}</ref> Kushner accepted the honorary doctorate at the June 3 graduation for the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.<ref>{{cite news |title=Dramatist Alludes to Dispute as He Accepts CUNY Honor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/04/nyregion/tony-kushner-accepts-honor-cuny-initially-blocked.html |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=June 3, 2011}}</ref>

In March 2024, Kushner was one of several signatories of "A Statement From Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC", a letter denouncing [[AIPAC]]'s [[Lobbying in the United States|lobbying efforts in the United States government]].<ref>{{cite news |date=March 20, 2024 |title=A Statement From Jewish Americans Opposing AIPAC |website=[[The Nation]] |url=https://thenation.com/article/politics/a-statement-from-jewish-americans-opposing-aipac/ |access-date=March 22, 2024}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Kushner and his partner, [[Mark Harris (journalist)|Mark Harris]], held a commitment ceremony in April 2003,<ref name=vows>{{cite news | author=Lois Smith Brady | title=Weddings/Celebrations: Vows; Mark Harris and Tony Kushner | url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9A00E5DE143CF937A35756C0A9659C8B63 | work=The New York Times | date=May 4, 2003 | access-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref> the first same-sex commitment ceremony to be featured in the Vows column of ''[[The New York Times]]''.<ref>{{cite news|last=McCarter|first=Jeremy|title=Tony Kushner's Day: The playwright at the heart of America's cultural moment|url=http://www.newsweek.com/2009/05/27/tony-kushner-s-day.html|access-date=May 5, 2011|newspaper=Newsweek|date=May 28, 2009}}</ref> In summer 2008, Kushner and Harris were legally married at the town hall in [[Provincetown, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Stockwell|first=Anne|title=Love Stories: Tony Kushner and Mark Harris|url=http://www.advocate.com/news/2008/10/08/love-stories-tony-kushner-and-mark-harris|access-date=October 12, 2012|newspaper=Advocate|date=October 8, 2012}}</ref>

Harris is an editor of ''[[Entertainment Weekly]]'' and author of ''Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood'', ''Five Came Back: A Story of Hollywood and the Second World War'', and ''Mike Nichols: A Life''.

He is close friends with theatre director [[Michael Mayer (director)|Michael Mayer]], whom he met while studying at NYU.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/second-floor-of-sardis-a-drink-with-michael-mayer-com-171114|title=SECOND FLOOR OF SARdi's: A Drink with Michael Mayer|date=August 24, 2010}}</ref>

== Credits ==

=== Plays ===
* "Incidents and Occurrences During the Travels of the Tailor Max," Lake Charles, Louisiana, Governor's Program For Gifted Children, 1980.
* ''The Age of Assassins,'' New York, Newfoundland Theatre, 1982.
* ''La Fin de la Baleine: An Opera for the Apocalypse'', New York, Ohio Theatre, 1983.
* ''The Heavenly Theatre,'' produced at New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, 1984.
* ''The Umbrella Oracle,'' Martha's Vineyard, The Yard, Inc..
* ''Last Gasp at the Cataract,'' Martha's Vineyard, The Yard, Inc., 1984.
* ''Yes, Yes, No, No: The Solace-of-Solstice, Apogee/Perigee, Bestial/Celestial Holiday Show,'' produced in St. Louis, Imaginary Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, 1985, published in ''Plays in Process,'' 1987.
* ''Stella'' (adapted from the play by [[Johann Wolfgang von Goethe]]), produced in New York City, 1987.
* ''[[A Bright Room Called Day]],'' first produced in New York, Theatre 22, April 1985. Published in ''Plays By Tony Kushner'', [[Broadway Play Publishing Inc.]]
* ''In Great Eliza's Golden Time,'' produced in St. Louis, Missouri, Imaginary Theatre Company, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, 1986.
* ''Hydriotaphia'', produced in New York City, 1987 (based on the life on Sir [[Thomas Browne]])
* ''[[The Illusion (play)|The Illusion]]'' (adapted from [[Pierre Corneille]]'s play ''[[L'illusion comique]]''; produced in New York City, 1988, revised version produced in Hartford, CT, 1990), [[Broadway Play Publishing Inc.]], 1991.
* ''In That Day (Lives of the Prophets),'' New York University, Tisch School of the Arts, 1989.
* ''Widows'' (with [[Ariel Dorfman]], adapted from a book by Dorfman), produced in Los Angeles, CA, 1991.
* ''[[Angels in America]]: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part One: Millennium Approaches'' (produced in San Francisco, 1991), Hern, 1992.
* ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, Part Two: Perestroika,'' produced in New York City, 1992.
* ''Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes (includes both parts)'', Theatre Communications Group (New York, NY), 1995.
* ''[[Slavs!: Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness]]'', Theatre Communications Group, 1995 & acting edition, [[Broadway Play Publishing Inc.]]
* ''Reverse Transcription: Six Playwrights Bury a Seventh, A Ten-Minute Play That's Nearly Twenty Minutes Long,'' Louisville, Humana Festival of New American Plays, Actors Theatre of Louisville, March 1996.
* ''[[Dybbuk|A Dybbuk]], or Between Two Worlds'' (adapted from [[Joachim Neugroschel]]'s translation of the original [[Yiddish]] play ''[[The Dybbuk]]'' by [[S. Ansky]]; produced in New York City at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, 1997), Theatre Communications Group, 1997.
* ''The Good Person of Szechuan'' (adapted from the original play by [[Bertolt Brecht]]), Arcade, 1997.
* ''Love's Fire: Seven New Plays Inspired by Seven Shakespearean Sonnets'' (with [[Eric Bogosian]] and others), Morrow, 1998.
* ''Terminating, or Lass Meine Schmerzen Nicht Verloren Sein, or Ambivalence, in Love's Fire,'' Minneapolis, Guthrie Theater Lab, January 7, 1998; New York: Joseph Papp Public Theater, June 19, 1998.
* ''[[Henry Box Brown]], or the Mirror of Slavery'', performed at the [[Royal National Theatre|National Theatre]], London, 1998.
* ''Homebody/Kabul,'' first performed in New York City, December 2001.
* ''[[Caroline, or Change]]'' (musical), first performed in New York at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, 2002.
* ''Only We Who Guard The Mystery Shall Be Unhappy'', 2003.
* Translation with "liberties"—but purportedly "not an adaptation"—of [[Bertolt Brecht]]'s ''[[Mother Courage and Her Children]]'' (2006)<ref>{{cite news | author=Jonathan Kalb | title=Still Fearsome, Mother Courage Gets a Makeover | url=https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0615FC3B5B0C758CDDA10894DE404482 | page=2.4| work=The New York Times | date=August 6, 2006 | access-date=December 21, 2008}}</ref>
* ''[[The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures]]'', Minneapolis, Guthrie Theater, 2009.
* ''Tiny Kushner'', a performance of five shorter plays, premiered at the [[Guthrie Theater]], Minneapolis, 2009<ref>{{cite web|title=Tiny Kushner: An Evening of Short Plays|url=http://www.guthrietheater.org/plays_events/plays/2008/tiny_kushner_evening_short_plays|publisher=Guthrie Theater|access-date=December 26, 2011}}</ref>

The stage performance rights to most of these plays are licensed by [[Broadway Play Publishing Inc.]]

=== Books ===
* ''A Meditation from Angels in America'' (1994) Harper, San Francisco, {{ISBN|0-06-251224-2}}
* ''Thinking about the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness: Essays, a Play, Two Poems, and a Prayer'' (1995) Theatre Communications Group, New York, NY {{ISBN|1-55936-100-X}}
* [[Howard Cruse]] (1995), ''[[Stuck Rubber Baby]]'', introduction by Kushner, Paradox Press, New York. {{ISBN|1-4012-2713-9}}
* David B. Feinberg (1995), ''Queer and Loathing: Rants and Raves of a Raging AIDS Clone,'' introduction by Kushner, Penguin, New York. {{ISBN|0-14-024080-2}}
* [[David Wojnarowicz]] (1996), ''The Waterfront Journals,'' edited by Amy Scholder, introduction by Kushner, Grove, New York. {{ISBN|0-8021-3504-8}}
* "Three Screeds from Key West: For Larry Kramer", (1997) in ''We Must Love One Another or Die: The Life and Legacies of Larry Kramer,'' edited by Lawrence D. Mass, St. Martin's Press, New York, pp.&nbsp;191–199. {{ISBN|0-312-22084-7}}
* [[Moisés Kaufman]] (1997), ''Gross Indecency,'' afterword by Kushner, Vintage, New York, pp.&nbsp;135–143. {{ISBN|0-8222-1649-3}}
* ''Plays by Tony Kushner'' (New York: Broadway Play Publishing, 1999), {{ISBN|0-88145-102-9}}. Includes:
** ''A Bright Room Called Day'' (First published 1994)
** ''The Illusion'', freely adapted from [[Pierre Corneille]]'s ''L'Illusion comique''
** ''Slavs!: Thinking About the Longstanding Problems of Virtue and Happiness''
* ''Death & Taxes: Hydrotaphia, and Other Plays'' (1998). Theatre Communications Group (New York, NY), {{ISBN|1-55936-156-5}}. Includes:
** ''Reverse transcription''
** ''Hydriotaphia: or the Death of Dr. Browne'' (adaptation of ''[[Hydriotaphia, Urn Burial]]'', a fictitious, imaginary account of Sir Thomas Browne's character not based upon fact)
** ''[[G. David Schine in Hell]]''
** ''Notes on Akiba''
** ''Terminating''
** ''East Coast Ode to [[Howard Jarvis]]''
* ''[[Brundibár#The Kushner version|Brundibar]]'', illustrated by [[Maurice Sendak]], Hyperion Books for Children, 2003.
* ''Peter's Pixie'', by [[Donn Kushner]], illustrated by Sylvie Daigneault, introduction by Tony Kushner, Tundra Books, 2003
* ''The Art of Maurice Sendak: 1980 to the Present'', 2003
* ''Save Your Democratic Citizen Soul!: Rants, Screeds, and Other Public Utterances''
* ''Wrestling with [[Zion]]: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict,'' with Alisa Solomon, Grove, 2003.
* ''[[Arthur Miller]]: Collected Plays 1941–1961'', [[Library of America]], 2006 (editor)
* ''Arthur Miller: Collected Plays 1964–1982'', Library of America, 2012 (editor)
* ''Arthur Miller: Collected Plays 1987–2004, with Stage and Radio Plays of the 1930s & 40s'', Library of America, 2015 (editor)

=== Essays ===
* "The Secrets of Angels". ''The New York Times'', March 27, 1994, p. H5.
* "The State of the Theatre". ''Times Literary Supplement'', April 28, 1995, p.&nbsp;14.
* "The Theater of Utopia". ''Theater'', 26 (1995): 9–11.
* "The Art of the Difficult". ''Civilization'', 4 (August/September 1997): 62–67.
* "Notes About Political Theater," ''Kenyon Review'', 19 (Summer/Fall 1997): 19–34.
* "Wings of Desire". ''Premiere'', October 1997: 70.
* "Fo's Last Laugh—I". ''Nation'', November 3, 1997: 4–5.
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20030730084624/http://www.class.uidaho.edu/diversity/tkon.htm "Matthew's Passion"]. ''Nation'', November 9, 1998
* "A Modest Proposal". ''American Theatre'', January 1998: 20–22, 77–89.
* "A Word to Graduates: Organize!". ''Nation'', July 1, 2002.
* "Only We Who Guard The Mystery Shall Be Unhappy". ''Nation'', March 24, 2003.

=== Films ===
* ''[[Munich (2005 film)|Munich]]'', a film by [[Steven Spielberg]] (2005) – screenplay (co-written by [[Eric Roth]])
* ''[[Lincoln (film)|Lincoln]]'', a film by Steven Spielberg (2012) – screenplay
* ''[[Fences (film)|Fences]]'', a film by [[Denzel Washington]] (2016) – screenplay (uncredited, co-written by [[August Wilson]]), co-producer
* ''[[West Side Story (2021 film)|West Side Story]]'', a film by Steven Spielberg (2021) – screenplay, executive producer
* ''[[The Fabelmans]]'', a film by Steven Spielberg (2022) – screenplay (co-written by Spielberg), producer

=== Television ===
* ''[[Angels in America (miniseries)|Angels in America]]'', a miniseries by [[Mike Nichols]] (2003) – teleplay

=== Opera ===
* ''La Fin de la Baleine: An Opera for the Apocalypse'' (opera) – 1983
* ''St. Cecilia or The Power of Music'' (opera libretto based on [[Heinrich von Kleist]]'s eighteenth-century story ''Die heilige Cäcilie oder Die Gewalt der Musik, Eine Legende'')
* ''Brundibar'' (an opera in collaboration with Maurice Sendak)

=== Director ===
* ''Helen'', written by [[Ellen McLaughlin]], produced at the Joseph Papp Public Theater, 2002.<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2002/04/09/theater/theater-review-the-face-again-still-gorgeous-but-a-bit-weary.html] Brantley, Ben. ''The Face Again, Still Gorgeous But a Bit Weary''. New York Times.  April 9, 2002.</ref>

== Interviews ==
* Gerard Raymond, "Q & A With Tony Kushner," ''Theatre Week'' (December 20–26, 1993): 14–20.
* Mark Marvel, "A Conversation with Tony Kushner," ''Interview,'' 24 (February 1994): 84.
* David Savran, "Tony Kushner," in ''Speaking on Stage: Interviews with Contemporary American Playwrights,'' edited by Philip C. Kolin and Colby H. Kullman (Tuscaloosa: University of Alabama Press, 1996), pp.&nbsp;291–313.
* Robert Vorlicky, ed., ''Tony Kushner in Conversation'' (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1998).
* Victor Wishna, "Tony Kushner," in ''In Their Company: Portraits of American Playwrights'', Photographs by Ken Collins, Interviews by Victor Wishna (New York: Umbrage Editions, 2006).
* Jesse Tisch, "The Perfectionist: An Interview with Tony Kushner," ''Secular Culture & Ideas {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200924172404/http://www.secularjewishculture.org/ |date=September 24, 2020 }}'' 2009.
*Christopher Carbone, Q & A With Tony Kushner, L Style G Style, (May/June 2011): [https://archive.today/20130128100035/http://www.lstylegstyle.com/celebrity/tony-kushner/]
* Michał Hernes, "Kushner: Polityczna dusza Amerykanów została okaleczona" in ''Polityczna dusza Amerykanów została okaleczona'', May 17, 2012.

== Awards and honors ==
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Tony Kushner}}

Kushner has received various accolades including two [[Tony Awards]] and a [[Primetime Emmy Award]] along with nominations for four [[Academy Awards]] and a [[Grammy Award]]. <Br/> He has also received various honors including:
* 1993 [[Pulitzer Prize for Drama]] – ''Angels in America: Millennium Approaches''
* 2002 [[PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award]] for a playwright in mid-career
* 2008 Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award
* 2011 [[Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship]]<ref>[http://www.nationinstitute.org/puffinnation/recip.html Puffin/Nation Prize for Creative Citizenship] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100710194019/http://www.nationinstitute.org/puffinnation/recip.html |date=July 10, 2010 }}, official website.</ref>
* 2012 [[St. Louis Literary Award]] from the [[Saint Louis University (United States)|Saint Louis University]] Library Associates<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slu.edu/libraries/associates/award.html|title=Saint Louis Literary Award – Saint Louis University|access-date=July 25, 2016|archive-date=August 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823003924/http://www.slu.edu/libraries/associates/award.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
* 2013 Elected Member, [[American Philosophical Society]]
* 2013 The Lincoln Forum's [[Richard Nelson Current]] Award of Achievement<ref>[https://www.thelincolnforum.org/richard-nelson-current-award-of-achievement The Lincoln Forum]</ref>

==See also==
* [[Dramatic license]]
* [[LGBT culture in New York City]]
* [[List of LGBT people from New York City]]
* [[List of Russian Academy Award winners and nominees]]

== References ==
{{reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* Anderson, Virginia (2022) "Tony Kushner" in Noriega and Schildcrout (eds.) ''50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre'', pp. 118–122. Routledge. ISBN 978-1032067964.
* ''Contemporary Literary Criticism,'' Gale (Detroit), Volume 81, 1994.
* Bloom, Harold, ed., ''Tony Kushner'', New York, Chelsea House, 2005.
* Brask, Anne, ed., "Ride on the Moon", Chicago, Randomhouse, 1990.
* Brask, Per K., ed., ''Essays on Kushner's Angels'', Winnipeg, Blizzard Publishing, 1995.
* {{cite journal|jstor=25069672|title=Travels with Tony Kushner and David Beckham, 2002–2004|first=Peter|last=Dickinson|date=January 1, 2005|journal=Theatre Journal|volume=57|issue=3|pages=429–450|doi=10.1353/tj.2005.0096|s2cid=154406689}}
*Fisher, James. The Theater of Tony Kushner: Living Past Hope. Second edition. New York: Routledge, 2020.
* Fisher, James, ed., ''Tony Kushner. New Essays on the Art and Politics of His Plays'', London, McFarland & Company, 2006.
* Geis, Deborah R., and Steven F. Kruger, ''Approaching the Millennium: Essays on Angels in America,'' University of Michigan Press, 1997.
* Klüßendorf, Ricarda, "The Great Work Begins". Tony Kushner's Theater for Change in America, Trier, WVT, 2007.
* Lioi, Anthony, "The Great Work Begins: Theater as Theurgy in Angels in America", in CrossCurrents, Fall 2004, Vol. 54, No 3
* Solty, Ingar, "Tony Kushners amerikanischer Engel der Geschichte", in Das Argument 265, 2/2006, pp.&nbsp;209–24 [https://web.archive.org/web/20071203101450/http://mercury.soas.ac.uk/hm/pdf/2006confpapers/papers/Solty.pdf]
* Wolfe, Graham, "Tony Kushner's ''The Illusion'' and Comedy's 'Traversal of the Fantasy'." ''Journal of Dramatic Theory and Criticism'' 26.1 (2011): 45–64. * [http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/journal_of_dramatic_theory_and_criticism/v026/26.1.wolfe.html]

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}
* {{IBDB name}}
* {{IMDb name|1065785}}
* {{iobdb name|2928}}
* {{Charlie Rose view|1488}}
* {{C-SPAN|52992}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/k/tony_kushner}}
* {{Guardian topic}}
* {{JPosttopic|Tony_Kushner}}

;Interviews
* {{cite journal| url=http://www.theparisreview.org/interviews/6153/the-art-of-theater-no-16-tony-kushner|title=Tony Kushner, The Art of Theater No. 16|author=Catherine Steindler|date=Summer 2012|journal=The Paris Review|volume=Summer 2012|issue=201}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20070927032419/http://www.guernicamag.com/interviews/71/writing_the_playwright_1/ Writing the Playwright], interview by Frederic Tuten, ''Guernicamag.com'', June 2005
*[http://www.afterelton.com/people/2006/10/kushner.html Interview with Tony Kushner], Craig Young, ''AfterElton.com'', October 12, 2006
* [http://www.stevedow.com.au/Default.aspx?id=393 Of angels and agnostics], Steve Dow, ''SteveDow.com.au'', undated
* {{cite web |title=Tony Kushner on Abraham Lincoln and Modern Politics (with Bill Moyers) |url=http://billmoyers.com/segment/tony-kushner-on-abraham-lincoln-and-modern-politics/ |date=December 21, 2012 |publisher=[[Moyers & Company]]}}

{{Tony Kushner}}
{{Navboxes
|title = [[List of awards and nominations received by Tony Kushner|Awards for Tony Kushner]]
|list =
{{AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Screenwriter}}
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay}}
{{Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{Emmy Award for Miniseries Writing 2001–2025}}
{{Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{National Medal of Arts recipients 2010s}}
{{National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Screenplay}}
{{Paul Selvin Award}}
{{PulitzerPrize DramaAuthors 1976–2000}}
{{San Francisco Bay Area Film Critics Circle Award for Best Adapted Screenplay}}
{{St. Louis Film Critics Association Award for Best Adapted Screenplay}}
{{Writers Guild of America Award for Television: Long Form – Adapted}}
}}

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