- published: 12 Aug 2013
- views: 2097
Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. His play, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike won the Tony Award for Best Play in 2013. The production was directed by Nicholas Martin, and featured Sigourney Weaver, David Hyde Pierce, Kristine Nielsen, Billy Magnussen, Shalita Grant and Genevieve Angelson.
He is co-director of the Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at Juilliard.
Durang was born in Montclair, New Jersey, the son of Patricia Elizabeth, a secretary, and architect Francis Ferdinand Durang, Jr. He grew up in Berkeley Heights, New Jersey. He attended Catholic schools as a child, including the Our Lady of Peace School in New Providence and Delbarton School in Morristown. He received a B.A. in English from Harvard and an M.F.A. in playwriting from Yale School of Drama.
David Hyde Pierce (born April 3, 1959) is an American actor and comedian.
Pierce is known for playing the psychiatrist Dr. Niles Crane on the NBC sitcom Frasier, for which he won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series during the show's run.
Pierce was born David Pierce in Saratoga Springs, New York. His father, George Hyde Pierce (deceased), was an aspiring actor, and his mother, Laura Marie (née Hughes; deceased), was an insurance agent. He added his middle name "Hyde" to avoid confusion with another actor named David Pierce.
As a child, Pierce frequently played organ at the local Bethesda Episcopal Church.
While attending Yale, Pierce performed in and directed student productions, appearing in the Yale Gilbert & Sullivan Society's production of H.M.S. Pinafore. He also directed the Gilbert & Sullivan Society's operetta Princess Ida. Among other roles Pierce played at Yale were in Waiting for Godot, Saint Joan, and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?.