The news that the American Catholic playwright Christopher Durang has been diagnosed with aphasia and is retiring from theatrical activity might be an occasion for reevaluating his comic artistry. Born in New Jersey in 1949, Durang acquired notoriety for his 1979 one-act play, Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, an absurdist dark comedy with a tragic ending. Although in interviews Durang claimed literary influences from Noël Coward, Joe Orton and Monty Python, perhaps his closest stylistic contemporary is the grotesque Baltimore-born filmmaker John Waters.
3:19 PM
The American playwright Christopher Durang may help us understand
the news that the american catholic playwright christopher durang has been diagnosed with aphasia and is retiring from theatrical activity m...
Benjamin Ivry
6 min read
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