Lynn Nottage facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lynn Nottage
Born	(1964-11-02) November 2, 1964 (age 60) Brooklyn, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Playwright, professor
Education	Brown University (AB) Yale University (MFA)
Notable awards	Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2009, 2017) Obie Award
Spouse	Tony Gerber
Children	2

Lynn Nottage (born November 2, 1964) is an American playwright. She writes plays that often show the lives of everyday working people, especially Black people. She has won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama two times. This is a very important award for plays! She won in 2009 for her play Ruined and again in 2017 for her play Sweat. Lynn Nottage is the first and only woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama twice.

She also received a special award called the MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. In 2019, Time magazine named her one of the 100 Most Influential People. Today, she teaches playwriting at Columbia University. She is also an artist-in-residence at the Park Avenue Armory.

About Lynn Nottage's Life

Lynn Nottage was born on November 2, 1964, in Brooklyn, New York. Her mother, Ruby Nottage, was a school principal. Her father, Wallace, was a child psychologist. Lynn went to Saint Ann's School and later graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School. While in high school, she wrote her first full play. It was called The Darker Side of Verona. The play was about an African-American Shakespeare company traveling through the South.

She studied at Brown University and the Yale School of Drama. After college, she worked for Amnesty International for four years. Lynn Nottage is married to filmmaker Tony Gerber. They have two children, Ruby Aiyo and Melkamu Gerber.

Lynn Nottage's Career in Theater

Lynn Nottage's plays have been performed all over the United States and in many other countries.

Famous Plays by Lynn Nottage

Intimate Apparel

One of her most well-known plays is Intimate Apparel. The story is about Esther, a talented Black seamstress in New York City in 1905. She makes beautiful undergarments for both rich white women and Black women who work in a different way. Esther dreams of opening her own beauty parlor. She saves her money and writes letters to a man she hopes to marry.

The play first opened in 2003. It was performed Off-Broadway in 2004 and received great reviews. The famous actress Viola Davis starred in it. Intimate Apparel has become one of the most performed plays in America. It is even being made into an opera!

Ruined

Ruined tells a powerful story about women in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It shows how they survive during a civil war. The play is set in a small mining town. It follows Mama Nadi, a smart businesswoman who helps and protects women in her bar. The play explores the challenges women face in war-torn areas.

Ruined premiered in 2007. It won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. This play also received many other awards. Lynn Nottage even spoke about the play at the United Nations in 2009.

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark

By the Way, Meet Vera Stark takes you on a seventy-year journey. It follows Vera Stark, a determined African-American maid who wants to be an actress. The play also shows her complicated relationship with her boss, a white Hollywood star. When both women get roles in the same movie, the story behind the scenes creates a surprising legacy for Vera.

This play first opened in 2011. It is a funny and clever look at how Black people were often shown in movies in the past. The play was nominated for the 2012 Drama Desk Award.

Sweat

Sweat is a play about a group of friends. They have spent their lives working together in a factory. They share drinks, secrets, and laughs. But when the factory starts laying off workers and picket lines appear, their trust begins to break down. The friends find themselves fighting against each other to survive.

Lynn Nottage wrote Sweat after spending time in Reading, Pennsylvania. The play shows the lives of steel workers who lost their jobs. Sweat premiered in 2015. It opened Broadway in 2017. This was Lynn Nottage's first play on Broadway. Sweat won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It also won the 2017 Obie Award for Playwriting.

Other Notable Plays

• Her short play Poof! was shown in 1993. It was even broadcast on PBS in 2002.
• Por'Knockers is a political comedy that premiered in 1995.
• Crumbs from the Table of Joy won awards for its performances in 1996.
• Mud, River, Stone was a finalist for an important award in 1996.
• Las Meninas premiered in 2002. It tells the true story of Queen Maria Theresa of Spain and her African servant.
• Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine opened in 2004. It is a companion play to Intimate Apparel.
• Mlima's Tale premiered in 2018. It is about an elephant named Mlima and the illegal ivory trade.
• Lynn Nottage wrote the story for the musical The Secret Life of Bees. It is based on a popular novel.
• She also wrote the story for MJ the Musical, a musical about Michael Jackson. It opened on Broadway in 2022.

Other Creative Projects

This is Reading

Lynn Nottage helped create This is Reading. This was a special project that explored the city of Reading, Pennsylvania. It was the same city where her play Sweat is set. In 2017, this project used live performances and videos. It brought life back to an old train station in Reading. This is Reading shared the stories of people living in the city.

Market Road Films

Lynn Nottage is also a co-founder of Market Road Films. This is a company that makes movies. They have produced several films, including The Notorious Mr. Bout and First to Fall. She has also worked on projects for major TV networks like HBO and Showtime.

Film and Television Work

Lynn Nottage was a producer and writer for the first season of the TV show She's Gotta Have It.

Lynn Nottage's Works

Full-length Plays

• Crumbs from the Table of Joy (1995)
• Por'Knockers (1995)
• Mud, River, Stone (1997)
• Las Meninas (2002)
• Intimate Apparel (2003)
• Fabulation, or the Re-Education of Undine (2004)
• Ruined (2008)
• By the Way, Meet Vera Stark (2011)
• Sweat (2015)
• One More River to Cross: A Verbatim Fugue (2015)
• Mlima's Tale (2018)
• Clyde's (2021)

Musicals

• The Secret Life of Bees (2019) – she wrote the story part
• MJ the Musical (2021) – she wrote the story part

Operas

• Intimate Apparel (2020) – she wrote the words for the opera
• This House (2025) – she helped write the words for the opera
• The Highlands (To Be Determined) – she helped write the words for the opera

Other Works

• Rhinestones and Paste (1989) – her first play in New York
• Poof (1993) – a short play
• A Walk Through Time (2000) – a children's musical
• Our War (2014) – she added material to this project
• In Your Arms (2015) – she added material to this project
• This Is Reading (2017) – she helped create this multimedia project
• The Watering Hole (2021) – she helped create this project

Awards and Honors

Awards

• 2023 Langston Hughes Medal
• 2022 Distinguished Achievement in the American Theatre Award
• 2019 Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Play – Sweat
• 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – Sweat
• 2017 Obie Award, Best New American Play – Sweat
• 2016 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize – Sweat
• 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama – 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
• 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
• 2022 Tony Award for Best Play – Clyde's
• 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Lyrics – Intimate Apparel
• 2022 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical – 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
• 2019 South Bank Sky Arts Award for Theatre – 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 and Fellowships

• 2019 Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement
• 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
• 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 Doris Duke Artist Award
• 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

Images for kids

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  Lynn Nottage reading at Occupy Wall Street, November 2011