Paula Vogel facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Paula Vogel
Vogel in 2022
Born	(1951-11-16) November 16, 1951 (age 73) Washington, D.C., U.S.
Occupation	Playwright, professor
Education	Bryn Mawr College Catholic University (BA) Cornell University (MA, PhD)
Notable awards	Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1998)
Spouse	Anne Fausto-Sterling ​ (m. 2004)​

Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright. She writes plays that explore important social and political ideas. Her work often looks at how people deal with difficult experiences and how relationships work. She has won the Pulitzer Prize and has been nominated for two Tony Awards. In 2013, she was honored by being added to the American Theatre Hall of Fame.

Vogel began her career with the play How I Learned to Drive. This play won her the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It was so popular that it came back to Broadway in 2022. This earned her a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. She also wrote other plays like The Baltimore Waltz (1992) and Indecent (2017). Her play Indecent was her first on Broadway. She recently returned to Broadway with her play Mother Play (2024).

Paula Vogel is also a well-known teacher. She taught at Brown University from 1984 to 2008. There, she led the playwriting program. She also helped start the Brown/Trinity Rep Consortium. From 2008 to 2012, she taught at the Yale School of Drama. She was also a playwright-in-residence at the Yale Repertory Theatre.

Early Life and Education

Paula Vogel was born in Washington, D.C.. Her father, Donald Stephen Vogel, worked in advertising. Her mother, Phyllis Rita Bremerman, was a secretary. Her father was Jewish, and her mother was Roman Catholic.

Vogel attended Bryn Mawr College for a few years. She later graduated from The Catholic University of America in 1974. She earned her bachelor's degree there. She also studied at Cornell University. She received her master's degree in 1976 and her PhD in 2016.

Paula Vogel's Career in Theatre

Early Plays and Achievements

Paula Vogel started writing plays in the late 1970s. She became well-known with her play The Baltimore Waltz in 1992. This play won the Obie Award for Best Play. Her most famous play is How I Learned to Drive (1997). This play won the prestigious Pulitzer Prize.

Other important plays by Vogel include Desdemona, A Play About A Handkerchief (1993). She also wrote The Oldest Profession (1981) and And Baby Makes Seven (1984). These plays helped show her unique writing style.

The Oldest Profession was first read in New York City in 1981. It later premiered in Canada in 1988. It was also performed at Brown University in 1990. In 2004, it premiered Off-Broadway in New York City.

And Baby Makes Seven premiered Off-Broadway in 1993. It was produced by the Circle Repertory Company. The play was first produced in New York City in 1984. It was also performed in San Francisco in 1986. Desdemona was first produced in New York in 1993.

In 2012, How I Learned to Drive was performed again in New York City. This was the first time in 15 years. Another play, A Civil War Christmas, was shown Off-Broadway in 2012. It was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award.

Broadway Debut and Recent Works

Vogel's first play with music was Indecent. She created it with Rebecca Taichman. It first showed at Yale Repertory Theatre in 2015. Then it played at La Jolla Playhouse. The play was a finalist for the Edward M. Kennedy Prize for Drama.

Indecent premiered Off-Broadway in 2016. It was nominated for the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award. The play then moved to Broadway in 2017. This was Paula Vogel's first play on Broadway. The play was nominated for several awards. These included the 2017 Tony Award for Best Play.

In 2024, Vogel premiered a new play called Mother Play. This play also opened on Broadway. It was part of Second Stage Theater's season.

Paula Vogel as a Teacher

Paula Vogel is a very respected playwriting teacher. Many of her former students have become famous playwrights. These include Nilo Cruz, Lynn Nottage, and Quiara Alegría Hudes. All of them have won Pulitzer Prizes.

For 20 years, Vogel led the playwriting program at Brown University. She helped create a strong theatre education center there. This led to the Brown/Trinity Repertory Company Consortium in 2002. She left Brown in 2008.

After Brown, she became a professor at Yale School of Drama. She also chaired the playwriting department. She was a playwright-in-residence at Yale Repertory Theatre. She still holds positions at Yale and Long Wharf Theatre. She also taught at Cornell University in the 1970s.

Personal Life

Paula Vogel has two brothers, Carl and Mark. Carl Vogel passed away in 1988. The Carl Vogel Center in Washington, D.C. is named after him. This center helps people in need.

Paula Vogel married Anne Fausto-Sterling in 2004. Anne is a professor and author at Brown University.

Theatrical Works

As a playwright

Awards and Honors

After winning the Obie Award in 1992 and the Pulitzer Prize in 1998, Vogel received other honors. She won the Award for Literature in 2004. She also won the Robert Chesley Award in 1997. In 1998, she received the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize for How I Learned to Drive. In 1999, she won the PEN/Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater Award.

In 2003, the Kennedy Center created an award in her name. The Paula Vogel Award in Playwriting is for student plays that celebrate diversity. In 2013, Vogel was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.

In 2016, Vogel finished her PhD at Cornell University. She received her degree in Theatre Arts. In 2017, she received the Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement. Her work is featured in the book 50 Key Figures in Queer US Theatre.

In 2015, Paula Vogel's writings and papers were acquired by Yale University. She was the first female playwright to be included in their collection.