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Artur KopitAmerican playwright
Date of Birth: 10.05.1937
Country: ![]() |
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Biography of Arthur Kopit
Arthur Kopit, an American playwright, has a keen sense of the word "Honor" like no other author and remarkably reacts to any manifestation of the humiliation of human dignity. Born on May 10, 1937, in New York, Arthur Kopit is the son of jeweler George Kopit and his wife Maxine. When he entered Harvard University, Kopit was genuinely interested in engineering, but soon his character as a young diligent student revealed a passion for creativity. During his time at the university, Kopit was able to win two playwriting contests. He has a keen sense of the word "Honor" and remarkably reacts to any manifestation of the humiliation of human dignity.
Early Career
His first successful play, "Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feeling So Sad," debuted in 1960. Kopit wrote this play while studying European theater during his trip, won after graduating from Harvard University. His goal was to write a play for a playwriting competition. He didn't even think at the time that this play would bring him worldwide fame at the age of 23. Even from the title of this play, it can be understood that he wrote it as a parody, as a "pseudo-classical farce in broken French tradition" in the new avant-garde form of Arthur Adamov, Eugene Ionesco, and Samuel Beckett's French theater. It was precisely this type of theater that was dubbed the "Theater of the Absurd" by Martin Esslin in 1961. When his triumphant play appeared in New York in 1962, Kopit was hailed as the new pioneer of American playwriting. He became one of the few American playwrights who could survive economically by creating serious texts for Broadway. His signature in theater became intelligent satirical comedy plays that touch on social issues in America, including the Vietnam War ("Indians," 1969); language dysfunction and emotional isolation of stroke survivors ("Wings," 1979); the spread of nuclear weapons ("End of the World with Symposium to Follow," 1986); and the predatory greed of Hollywood ("Road to Nirvana," 1991).
Later Career
In 1994, composer Jeffrey Lunden and lyricist Arthur Perlman based the musical "Wings" on Kopit's play of the same name. Kopit also applied his talent in the music field as a scriptwriter for the Tony Awards ceremony, directed by Tommy Tune; "Phantom," based on Gaston Leroux's "Phantom of the Opera" (written before Andrew Lloyd Webber's version); and for the stage adaptation of Cole Porter's film "High Society." Kopit's current projects include creating a play called "Discovering America," based on the journals of Cabeza de Vaca; composing original music for "Lewis and Clark" (score by Donald Alan Siegal); original music for "Tom Swift and the Secrets of the Universe" (score by David Yazbek); and an original film called "Miami." In addition, Arthur Kopit teaches playwriting at New York University, heading the Playwrights' Workshop at the Lark Theater, and is also a member of the Dramatists Guild Council in the United States.