Claudia Shear
Claudia Shear (born 1962) is an American actress and playwright. She was nominated for the Tony Award, Best Play and Best Actress for her play Dirty Blonde.
Career
Shear was born in Brooklyn and attended the City University of New York.[1]
Shear first came to prominence with her self-penned solo performance piece Blown Sideways Through Life (described by Frank Rich as an "autobiographical monologue"). The show premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in September 1993.[2] The show then opened at the Off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre on January 7, 1994, closing on July 17, 1994 after 221 performances.[3] Shear won an Obie Award, Special Citation[3] and a 1994 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.[4][5] Shear's employment experiences as a member of the American work force - sixty-four jobs in all, including pastry chef, nude model, waitress, whorehouse receptionist, proofreader, and Italian translator - provided her with a wealth of material for her piece. She adapted it for a 1995 presentation on the PBS series American Playhouse.[6]
Shear wrote the play Dirty Blonde, her exploration of the life and career of Mae West. The play premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop, running from January 10, 2000 to February 13, 2000[7] and then opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre on April 14, 2000 (previews); both productions were directed by James Lapine.[8] She earned Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for both Best Play and Best Actress and won the Theatre World Award.[9]
Shear's acting credits include the films It Could Happen to You (1994) and Living Out Loud (1998)[10] and a guest appearance as the "fake Monica" on the NBC sitcom Friends in 1994.[1] She has also written for such publications as The New York Times, Vogue, and Travel & Leisure, among others.[1]
Restoration, a new play written by her, premiered in June 2009 at La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California, commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher Ashley[11][12] after an idea by Shear. In Restoration, Shear plays "Giulia, a down-on-her-luck art restorer from Brooklyn who receives what could possibly be a career-reviving job of 'refreshing' Michelangelo’s David in time for its quincentennial celebration in Florence."[13] Christopher Ashley, who staged the world premiere of Restoration at La Jolla Playhouse, directed the work for its New York debut. The play premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on April 30, 2010 (previews) and officially on May 19, 2010 through June 13, 2010.[13][14][15]
Shear appeared in the Broadway play by Michele Lowe, The Smell of the Kill, which had a brief run of 40 performances in 2002.[16]
Shear wrote the book for the new musical based on the book Tuck Everlasting. The music and lyrics are written by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen. The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, from January 21, 2015 to February 22, 2015.[17][18] The musical is expected to open on Broadway in April 2016.[19][20]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 "Claudia Shear Overview" tcm.com, accessed May 3, 2015
- ↑ Rich, Frank. "Review/Theater: Blown Sideways Through Life; Fat and 64 Jobs Later, Misfit Finally Finds A Niche on the Stage" The New York Times, September 22, 1993
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 " Blown Sideways Through Life Listing" lortel.org, accessed May 3, 2015
- ↑ "Awards, see 1994" dramadesk.org, accessed May 31, 2015
- ↑ "Claudia Shear Awards" playbillvault.com, accessed May 31, 2015
- ↑ " Blown Sideways Through Life Listing" tcm.com, accessed May 2, 2015
- ↑ " Dirty Blonde Listing" lortel.org, accessed May 2, 2015
- ↑ McBride, Murdoch. "Shear's 'Dirty Blonde' Begins Bway Previews At Helen Hayes April 14" playbill.com, April 14, 2000
- ↑ " Dirty Blonde Broadway Production and Awards" playbillvault.com, accessed May 2, 2015
- ↑ "Claudia Shear" tcm.com, accessed May 2, 2015
- ↑ Raymond, Gerard. "Restoring Beauty: An Interview with Claudia Shear" slantmagazine.co, June 1, 2010
- ↑ Lipton, Brian Scott. Alan Mandell, Claudia Shear, Kate Shindle, et al. Set for La Jolla's "Restoration'" theatermania.com, May 29, 2009
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Hernandez, Ernio. "Off-Broadway Cast Complete for Claudia Shear's 'Restoration' at NYTW" playbill.com, April 9, 2010
- ↑ Peter, Thomas. " 'Restoration': Claudia Shear Goes from 'Dirty Blonde' to Cleaning Up David" playbill.com, May 18, 2010
- ↑ " Restoration New York Theatre Workshop" nytw.org, accessed May 31, 2015
- ↑ Simonson, Robert. " 'Smell of the Kill' Closes on Broadway, April 28" playbill.com, April 28, 2002
- ↑ Tuck Everlasting alliancetheatre.org, accessed May 31, 2015
- ↑ Isherwood, Charles. "Review: 'Tuck Everlasting' Swaps Out the Circle of Life for an Eternally Unspooling Ribbon" The New York Times, February 9, 2015
- ↑ Gioia, Michael." 'Tuck Everlasting' Will Spread Magic On Broadway in 2016" playbill.com, May 13, 2015
- ↑ "'Tuck Everlasting' Broadway Listing" ibdb.com, accessed October 10, 2015
