Jeff Whitty is an American playwright

Playwright

A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...

. His works for the stage include the musical Avenue Q

Avenue Q

Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...

, for which he won the Tony Award

Tony Award

The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...

 for Best Book of a musical.

Career

Whitty was born September 30, 1971, was raised in Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay, Oregon

Coos Bay is a city located in Coos County, Oregon, United States, where the Coos River enters Coos Bay on the Pacific Ocean. The city borders the city of North Bend, and together they are often referred to as one entity called either Coos Bay-North Bend or the Bay Area...

, and now lives in New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

. He graduated from the University of Oregon

University of Oregon

-Colleges and schools:The University of Oregon is organized into eight schools and colleges—six professional schools and colleges, an Arts and Sciences College and an Honors College.- School of Architecture and Allied Arts :...

 in 1993, and received a Master's degree from New York University

New York University

New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...

's Graduate Acting Program in 1997. He is openly gay.

He won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a musical for Avenue Q

Avenue Q

Avenue Q is a musical in two acts, conceived by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, who wrote the music and lyrics. The book was written by Jeff Whitty and the show was directed by Jason Moore and produced by Kevin McCollum, Robyn Goodman, and Jeffrey Seller...

, written with composers Robert Lopez

Robert Lopez

Robert Lopez is an American composer and lyricist of musicals best known for co-writing the Broadway musical Avenue Q and for co-creating the musical The Book of Mormon, receiving Tony Awards for both works....

 and Jeff Marx

Jeff Marx

Jeff Marx is a composer and lyricist of musicals. He is best known for creating the Broadway musical Avenue Q with collaborator Robert Lopez.- Early life :...

, which opened on Broadway in 2003, and continued to a West End run and two national tours, as well as dozens of international productions. His plays include The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler which was commissioned by and received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory

South Coast Repertory

South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...

 in January, 2006; The Plank Project (a parody of documentary theater pieces like The Laramie Project

The Laramie Project

The Laramie Project is a play by Moisés Kaufman and members of the Tectonic Theater Project about the reaction to the 1998 murder of University of Wyoming gay student Matthew Shepard in Laramie,...

); the multi-play cycle Balls; The Hiding Place, a romantic Manhattan comedy which received its New York debut at the Atlantic Theater Company

Atlantic Theater Company

Atlantic Theater Company is an Off-Broadway non-profit theater, whose mission is to produce great plays "simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble." The company was founded in 1985 by David Mamet, William H. Macy, and 30 of their acting students from New York University, inspired by the...

; and the dark comedy Suicide Weather.

Whitty is also an actor, having appeared in New York productions of plays by Amy Freed

Amy Freed

Amy Freed is an American playwright. She was nominated as a finalist in the drama category of the 1998 Pulitzer Prizes for her play Freedomland. In addition to Freedomland, she is the author of The Beard of Avon , The Psychic Life of Savages, and other plays...

, including The Beard of Avon

The Beard of Avon

The Beard of Avon is a play by Amy Freed, originally commissioned and produced by South Coast Repertory in 2001.In the play, Shakspere abandons his wife Anne Hathaway in Stratford-on-Avon after a visit from a touring company of players. He makes his way to London, determined to be an actor, and...

and Freedomland

Freedomland

Freedomland has several meanings:* Freedomland U.S.A. was a short-lived themed amusement park in the Baychester section of the Bronx, New York City* Freedomland , a 1998 novel by Richard Price, and...

, as well as small roles in the films Garmento, Lisa Picard is Famous

Lisa Picard is Famous

Lisa Picard is Famous, also known as Famous, is a 2000 comedy-drama film directed by Griffin Dunne and written by Nat DeWolf & Laura Kirk. The film stars Kirk, DeWolf, Dunne, Daniel London, and a large number of famous actors in cameos as themselves.The films story is about a documentary maker who...

, and a cameo in Shortbus

Shortbus

Shortbus is a 2006 comedy-drama film written and directed by John Cameron Mitchell. The plot revolves around a sexually diverse ensemble of colorful characters trying desperately to connect in New York City. The characters converge in a weekly Brooklyn artistic/sexual salon loosely inspired by...

. Among his theatrical credits include stints at the Goodman Theater in Chicago, Philadelphia Theatre Company

Philadelphia Theatre Company

The Philadelphia Theatre Company is a 501 non-profit theater company located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1974 as The Philadelphia Company by Robert Hedley and Jean Harrison. The company has produced over 100 world and Philadelphia premieres and has hosted dozens of nationally...

, and Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons

Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....

 and New York Theatre Workshop

New York Theatre Workshop

__notoc__New York Theatre Workshop is an Off-Broadway theatre noted for its productions of new works. Located at 79 East 4th Street between Second Avenue and the Bowery in the East Village neighborhood of Manhattan, New York City, it houses a 198-seat theatre for its mainstage productions, and a...

 in New York City.

Whitty is writing the libretto to an upcoming stage version of Armistead Maupin

Armistead Maupin

Armistead Jones Maupin, Jr. is an American writer, best known for his Tales of the City series of novels, based in San Francisco.-Early life:...

's Tales of the City

Tales of the City

Tales of the City refers to a series of eight novels written by American author Armistead Maupin. The stories from Tales were originally serialized prior to their novelization, with the first four titles appearing as regular installments in the San Francisco Chronicle, while the fifth appeared in...

, with music by Jake Shears

Jake Shears

Jake Shears is the lead male vocalist for the American music group Scissor Sisters.-Early life and education:...

 and John Garden

John Garden

John Smith "Jock" Garden , clergyman, Australian trade unionist and politician, was one of the founders of the Communist Party of Australia.-Early life:...

 of the musical group Scissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters

Scissor Sisters are an American band "spawned by the scuzzy, gay nightlife scene of New York" who took their name from a sexual position between two women also known as tribadism...

. The show was workshopped at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

Eugene O'Neill Theater Center

The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...

's 2009 National Music Theater Conference. It will open at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco on May 18, 2011 and run through July 10, with direction by Jason Moore and a cast that features Judy Kaye

Judy Kaye

Judy Kaye is an American singer and actress. She has appeared in stage musicals, plays, and operas. Kaye has been in long runs on Broadway in the musicals The Phantom of the Opera, Ragtime and Mamma Mia!-Biography:...

, Betsy Wolfe, Mary Birdsong and Wesley Taylor.

Whitty wrote the libretto for a musical version of Bring It On: The Musical. This is a "free adaptation" of the popular film series with an original story by Whitty, with music by Tom Kitt

Tom Kitt

Tom Kitt is a former Irish Fianna Fáil politician. He served as a Teachta Dála for the Dublin South constituency from 1987 to 2011. He also served as Government Chief Whip from 2004–08.-Early and private life:...

 and Lin-Manuel Miranda and lyrics by Amanda Green

Amanda Green

-Career:Born in New York City, Green was raised on the Upper West Side with brother Adam by parents Phyllis Newman and Adolph Green. From an early age she was exposed to major talents of Broadway musical theatre, including Leonard Bernstein, Jule Styne, and Cy Coleman, all of whom were regular...

 and Lin-Manual Miranda. Direction is by Andy Blankenbuehler

Andy Blankenbuehler

Andy Blankenbuehler is an American dancer, choreographer and director primarily for stage and concerts. He won the Tony Award and Drama Desk Award for his choreography for In the Heights.-Biography:...

 with music direction by Alex Lacamoire

Alex Lacamoire

Alex Lacamoire is an American music director and orchestrator, who has worked on many shows both on and off Broadway.Lacamoire was born in Los Angeles, California, and began to play piano at age three. He and his family moved to Miami, Florida when he was 9...

. The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

 on January 16, 2011.

External links

• Whitless.com (Personal Website)
• The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler at South Coast Repertory
  South Coast Repertory
  South Coast Repertory is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California.Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson and now under the leadership of Artistic Director Marc Masterson and Managing Director Paula Tomei, is widely...
  
  
• Production: Avenue Q - Working in the Theatre Seminar video at American Theatre Wing.org
  American Theatre Wing
  The American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
  
  , September 2003
• Advocate.com: Jeff Whitty’s Broadway-bound Tales of the City musical: Just how gay will it be?