Otabenga

John Strand is the author of LINCOLNESQUE, a comedy about politics and madness in Washington, D.C. (The Cleveland Play House, directed by Michael Bloom) and LORENZACCIO, his adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1834 French classic (The Shakespeare Theatre, Washington, D.C., directed by Michael Kahn). Strand also wrote the book for the musical THE HIGHEST YELLOW, with a score by Michael John LaChiusa, at Signature Theatre, Arlington, VA. His other plays include LOVERS AND EXECUTIONERS, Arena Stage, winner of the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; THE DIARIES, commissioned by Signature Theatre and nominated for the MacArthur Award; and TOM WALKER, commissioned by Arena Stage. Additional plays are OTABENGA, directed by Michael Kahn at Signature Theatre, and nominated for the MacArthur; an adaptation of Molière's THE MISER set in Reagan-era America, at Arena Stage; THREE NIGHTS IN TEHRAN, a comedy about the Iran-Contra affair, Signature Theatre; THE COCKBURN RITUALS, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Co. Mr. Strand spent ten years in Paris, where he worked as a journalist and drama critic, writing in English and French, and directed New York University's Experimental Theater Wing in Paris. His plays are published by Broadway Play Publishing, New York.