Itamar Moses

Itamar Moses
EducationYale University (BA)
New York University (MFA)
GenreDrama
Notable worksCompleteness (2011)
Fortress of Solitude (2014)
The Band's Visit (2016)
The Ally (2024)
Notable awardsTony Award for Best Book of a Musical (2018)

Itamar Moses (born 1977) is an American playwright, author, producer and television writer. He gained acclaim for writing the book for the Broadway musical The Band's Visit (2017) receiving the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. He wrote the play Completeness (2011) earning a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play. He wrote books for the musicals Nobody Loves You (2012), and Fortress of Solitude (2014). His latest play The Ally (2024) about a college teacher conflicted about signing a petition debuted at The Public Theatre.

Moses started his television career writing for the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2010–2011), and the HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire (2011), the later of which earned him nominations for two Writers Guild of America Awards. He also served as a writer and producer for the WGN drama series Outsiders in 2017 and the Showtime drama series The Affair from 2018 to 2019.

Early life and education

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Moses grew up in a Jewish family[1] in Berkeley, California, earned his bachelor's degree at Yale University, and his Master of Fine Arts degree in dramatic writing from New York University. He has taught playwriting at both Yale and New York University.

Career

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Moses wrote the play Completeness (2011) which premiered at the South Coast Repertory Theatre before transferring to Playwrights Horizons, New York City.[2] The play revolves around young people, in the Computer Science and Biology Departments of a university, talking about love, molecular biology and computer science, while going through a variety of partners.[3] Bob Verini of Variety in a mixed review praised his writing declaring, "[Moses] writes Completeness for both genders — quite well, too — with an unexpectedly fine ear for contempo sexual politics’ dizzying conversational loops".[4] The play went on to receive a nomination for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play.[5] He has written for the TNT comedy-drama Men of a Certain Age (2010–2011) and HBO drama series Boardwalk Empire (2011), the latter of which earned him nominations for two Writers Guild of America Awards.

In 2014 he wrote the book to the musical The Fortress of Solitude with music and lyrics by Michael Friedman. The musical premiered at The Public Theatre starring Adam Chanler-Berat, Andre de Shields, Brian Tyree Henry, and Rebecca Naomi Jones.[6] The musical is a coming-of-age story about teenagers in 1970s Brooklyn.[7] Marilyn Stasio of Variety praised the production but questioned its Broadway potential writing, "Is there an audience for this extraordinary show? Yes. Is there a Broadway audience? Maybe not" she added, "Make no mistake about it; this is no nostalgia piece, but the tragedy of friends who lost touch with one another and the music they grew up with."[8]

His most prominent work, the musical The Band's Visit, opened on December 8, 2016, at the Atlantic Theater Company.[9] That production won the 2017 Obie Award for Musical Theatre Off-Broadway.[10] After closing on January 9, 2017, the musical moved to Broadway.[11] It began previews on October 7, 2017, and officially opened on November 9, 2017, at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. For his work on The Band's Visit, Moses won the 2018 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.

In 2024 Moses wrote the comedy-drama The Ally starring Josh Radnor as a Jewish college professor who deals with the moral quandary of being asked to sign a petition involving the denouncement of the state of Israel. The play was originally conceived during the Obama years and was slated to premiere in 2020 but was halted due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The production directed by Lila Neugebauer has received positive reviews with Sara Holdren of Vulture praising the performances and writing adding, "Pulsing ominously at the heart of The Ally is a question — a truly frightening one for artists, for scholars, for critics — about the more perilous face of nuance."[12] In a mixed review from Jesse Green of The New York Times he wrote that while "Moses’s play offers eloquent arguments on all sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict" it lacks certain narrative stakes adding, "I felt the need for more wisdom than craft".[13]

Works

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Theatre

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Year Title Role Venue Ref.
2001 Dorothy and Alice Playwright Short play at Manhattan Theatre Source [14]
2002 Bach at Leipzig Playwright Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, New York [15]
2003 Outrage Playwright Portland Center Stage [16][17]
2005 Authorial Intent / Idea Playwright Manhattan Theatre Source, New York [18]
2006 Celebrity Row Playwright Portland Center Stage [19]
2007 The Four of Us Playwright San Diego Old Globe Theatre [20]
2007 Szinhaz Playwright Duke Theater, New York City [18]
2008 Yellowjackets Playwright Berkeley Repertory Theatre [21]
2008 Back Back Back Playwright San Diego Old Globe Theatre [19]
2009 Love/Stories (Or, But You Will Get Used to It) Playwright Flea Theater, New York City [18]
2011 Completeness Playwright South Coast Repertory Theatre [22]
2011 Playwrights Horizons, New York City [23]
2012 Nobody Loves You Book by San Diego Old Globe Theatre [24]
2013 Second Stage Theatre [25]
2014 The Fortress of Solitude Book by The Public Theater, New York City [26]
2016 The Band's Visit Book by Atlantic Theatre Company, New York City [27]
2017 Ethel Barrymore Theatre, Broadway [28]
2022 Donmar Warehouse, West End [29]
2024 Dead Outlaw Book by Minetta Lane Theatre, New York City [30]
2024 The Ally Playwright The Public Theatre, New York City [31]

Television

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Year Title Writer Producer Notes Ref.
2010–2011 Men of a Certain Age Yes No Writer 2 episodes [32]
2011 Boardwalk Empire Yes No Writer 12 episodes [33]
2017 Outsiders Yes Yes Writer 2 episodes; Co-producer 5 episodes [34]
2018–2019 The Affair Yes Yes Writer 2 episodes; Consulting producer 7 episodes [35]
2020 Brave New World No Yes Consulting producer 2 episodes [36]

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2012 Writers Guild of America Awards Dramatic Series Boardwalk Empire Nominated [37]
Episodic Drama Nominated
2012 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play Completeness Nominated [38]
2017 New York Drama Critics Circle Best Musical The Band's Visit Won [39]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding Book of a Musical Nominated [40]
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Musical Won [41]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Book of a Musical Nominated [42]
2018 Tony Award Best Book of a Musical Won [43]
Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Musical Won [44]

Bibliography

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  • Bach at Leipzig. New York: Faber and Faber, 2005.
  • The Four of Us. New York: Faber and Faber, 2008.

References

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  1. ^ Bloom, Nate (June 7, 2018). "The Jews go to the Tonys, 2018 — including Berkeley's own Ari'el Stachel". J. J. The Jewish News of Northern California.
  2. ^ "NYC Premiere of Completeness, About Lovesick Science Nerds, Opens Sept. 13". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  3. ^ "Review: Completeness by Itamar Moses, Directed by Pam MacKinnon at Playwrights Horizons". Let's Talk Off Broadway. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  4. ^ "March 9, 2024".
  5. ^ "2012 Drama Desk Award Winners Announced". TheaterMania. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  6. ^ "The Verdict: Critics Review the New Musical The Fortress of Solitude at The Public". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  7. ^ Staff. "The Verdict: Critics Review the New Musical 'The Fortress of Solitude' at The Public" playbill.com, October 23, 2014
  8. ^ "Off Broadway Review: 'Fortress of Solitude'". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  9. ^ Atlantic Theater Company, https://atlantictheater.org
  10. ^ "2017 | Obie Awards". www.obieawards.com. Archived from the original on 2017-03-15.
  11. ^ Pipenberg, Erik "The Bands Visit to Open on Broadway", The New York Times, May 24th, 2017
  12. ^ "In The Ally, Impossible Conversations We're All Having". March 9, 2024.
  13. ^ "'The Ally' Review: Social Justice as a Maddening Hall of Mirrors". March 9, 2024.
  14. ^ The Nutshell Festival
  15. ^ Itamar Moses (2008). Bach at Leipzig. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 978-0-573-65144-1. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  16. ^ Itamar Moses (2008). Outrage. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 978-0-573-65145-8. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  17. ^ some sources (like [1] ) report the world premiere at Bloomington Playwrights Project in February 2001, however, the published play contradicts that on page 3 in the Billing and Credit Requirements.
  18. ^ a b c Itamar Moses (29 April 2010). Love/Stories (Or, But You Will Get Used to It): Five Short Plays. Northwestern University Press. ISBN 978-0-8101-2691-6. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  19. ^ a b Itamar Moses (7 July 2009). Back Back Back; Celebrity Row; Outrage: Three Plays. Macmillan. ISBN 978-0-86547-905-0. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  20. ^ Itamar Moses (28 February 2009). The Four of Us. Samuel French, Inc. ISBN 978-0-573-69649-7. Retrieved 3 February 2013.
  21. ^ "Itamar Moses Goes Back to High School for World Premiere, Yellowjackets". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  22. ^ "Itamar Moses' Completeness, a Romance of Science Nerds, Opens in World Premiere April 22". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  23. ^ "Completeness". Playwrights Horizons. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  24. ^ Saenger, Diana (2012-05-24). "Reality TV rocks in Nobody Loves You at The Old Globe". La Jolla Light. Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2012-05-31.
  25. ^ Isherwood, Charles (2013-07-18). "Prime-Time Heartache". New York Times. Retrieved 2014-07-10.
  26. ^ "Public Theater listing for Fortress of Solitude". Public Theater.
  27. ^ "The Band's Visit". Atlantic Theater. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  28. ^ "The Band's Visit (Broadway, 2017)". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  29. ^ "The Band's Visit Ends Run at London's Donmar Warehouse December 3". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  30. ^ "Dead Outlaw". Audible Theatre. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  31. ^ "The Ally". Publictheater.org. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  32. ^ "Itamar Moses". Tisch.ny. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  33. ^ "Award Winning Playwright Itamar Moses". WSBT. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  34. ^ "An Interview with Tony Award-Winning Playwright Itamar Moses". DC Theatre Arts. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  35. ^ "The Ally: Josh Radnor and Playwright Itamar Moses in Conversation with SiriusXM's Jessica Shaw". 92NY. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  36. ^ "Itamar Moses". IMDB. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  37. ^ "Itamar Moses - Awards". IMDB. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  38. ^ "The 57th Annual Drama Desk Awards". New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  39. ^ "The Band's Visit and Oslo Win 2017 Drama Critics' Circle Awards". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  40. ^ "Outer Critics Circle Nominations: 'Anastasia,' 'Hello, Dolly!' Lead the Pack (Full List)". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  41. ^ "Ben Platt, The Band's Visit, and Oslo Take Top Honors at 2017 Lucille Lortel Awards". Playbill. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  42. ^ "Drama Desk Awards 2017: Bette Midler, 'Oslo' Take Top Honors (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  43. ^ "Tony Award Winners 2018: The Complete List". Variety. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
  44. ^ "Drama League Awards 2018 - And the Winners are..." New York Theatre Guide. Retrieved March 9, 2024.
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