Edward Einhorn
Encyclopedia
Edward Einhorn is an American playwright, theater director, and novelist, noted for the comic absurdism of his drama and the imaginative richness of his literary works.
A native of Westfield, New Jersey
, Einhorn graduated from Westfield High School
, where he was an editor of the student newspaper Hi's Eye
. He attended Johns Hopkins University
. In 1992 he started the Untitled Theater Company #61 in New York (co-founded with his older brother David Einhorn, who has produced plays for the company). With that company, Edward Einhorn has directed T. S. Eliot
's Sweeney Agonistes, Eugene Ionesco
's The Bald Soprano
, Dennis Potter
's Brimstone and Treacle
, and Richard Foreman
's My Head Was a Sledgehammer among other works. He has staged a festival of the complete plays of Eugene Ionesco
, a festival of the complete plays of Václav Havel
, a calypso
musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut
's Cat's Cradle
, an adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and a "NEUROfest" of plays on aspects of neurology
. Off-Broadway
, he directed Fairy Tales of the Absurd, a trilogy of one-act plays, two by Ionesco and one (One Head Too Many) by himself.
As playwright, Einhorn has composed one-act and full-length plays, including dramas on Jewish legends and a series of plays on neurological conditions — The Boy Who Wanted to be a Robot (on Asperger syndrome
), The Taste of Blue, (on synesthesia
), Strangers (on Korsakov's syndrome), and Linguish (on aphasia
). He has adapted the Lysistrata
of Aristophanes
for modern audiences. He has also written a few plays on Czech subjects, such as Rudolf II (based on the 16th century Emperor who lived in Prague), and The Velvet Oratorio (staged at Lincoln Center and based on the events of the Velvet Revolution
). His most personal play, Drs. Jane and Alexander, is a found text piece about his mother and his grandfather, Alexander Wiener, who discovered the Rh factor in blood.
He was written two Oz
novels, Paradox in Oz
and The Living House of Oz (both illustrated by Eric Shanower
), as well as a number of short stories. He has also written a book on probability
for young readers, A Very Improbable Story, illustrated by Adam Gustavson.
In the year 2000, Einhorn was involved in a supposed controversy with playwright Richard Foreman over Foreman's Lava, although Einhorn has stated that the reviewer mistook a joke in the play for a real controversy. Four years later, Einhorn was involved in a more genuine controversy with the producers of Nancy McClernan's play Tam Lin, which resulted in legal action.
A native of Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield, New Jersey
Westfield is a town in Union County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town population was 30,316. The old village area, now the downtown district, was settled in 1720 as part of the Elizabethtown Tract....
, Einhorn graduated from Westfield High School
Westfield High School (New Jersey)
Westfield Senior High School, or simply, Westfield High School is the only public high school located in Westfield, in Union County, New Jersey, operating as part of the Westfield Public Schools. It was established in the early 1900s at its original location on Elm Street until 1951 when it was...
, where he was an editor of the student newspaper Hi's Eye
Hi's Eye
Hi's Eye is the student run weekly newspaper at Westfield High School located in Westfield in Union County, New Jersey. Hi's Eye is New Jersey's only weekly uncensored student newspaper, and one of the few uncensored school publications in the entire country....
. He attended Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
. In 1992 he started the Untitled Theater Company #61 in New York (co-founded with his older brother David Einhorn, who has produced plays for the company). With that company, Edward Einhorn has directed T. S. Eliot
T. S. Eliot
Thomas Stearns "T. S." Eliot OM was a playwright, literary critic, and arguably the most important English-language poet of the 20th century. Although he was born an American he moved to the United Kingdom in 1914 and was naturalised as a British subject in 1927 at age 39.The poem that made his...
's Sweeney Agonistes, Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
's The Bald Soprano
The Bald Soprano
La Cantatrice Chauve — translated from French as The Bald Soprano or The Bald Prima Donna — is the first play written by Franco-Romanian playwright Eugène Ionesco. Nicolas Bataille directed the premiere on May 11, 1950 at the Théâtre des Noctambules, Paris...
, Dennis Potter
Dennis Potter
Dennis Christopher George Potter was an English dramatist, best known for The Singing Detective. His widely acclaimed television dramas mixed fantasy and reality, the personal and the social. He was particularly fond of using themes and images from popular culture.-Biography:Dennis Potter was born...
's Brimstone and Treacle
Brimstone and Treacle
-Potter on Brimstone and Treacle:In 1978, Potter said:I had written Brimstone and Treacle in difficult personal circumstances. Years of acute psoriatic arthropathy—unpleasantly affecting skin and joints—had not only taken their toll in physical damage but had also, and perhaps inevitably, mediated...
, and Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman
Richard Foreman is an American playwright and avant-garde theater pioneer. He is the founder of the Ontological-Hysteric Theater.-Life :...
's My Head Was a Sledgehammer among other works. He has staged a festival of the complete plays of Eugene Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco
Eugène Ionesco was a Romanian and French playwright and dramatist, and one of the foremost playwrights of the Theatre of the Absurd...
, a festival of the complete plays of Václav Havel
Václav Havel
Václav Havel is a Czech playwright, essayist, poet, dissident and politician. He was the tenth and last President of Czechoslovakia and the first President of the Czech Republic . He has written over twenty plays and numerous non-fiction works, translated internationally...
, a calypso
Calypso music
Calypso is a style of Afro-Caribbean music that originated in Trinidad and Tobago from African and European roots. The roots of the genre lay in the arrival of enslaved Africans, who, not being allowed to speak with each other, communicated through song...
musical adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was a 20th century American writer. His works such as Cat's Cradle , Slaughterhouse-Five and Breakfast of Champions blend satire, gallows humor and science fiction. He was known for his humanist beliefs and was honorary president of the American Humanist Association.-Early...
's Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle
Cat's Cradle is the fourth novel by American writer Kurt Vonnegut, first published in 1963. It explores issues of science, technology, and religion, satirizing the arms race and many other targets along the way...
, an adaptation of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep, and a "NEUROfest" of plays on aspects of neurology
Neurology
Neurology is a medical specialty dealing with disorders of the nervous system. Specifically, it deals with the diagnosis and treatment of all categories of disease involving the central, peripheral, and autonomic nervous systems, including their coverings, blood vessels, and all effector tissue,...
. Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
, he directed Fairy Tales of the Absurd, a trilogy of one-act plays, two by Ionesco and one (One Head Too Many) by himself.
As playwright, Einhorn has composed one-act and full-length plays, including dramas on Jewish legends and a series of plays on neurological conditions — The Boy Who Wanted to be a Robot (on Asperger syndrome
Asperger syndrome
Asperger's syndrome that is characterized by significant difficulties in social interaction, alongside restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior and interests. It differs from other autism spectrum disorders by its relative preservation of linguistic and cognitive development...
), The Taste of Blue, (on synesthesia
Synesthesia
Synesthesia , from the ancient Greek , "together," and , "sensation," is a neurologically based condition in which stimulation of one sensory or cognitive pathway leads to automatic, involuntary experiences in a second sensory or cognitive pathway...
), Strangers (on Korsakov's syndrome), and Linguish (on aphasia
Aphasia
Aphasia is an impairment of language ability. This class of language disorder ranges from having difficulty remembering words to being completely unable to speak, read, or write....
). He has adapted the Lysistrata
Lysistrata
Lysistrata is one of eleven surviving plays written by Aristophanes. Originally performed in classical Athens in 411 BC, it is a comic account of one woman's extraordinary mission to end The Peloponnesian War...
of Aristophanes
Aristophanes
Aristophanes , son of Philippus, of the deme Cydathenaus, was a comic playwright of ancient Athens. Eleven of his forty plays survive virtually complete...
for modern audiences. He has also written a few plays on Czech subjects, such as Rudolf II (based on the 16th century Emperor who lived in Prague), and The Velvet Oratorio (staged at Lincoln Center and based on the events of the Velvet Revolution
Velvet Revolution
The Velvet Revolution or Gentle Revolution was a non-violent revolution in Czechoslovakia that took place from November 17 – December 29, 1989...
). His most personal play, Drs. Jane and Alexander, is a found text piece about his mother and his grandfather, Alexander Wiener, who discovered the Rh factor in blood.
He was written two Oz
Land of Oz
Oz is a fantasy region containing four lands under the rule of one monarch.It was first introduced in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum, one of many fantasy countries that he created for his books. It achieved a popularity that none of his other works attained, and after four years, he...
novels, Paradox in Oz
Paradox in Oz
Paradox in Oz is a 1999 novel written by Edward Einhorn. As its title indicates, the book is an entry in the series of books about the Land of Oz written by L. Frank Baum and a host of successors.-The book:...
and The Living House of Oz (both illustrated by Eric Shanower
Eric Shanower
Eric James Shanower is an American comics artist and writer, best known for his Oz novels and comics and the on-going retelling of the Trojan War as Age of Bronze.-Biography:...
), as well as a number of short stories. He has also written a book on probability
Probability
Probability is ordinarily used to describe an attitude of mind towards some proposition of whose truth we arenot certain. The proposition of interest is usually of the form "Will a specific event occur?" The attitude of mind is of the form "How certain are we that the event will occur?" The...
for young readers, A Very Improbable Story, illustrated by Adam Gustavson.
In the year 2000, Einhorn was involved in a supposed controversy with playwright Richard Foreman over Foreman's Lava, although Einhorn has stated that the reviewer mistook a joke in the play for a real controversy. Four years later, Einhorn was involved in a more genuine controversy with the producers of Nancy McClernan's play Tam Lin, which resulted in legal action.