John Glines
Encyclopedia
John Glines is an American playwright and producer.
in 1955 with a BA
in drama
. As a writer in child
ren’s television
, he worked for seven years on Captain Kangaroo
and for four years on Sesame Street
. His play In The Desert Of My Soul was anthologized in Best Short Plays Of 1976. His musical Gulp!, written with Stephen Greco and Robin Jones, had a lengthy off-off-Broadway run in 1977.
His plays written for, and originally produced by The Glines
, the non-profit organization
for gay
arts which he co-founded in 1976 with Barry Laine and Jerry Tobin, include On Tina Tuna Walk
, In Her Own Words (A Biography of Jane Chambers), Men Of Manhattan, Chicken Delight
, Body And Soul Murder In Disguise, Key West, and Heavenly Days. His last play, Butterflies And Tigers, based on stories of the Chinese people during the Cultural Revolution
, had an extended run in New York City in 1998.
Glines won a Tony Award
and a Drama Desk Award
in 1983 as producer of Torch Song Trilogy
. In his acceptance speech for the Tony, he was the first person ever to acknowledge his same-sex lover on a major awards show
. He won the Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination in 1985 as producer of As Is
, and won the Drama Desk Award in 1994 for Whoop-Dee-Doo!
Glines has been honored by numerous organizations, including the Empire State Pride Agenda
(Artistic Vision Award), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (Oscar Wilde Award), the Allied Gay and Lesbian Association of Los Angeles, and Off-Off-Broadway
Review (Lifetime Achievement Award).
Playwright and producer
Glines graduated from YaleYALE
RapidMiner, formerly YALE , is an environment for machine learning, data mining, text mining, predictive analytics, and business analytics. It is used for research, education, training, rapid prototyping, application development, and industrial applications...
in 1955 with a BA
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. As a writer in child
Child
Biologically, a child is generally a human between the stages of birth and puberty. Some vernacular definitions of a child include the fetus, as being an unborn child. The legal definition of "child" generally refers to a minor, otherwise known as a person younger than the age of majority...
ren’s television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
, he worked for seven years on Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo
Captain Kangaroo is a children's television series which aired weekday mornings on the American television network CBS for nearly 30 years, from October 3, 1955 until December 8, 1984, making it the longest-running children's television program of its day...
and for four years on Sesame Street
Sesame Street
Sesame Street has undergone significant changes in its history. According to writer Michael Davis, by the mid-1970s the show had become "an American institution". The cast and crew expanded during this time, including the hiring of women in the crew and additional minorities in the cast. The...
. His play In The Desert Of My Soul was anthologized in Best Short Plays Of 1976. His musical Gulp!, written with Stephen Greco and Robin Jones, had a lengthy off-off-Broadway run in 1977.
His plays written for, and originally produced by The Glines
The Glines
Founded in 1976 by John Glines, Barry Laine and Jerry Tobin, The Glines is an American not-for-profit organization based in New York City, New York, devoted to creating and presenting gay art to develop positive self-images and dispel negative stereotyping....
, the non-profit organization
Non-profit organization
Nonprofit organization is neither a legal nor technical definition but generally refers to an organization that uses surplus revenues to achieve its goals, rather than distributing them as profit or dividends...
for gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
arts which he co-founded in 1976 with Barry Laine and Jerry Tobin, include On Tina Tuna Walk
, In Her Own Words (A Biography of Jane Chambers), Men Of Manhattan, Chicken Delight
, Body And Soul Murder In Disguise, Key West, and Heavenly Days. His last play, Butterflies And Tigers, based on stories of the Chinese people during the Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution , was a socio-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 through 1976...
, had an extended run in New York City in 1998.
Glines won a 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...
and a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
in 1983 as producer of Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy
Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen living in New York City in the late 1970 and 1980s...
. In his acceptance speech for the Tony, he was the first person ever to acknowledge his same-sex lover on a major awards show
. He won the Drama Desk Award and a Tony nomination in 1985 as producer of As Is
As Is (play)
As Is is a play by William M. Hoffman.The Circle Repertory Company and The Glines co-production, directed by Marshall W. Mason, opened on March 10, 1985 at the Circle Theatre, where it ran for 49 performances...
, and won the Drama Desk Award in 1994 for Whoop-Dee-Doo!
Whoop-Dee-Doo!
Whoop-Dee-Doo! is a deliberately ramshackle musical revue subtitled "a postage stamp extravaganza". It was conceived, created and developed by Charles Catanese, Howard Crabtree, Dick Gallagher, Phillip George, Peter Morris and Mark Waldrop. Songs and sketches by Dick Gallagher, Peter Morris and...
Activism
Concurrently with his theatre work, Glines was a founding trustee of Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, which grew out of Stamp Out AIDS, the non-profit organization he founded in 1985 as a result of his work on As Is.Glines has been honored by numerous organizations, including the Empire State Pride Agenda
Empire State Pride Agenda
The Empire State Pride Agenda is a statewide political advocacy organization in New York that advocates for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender rights, including same-sex marriage. ESPA was founded in 1990 through the merger of the New York State Gay and Lesbian Lobby and the Friends and...
(Artistic Vision Award), Parents, Families, and Friends of Lesbians and Gays (PFLAG) (Oscar Wilde Award), the Allied Gay and Lesbian Association of Los Angeles, and Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway
Off-Off-Broadway theatrical productions in New York City are those in theatres that are smaller than Broadway and Off-Broadway theatres. Off-Off-Broadway theaters are often defined as theaters that have fewer than 100 seats, though the term can be used for any show in the New York City area that...
Review (Lifetime Achievement Award).
External links
- FROM LYCEUM’S STAGE, A DISCUSSION ON AIDS The New York Times, October 13, 1985.
- THEATER: 'CARLA'S SONG,' A DRAMA ABOUT CHILD ABUSE Stephen Holden, The New York Times, July 30, 1984.
- Review/Theater; Arrivederci Papa, Farce In Drag Stephen Holden, The New York Times, June 29, 1989.
- The Demonstration (a scene from Men of Manhattan) Actors Theatre of Louisville, 1991
- Glines Hopes NY Audiences Will Start Chasing His Butteflies David Lefkowitz, Playbill On-Line, 12 June 1998.
- Adjunct Theatre League Ex-Voters Retain Legal Counsel Playbill On-Line, 26 October 1999.
- Old Plays Are Gold Francine L. Trevens, On the Purple Circuit, June 17, 2003.
- Memorial Foundation for the Arts, Honorary Board Members
- Reviews Written by John Glines Amazon.com
- John Glines Award presented
- Personal photo galleries