Maurice Valency
Encyclopedia
Maurice Valency was a playwright, author, critic, and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University
, best known for his award winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux
and Friedrich Duerrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of the plays of others. Valency's version of The Madwoman of Chaillot
would become the basis of the Jerry Herman
musical Dear World
on Broadway.
He is also noted for his book The Flower and the Castle: An Introduction to Modern Drama. John Gassner in his review of this book said that Mr. Valency brought to his work "a lifetime of study and experience as well as a viewpoint both Olympian and engaged." Valency also wrote television plays, adaptations of librettos, novels, and academic works on Chekhov
, Strindberg
, Ibsen and Shaw
.
degree in 1923 at City College
, and at Columbia University
getting a Bachelor of Laws
degree in 1927 (Valency was a member of the New York bar), and a Ph.D. in 1938. In 1936 He married the artist Janet Cornell; they remained married for 60 years until Valency's death in New York City at the age of 93.
Valency was a professor of comparative literature at Columbia and also taught dramatic literature at Juilliard
and at Brooklyn College
. He spoke seven languages.
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, best known for his award winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
and Friedrich Duerrenmatt. He wrote several original plays, but is best known for his adaptations of the plays of others. Valency's version of The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot
The Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
would become the basis of the Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman
Jerry Herman is an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway musical theater. He composed the scores for the hit Broadway musicals Hello, Dolly!, Mame, and La Cage aux Folles. He has been nominated for the Tony Award five times, and won twice, for Hello, Dolly! and La Cage...
musical Dear World
Dear World
Dear World is a Broadway musical with a book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. With its opening, Herman became the only composer-lyricist in history to have three productions running simultaneously on Broadway...
on Broadway.
He is also noted for his book The Flower and the Castle: An Introduction to Modern Drama. John Gassner in his review of this book said that Mr. Valency brought to his work "a lifetime of study and experience as well as a viewpoint both Olympian and engaged." Valency also wrote television plays, adaptations of librettos, novels, and academic works on Chekhov
Chekhov
- People :* Alexander Chekhov, older brother of Anton Chekhov* Anton Chekhov , Russian writer** Chekhov Gymnasium, school, and now museum in Taganrog** Chekhov Library, public library in Taganrog** Anton Chekhov class motorship...
, Strindberg
Strindberg
Strindberg may refer to:People* August Strindberg , Swedish dramatist and painter* Nils Strindberg , Swedish photographer* Anita Strindberg , Swedish actor* Henrik Strindberg , Swedish composerOther...
, Ibsen and Shaw
George Bernard Shaw
George Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
.
Life
Maurice Valency was educated in New York City, getting a Bachelor of ArtsBachelor 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...
degree in 1923 at City College
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, and at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
getting a Bachelor of Laws
Bachelor of Laws
The Bachelor of Laws is an undergraduate, or bachelor, degree in law originating in England and offered in most common law countries as the primary law degree...
degree in 1927 (Valency was a member of the New York bar), and a Ph.D. in 1938. In 1936 He married the artist Janet Cornell; they remained married for 60 years until Valency's death in New York City at the age of 93.
Valency was a professor of comparative literature at Columbia and also taught dramatic literature at Juilliard
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
and at Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College
Brooklyn College is a senior college of the City University of New York, located in Brooklyn, New York, United States.Established in 1930 by the New York City Board of Higher Education, the College had its beginnings as the Downtown Brooklyn branches of Hunter College and the City College of New...
. He spoke seven languages.
Awards
- New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1949, for his adaptation of The Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
by Jean Giraudoux - New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1954, for his adaptation of Ondine by Jean Giraudoux
- New York Drama Critics Circle Award for best foreign play, 1959, for his adaptation of The VisitThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
by Friedrich Duerrenmatt - Tony Award nomination for Best Play, 1959, for his adaptation of The Visit
- Ford FoundationFord FoundationThe Ford Foundation is a private foundation incorporated in Michigan and based in New York City created to fund programs that were chartered in 1936 by Edsel Ford and Henry Ford....
Fellowship, 1958 - Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
, 1960
Adaptations
- The Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of ChaillotThe Madwoman of Chaillot is a play, a poetic satire, by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux, written in 1943 and first performed in 1945, after his death. The play has two acts and follows the convention of the classical unities...
(Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Random House, New York, 1947, OCLC Num: 639892557 - The enchanted: a comedy in three actsThe Enchanted (play)The Enchanted is a 1950 English adaptation by Maurice Valency of the play Intermezzo written in 1933 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux.-Original productions:...
(Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Random House, New York, 1950, OCLC Num: 818215 - The virtuous island: a play in one actThe Virtuous IslandThe Virtuous Island is a 1956 English adaptation by Maurice Valency of the play Supplément au voyage de Cook written in 1935 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux.-Original productions:...
: a play in one act (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Samuel French, New York, 1956, OCLC Num: 2070415 - The Queen's Gambit: a romantic comedy in three acts (Eugène Scribe), Pub: Samuel French, New York, 1956, OCLC Num:: 504510488
- Four plays [The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Apollo of Bellac, The Enchanted, OndineOndine (play)Ondine is a play written in 1938 by French dramatist Jean Giraudoux that tells the story of Hans and Ondine. Hans is a knight-errant who has been sent off on a quest by his betrothed. In the forest he meets and falls in love with Ondine, a water-sprite who is attracted to the world of mortal man....
], adapted, and with an introduction by Maurice Valency (Jean Giraudoux), Pub: Hill and Wang, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 70459302 - The visit: a play in three actsThe VisitThe Visit is a 1956 tragicomic play by Swiss dramatist Friedrich Dürrenmatt.-Plot summary:...
(Friedrich Dürrenmatt), Pub: Random House, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 1379852 - FeathertopFeathertop"Feathertop" is a short story by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1852.-Plot summary:In seventeenth century New England, the witch Mother Rigby builds a scarecrow to protect her garden...
(opera libretto), Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1998 - La PericholeLa PéricholeLa Périchole is an opéra bouffe in three acts by Jacques Offenbach. Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy wrote the French-language libretto based on the 1829 one act play Le carrosse du Saint-Sacrement by Prosper Mérimée, which was revived on 13 March 1850 at the Théâtre-Français...
(opera libretto), The American University Theatre, 1970, OCLC Num: 690595158 - The Reluctant King (opera libretto)
Original works
- The palace of pleasure: an anthology of the novella (with Henry Levtow), Pub: Capricorn Books, New York, 1960, OCLC Num: 296836
- In praise of love: an introduction to the love-poetry of the Renaissance, Pub: Macmillan, New York, 1958, OCLC Num: 313778
- The Thracian horses, Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1963, OCLC Num: 2684110
- The flower and the castle: an introduction to modern drama, Pub: Macmillan, New York, 1963, OCLC Num: 330053
- The breaking string: the plays of ChekhovChekhov- People :* Alexander Chekhov, older brother of Anton Chekhov* Anton Chekhov , Russian writer** Chekhov Gymnasium, school, and now museum in Taganrog** Chekhov Library, public library in Taganrog** Anton Chekhov class motorship...
, Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1966, OCLC Num: 712186 - The cart and the trumpet: the plays of George Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard ShawGeorge Bernard Shaw was an Irish playwright and a co-founder of the London School of Economics. Although his first profitable writing was music and literary criticism, in which capacity he wrote many highly articulate pieces of journalism, his main talent was for drama, and he wrote more than 60...
, Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1973, OCLC Num: 627998 - Savonarola (play), 1974
- Regarding Electra: a play in one or two acts, Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1976, OCLC Num: 2918272
- Conversation with a sphinx: a play in one act, Pub: Dramatists Play Service, New York, 1980, OCLC Num: 6925360
- The end of the world: an introduction to contemporary drama, Pub: Oxford University Press, New York, 1980, OCLC Num: 5051656
- Ashby: a novel, Pub: Schocken Books, New York, 1984, ISBN 0805239073
- Julie: a novel, Pub: New Amsterdam, New York, 1989, ISBN 0941533441
- Tragedy, Pub: New York: New Amsterdam, 1991, ISBN 1561310093
Television plays
- 1951: Battleship Bismarck CBS-TV
- 1953: Toine (Omnibus), CBS-TV
- 1953: The Man without a Country (Omnibus), CBS-TV
- 1954: The Apollo of Bellac (Omnibus), CBS-TV
- 1955: She Stoops to Conquer (Omnibus), CBS-TV
- 1956: The Virtuous Island (for Omnibus), ABC-TV
- 1957: The Second Stranger (General Electric TheaterGeneral Electric TheaterGeneral Electric Theater is an American anthology series hosted by Ronald W. Reagan that was broadcast on CBS radio and television. The series was sponsored by General Electric's Department of Public Relations.-Radio:...
), CBS-TV - 1957: Feathertop (General Electric Theatre), CBS-TV
External links
, Retrieved 25 September 2010, Retrieved 25 September 2010, Retrieved 25 September 2010- Maurice Valency at doollee.com, the playwright's data base, Retrieved 25 September 2010