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Lindsey Ferrentino

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Lindsey Ferrentino
Alma materYale School of Drama (M.F.A.)

Hunter College (M.F.A.)

NYU Tisch School of the Arts (B.F.A.)[1]
Occupation(s)Playwright, Screenwriter[1]
FatherJohn Ferrentino
Websitehttps://www.lindseyferrentino.com/

Lindsey Ferrentino is an American contemporary playwright and screenwriter.

Early life

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Lindsey Ferrentino is the daughter of comedian and magician John Ferrentino.[2]

Career

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Ugly Lies the Bone was a New York Times Critic's Pick and played a sold-out, extended run at Roundabout Theatre in 2015. In The New York Times review of the play Charles Isherwood wrote that Ferrentino was "a brave playwright of dauntless conviction whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism."[3][4] Deadline Hollywood described Ugly Lies the Bone as, "clearly the work of a young talent with plenty ahead of her."[5] The Observer described it as, "raw and inescapably moving. A play of small moments that hide big emotions."[6] Ferrentino received the 2016 Kesselring Prize for Ugly Lies the Bone.[7] It was later produced at The National Theatre in London in the 900-seat Lyttleton Theatre in 2017.[8]

In 2018, Amy and the Orphans premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company and was called “barrier breaking” in the New York Times. Featuring American Horror Story's Jamie Brewer, Amy and the Orphans is the first Off-Broadway (or Broadway) show to have an actor with Down syndrome in a leading role.[9] In the New York Times review of Amy and the Orphans, Brantley wrote that Ferrentino "possesses a muscular empathy which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions."[10] Ferrentino, Jamie Brewer, and Eddie Barbanell received the Catalyst Awards Entertainment Industry Excellence Award for Amy and the Orphans.,[11]

Also in 2018, This Flat Earth ran at Playwrights Horizons. The New York Times wrote that This Flat Earth is "Ferrentino's most daring play to date, with profound and essential subjects. She is bravely attempting to contextualize 21st-century horrors within the sort of existential framework in which Thornton Wilder and Edward Albee specialized."[12]

In December 2018, The Year to Come opened at La Jolla Playhouse and was a Critic's Pick by the San Diego Tribune.[13] It was well reviewed by the San Diego Tribune.[14]

Ferrentino's first film, Not Fade Away, was in development at Annapurna Pictures, as of March 2019, produced by David O. Russell and John Krasinski, starring Emily Blunt.[15]

In 2021, it was announced that Ferrentino would write and direct Amy, a film adaptation of her stage play Amy and the Orphans, for Netflix, with Aggregate Films attached to produce.[16]

Style

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Ferrentino is known for writing character led stories that live within larger national narratives. The New York Times wrote that Ferrentino "possesses a muscular empathy which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions"[10] and called her "a dramatist willing to wrestle with overpowering contemporary subjects." Ferrentino’s 2015 off-Broadway hit Ugly Lies The Bone cemented her as a singular voice amongst contemporary playwrights, the New York Times lauding her as “A brave playwright of dauntless conviction whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism.” Following the August 2024 world premiere of her new musical The Queen of Versailles, Variety praised her as having "a moral conscience second to none among her generation of playwrights."[17][12]

Awards and honors

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Ferrentino's awards and honors include the 2016 Kesselring Prize,[7] Laurents/Hatcher Citation of Excellence,[18] ASCAP Cole Porter Playwriting Prize,[19] Paul Newman Drama Award,[20] 2015 Kilroys List,[21] finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize,[22] the Catalyst Awards Entertainment Industry Excellence Award,[11] NYU Distinguished Young Alumna Award,[19] nominated for the Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award,[23] and is the only two-time finalist for the Kendeda Playwriting Prize.[24]

Personal life

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Ferrentino has been engaged to British actor Ralf Little since 2018.[2]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Authors: Lindsey Ferrentino", A Concord Theatricals Company Samuel French, 2019
  2. ^ a b Morris, Nicky (26 December 2023). "Meet Death in Paradise star Ralf Little's famous fiancée". HELLO!. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  3. ^ Charles Isherwood, "Review: ‘Ugly Lies the Bone,’ With Mamie Gummer as a Combat Veteran", The New York Times, October 13, 2015
  4. ^ Olivia Clement, "Lindsey Ferrentino Tells Another Underrepresented Story in Amy and the Orphans", Playbill, March 3, 2018
  5. ^ Jeremy Gerard (2015-10-14). "Mamie Gummer's Disfigured Vet Tries VR In 'Ugly Lies The Bone' – Review". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  6. ^ "A Trifle on Adultery Is Overshadowed by Mamie Gummer's Portrayal of a Wounded Soldier". Observer. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  7. ^ a b Andrew R. Chow, "The Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino Wins the Kesselring Prize", The New York Times, September 4, 2016
  8. ^ Brian Logan, "Ugly Lies the Bone review – war veteran faces her demons in virtual reality rehab", The Guardian, March 2, 2017
  9. ^ Sopan Deb, "A Barrier Breaks: An Actress With Down Syndrome Plays the Lead", The New York Times, February 14, 2018
  10. ^ a b Ben Brantley, "Three Degrees of Loneliness in ‘Amy and the Orphans’", The New York Times, March 1, 2018
  11. ^ a b Olivia Clement, "Amy and the Orphans Recipient of The Arc's Catalyst Award", Playbill, November 7, 2018
  12. ^ a b Ben Brantley, "This Flat Earth’ Traces Childhood Fears No Parent Can Allay", The New York Times, April 9, 2018
  13. ^ James Herbert, "Review: La Jolla Playhouse's compelling ‘The Year to Come’ a grand family story set on rewind", The San Diego Tribune, December 10, 2018
  14. ^ "Review: La Jolla Playhouse's compelling 'The Year to Come' a grand family story set on rewind". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  15. ^ Etan Vlessing, "Emily Blunt in Talks to Join Annapurna Drama 'Not Fade Away'", The Hollywood Reporter, March 21, 2019
  16. ^ Rubin, Rebecca (2021-03-16). "Netflix to Adapt 'Amy and the Orphans' Play With Director Lindsey Ferrentino (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  17. ^ Verini, Bob (2024-08-02). "'The Queen of Versailles' Review: Kristin Chenoweth Shines in a Lavish New Musical With a Social Satire Bite". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  18. ^ Adam Hetrick, "Playwright Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj Wins Laurents/Hatcher Award; Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino Also Honored", Playbill, January 29, 2015
  19. ^ a b "NYUAA Award Honorees", NYU, 2018
  20. ^ "WOODWARD/NEWMAN DRAMA AWARD", BPP, 2015
  21. ^ "THE LIST 2015: The Top 7%", The Kilroys', 2015
  22. ^ "The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize", The Blackburn Prize, 2015
  23. ^ Gordon Cox, "Outer Critics Circle Nominations: ‘American Psycho,’ ‘She Loves Me’ Take the Lead (FULL LIST)", Variety, April 19, 2016
  24. ^ "Winners and Finalists", Alliance Theatre, 2019
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