Thomas Babe (March 13, 1941 â€" December 6, 2000) was an American
playwright, "one of Joseph Papp's most prolific resident playwrights
at the New York Shakespeare Festival," with seven of his plays
premiered at the Public Theatre. His work during the mid-1970s and
through the 1980s explored many elements of American history and
cultural mythology. He was fascinated by the concept of the
traditional hero figureâ€"and the reality behind it.Thomas Babe was
born in 1941 in Buffalo, New York, the son of Thomas James and Ruth
Ina (née Lossie) Babe. He had two sisters, Mimi and Karen. Although
he started writing at a young age, Babe did not go into theater until
after earning other degrees at Harvard University, where he was Phi
Beta Kappa; Cambridge, and Yale University Law School.Babe's works
were regularly produced in New York City by Joseph Papp's Public
Theater, as well as regional theaters across the country. As noted
below, seven of his plays were premiered at the Public Theater, where
Babe was a resident playwright. His first major success there was Kid
Champion (1975), starring Christopher Walken as a former rock star.In
addition to exploring the concept of hero and its mythology, Babe
often featured strained family relationships, specifically focusing on
fathers and daughters, love and individual rights. These themes come
together in Babe's 1977 play, A Prayer for My Daughter, starring Alan
Rosenberg and Laurence Luckinbill, and directed by Robert Allan
Ackerman. It was described as a "close-quartered, deeply psychological
interrogation in a police station", that was "strange and compelling",
and "unsuspectingly, delivers swift body punches."
playwright, "one of Joseph Papp's most prolific resident playwrights
at the New York Shakespeare Festival," with seven of his plays
premiered at the Public Theatre. His work during the mid-1970s and
through the 1980s explored many elements of American history and
cultural mythology. He was fascinated by the concept of the
traditional hero figureâ€"and the reality behind it.Thomas Babe was
born in 1941 in Buffalo, New York, the son of Thomas James and Ruth
Ina (née Lossie) Babe. He had two sisters, Mimi and Karen. Although
he started writing at a young age, Babe did not go into theater until
after earning other degrees at Harvard University, where he was Phi
Beta Kappa; Cambridge, and Yale University Law School.Babe's works
were regularly produced in New York City by Joseph Papp's Public
Theater, as well as regional theaters across the country. As noted
below, seven of his plays were premiered at the Public Theater, where
Babe was a resident playwright. His first major success there was Kid
Champion (1975), starring Christopher Walken as a former rock star.In
addition to exploring the concept of hero and its mythology, Babe
often featured strained family relationships, specifically focusing on
fathers and daughters, love and individual rights. These themes come
together in Babe's 1977 play, A Prayer for My Daughter, starring Alan
Rosenberg and Laurence Luckinbill, and directed by Robert Allan
Ackerman. It was described as a "close-quartered, deeply psychological
interrogation in a police station", that was "strange and compelling",
and "unsuspectingly, delivers swift body punches."
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.