Tom Cone
Encyclopedia
Tom Cone is an American-Canadian playwright
and librettist.
His work often presents provocative ideas about morality and art and it stretches existing forms through the integration of music and the visual arts. In many of Cone's plays characters are "riding a fault line, about to make a change which may result in tragedy," sharing an "evocative, somewhat taboo recollection of their common past." In True Mummy two former lovers who once crossed a dangerous line together, are reunited. The title of the play refers to a black, luminous glaze used by artists such as JMW Turner, that was made from the ash of cremated mummies. Visions of life and death of an Egyptian Princess form alternating scenes, and, as she is being prepared for mummification, towards the end of the play when a Turner painting is displayed, it becomes clear that she is on it.
Other plays include Herringbone, Stargazing and Love at Last Sight and Cone wrote librettos for operas The Architect (for Vancouver Opera
, 1993), The Gang (Vancouver New Music, 1997), and Game Misconduct (Vancouver Playhouse 2000). He also wrote adaptations of Molière
's The Miser and Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters which were performed at the Stratford Festival where he was a writer-in-residence between 1978 and 1980.
He adapted Herringbone into a musical in 1981, with music by Skip Kennon and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. It premiered in Chicago followed by productions in New York at Playwrights Horizons
, in London at The King's Head Theatre
, at the Edinburgh Festival
, at Hartford Stage
starring Joel Grey
, and in many cities throughout North America. From 2007 to 2009 it toured Williamstown Theater Festival, McCarter Theatre
(Princeton, NJ) and the La Jolla Playhouse
(CA) in a production starring BD Wong, directed by Roger Rees
.
Tom Cone lives in Vancouver
where he is an active curator and promotor of experimental music and the avant-garde.
Playwright
A playwright, also called a dramatist, is a person who writes plays.The term is not a variant spelling of "playwrite", but something quite distinct: the word wright is an archaic English term for a craftsman or builder...
and librettist.
His work often presents provocative ideas about morality and art and it stretches existing forms through the integration of music and the visual arts. In many of Cone's plays characters are "riding a fault line, about to make a change which may result in tragedy," sharing an "evocative, somewhat taboo recollection of their common past." In True Mummy two former lovers who once crossed a dangerous line together, are reunited. The title of the play refers to a black, luminous glaze used by artists such as JMW Turner, that was made from the ash of cremated mummies. Visions of life and death of an Egyptian Princess form alternating scenes, and, as she is being prepared for mummification, towards the end of the play when a Turner painting is displayed, it becomes clear that she is on it.
Other plays include Herringbone, Stargazing and Love at Last Sight and Cone wrote librettos for operas The Architect (for Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera
Vancouver Opera is the second largest performing arts organization in British Columbia and the largest opera company in western Canada.It performs in the Queen Elizabeth Theatre accompanied currently by the Vancouver Opera Orchestra, one of two specialized opera orchestras in Canada...
, 1993), The Gang (Vancouver New Music, 1997), and Game Misconduct (Vancouver Playhouse 2000). He also wrote adaptations of Molière
Molière
Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's The Miser and Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters which were performed at the Stratford Festival where he was a writer-in-residence between 1978 and 1980.
He adapted Herringbone into a musical in 1981, with music by Skip Kennon and lyrics by Ellen Fitzhugh. It premiered in Chicago followed by productions in New York at Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons
Playwrights Horizons is a not-for-profit Off-Broadway theater located in New York City dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American playwrights, composers, and lyricists, and to the production of their new work....
, in London at The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre
The King's Head Theatre, founded in 1970 by Dan Crawford, is an Off-West End venue in London. It was the first pub theatre in the UK. Adam Spreadbury-Maher became Artistic Director in March 2010 .-Background:...
, at the Edinburgh Festival
Edinburgh Festival
The Edinburgh Festival is a collective term for many arts and cultural festivals that take place in Edinburgh, Scotland each summer, mostly in August...
, at Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage
Hartford Stage, located in Hartford, Connecticut, is one of the leading resident theatres in the United States, known internationally for entertaining and enlightening audiences with a wide range of the best of world drama, from classics to provocative new plays and musicals and neglected works...
starring Joel Grey
Joel Grey
Joel Grey is an American stage and screen actor, singer, and dancer, best known for his role as the Master of Ceremonies in both the stage and film adaptation of the Kander & Ebb musical Cabaret. He has won the Academy Award, Tony Award and Golden Globe Award...
, and in many cities throughout North America. From 2007 to 2009 it toured Williamstown Theater Festival, McCarter Theatre
McCarter Theatre
McCarter Theatre is a not-for-profit, professional company on the campus of Princeton University in Princeton, New Jersey. It is one of the most active cultural centers in the nation, offering over 200 performances of theater, dance, music and special events each year...
(Princeton, NJ) and the La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse
La Jolla Playhouse is a not-for-profit, professional theatre-in-residence on the campus of the University of California, San Diego. -Background:...
(CA) in a production starring BD Wong, directed by Roger Rees
Roger Rees
Roger Rees is a Welsh actor. He is best known to American audiences for playing the characters Robin Colcord on the American television sitcom show Cheers and Lord John Marbury on the American television drama The West Wing...
.
Tom Cone lives in Vancouver
Vancouver
Vancouver is a coastal seaport city on the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It is the hub of Greater Vancouver, which, with over 2.3 million residents, is the third most populous metropolitan area in the country,...
where he is an active curator and promotor of experimental music and the avant-garde.
Selected works
- There (1972)
- The Organiser (1973)
- Cubistique (1974)
- Herringbone (1975)
- Whisper To Mendelsohn (1975)
- The Imaginary Invalid (1975)
- Beautiful Tigers (1976)
- Shotglass (1977)
- Stargazing (1978)
- 1792 (1978)
- The Writer's Show (1978)
- The Servant Of Two Masters (1980)
- The Architect (1993)
- True Mummy (1997)
- Donald and Lenore (2008)
External links
- In The Capilano Review, Winter 2008 / 3.4, The Collaborations Issue http://www.thecapilanoreview.ca/issues/issue-3-4/
- On doollee.com, an online guide to modern playwrights http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsC/cone-tom.html
- Entry on the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Tom%20Cone
- "Interview Herringbone Creators Tom Cone, Skip Kennon, and Ellen Fitzhugh" on mccarter.org http://www.mccarter.org/Education/Herringbone/html/11.html
- "B.D. Wong Embodies Nearly a Dozen Characters in Herringbone, Opening at La Jolla" on playbill.com http://www.playbill.com/news/article/131784-BD-Wong-Embodies-Nearly-a-Dozen-Characters-in-Herringbone-Opening-at-La-Jolla
- Previous Writers-In-Residence of The Capilano Review http://www.thecapilanoreview.ca/past-writers-in-residence/
- Short biography at Anvil Press http://www.anvilpress.com/authors/Tom-Cone