Sunday, January 16, 2011
Romulus Linney, Prolific Writer of Erudite Plays, Dies at 80
Playbill.com: "Romulus Linney, a respected playwright who wrote dozens of plays on a wide variety of subjects over a multi-decade career, and who achieved a different sort of fame in later years as the father of actress Laura Linney, died Jan. 15 at his home in Germantown, NY. He was 80.
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I had never heard of this playwright, and if I can be a bit presumptious, how will history remember this playwright? Seems like we're living a post-playwright world, where the most important part of the theater is the actor or director. How many great playwrights are living today? Who was the last great one to die? August Wilson? The value of the playwright doesn't seem to hinge on great hits but on the cannon of their work. How many great productions have there been of Linney's work? Doesn't matter if they've been seen/read by a million people or have sold-out Broadway houses, which plays can't seem to do anymore. The reason being is that the playwright now thrives in regional theater, in smaller houses with more intimate settings. The triumph of these plays and playwrights like Linney (I'm assuming) is to make powerful connections with small audiences (both in size and scale.) Reading an obit like this is pretty inspiring, to know that there are probably so many great playwrights out there who I've never heard of.
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