A. R. Gurney - Biography

Biography

Born in Buffalo, New York, Gurney, a graduate of St. Paul's School (Concord, New Hampshire), attended Williams College and the Yale School of Drama, after which he began teaching Humanities at MIT. He began writing plays such as Scenes from American Life, Children, and The Middle Ages while at MIT, but it was his great success with The Dining Room that allowed him to write full-time. Since The Dining Room, Gurney has written a number of plays, most of them concerning WASPs of the American northeast. While at Yale, Gurney also wrote the musical: Love in Buffalo. This was the first musical ever produced at the Yale School of Drama.

Gurney's latest play is "The Grand Manner," a play about his real life encounter with famed actress Katharine Cornell in her production of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra. The play was produced and performed by Lincoln Center for the summer of 2010. It was also produced in Buffalo by the Kavinoky Theatre.

Gurney has also written several novels, including:

• The Snow Ball
• The Gospel According to Joe
• Entertaining Strangers ISBN 978-0-385-12551-2

Gurney has also appeared in several of his plays including The Dining Room and most notably Love Letters.

In 2006, Gurney was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters.