Durang, Christopher (1949-2024), was an American playwright best known for his dark comedies that satirize social conventions and morality. Durang was noted for his savage and controversial attacks on religion in modern life. Most of Durang’s plays have been staged off-Broadway and in regional theaters.
Christopher Ferdinand Durang was born on Jan. 2, 1949, in Montclair, New Jersey. He graduated from Harvard University in 1971 and received a master’s degree from the Yale University School of Drama in 1974. His first play was The Nature and Purpose of the Universe (1971). He first achieved recognition with his one-act play Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You (1979). The play was paired with another short Durang comedy, The Actor’s Nightmare, and the two plays had a long run off Broadway starting in 1981.
Durang also received acclaim for The Marriage of Bette and Boo (1973, revised 1985), a play that mixes comedy and tragedy in portraying a troubled American family. Durang appeared as the narrator in the play. He also acted occasionally in other stage works. Durang’s other plays include The Idiots Karamazov (1974), A History of the American Film (1976), Beyond Therapy (1981), Baby with the Bath Water (1983), Sex and Longing (1996), Miss Witherspoon (2005), Why Torture Is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them (2009), and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2012). Durang also wrote the book and lyrics for the musical comedy Adrift in Macao (2007).
In the 2010’s, Durang developed aphasia, a brain disorder that affects the ability to use and understand language. Because of his condition, he largely withdrew from public life. He died on April 2, 2024.
