Jeff Whitty

Jeff Whitty is an American playwright who lives in New York City. He was born September 30, 1971, and was raised in Coos Bay, Oregon. He graduated from the University of Oregon in 1993, and received a Master's degree from New York University in 1997. He is openly gay. [ [http://www.whitless.com Whitless.com] ] He won the 2004 Tony Award for Best Book of a musical for "Avenue Q", written with Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, which opened on Broadway in 2003. His plays include "The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler" which was commissioned by and received its world premiere at South Coast Repertory in January, 2006; "The Plank Project" (a parody of documentary theater pieces like "The Laramie Project"); the romantic New York comedy "The Hiding Place"; the dark comedy "Suicide Weather"; and "Zora", based on a true story that appeared on NPR's This American Life. He is developing "Freedom City", an original movie musical with music by André 3000 of Outkast.

Whitty is also an actor, having appeared in New York productions of plays by Amy Freed, including "The Beard of Avon" and "Freedomland".

Letter to Jay Leno

On April 20, 2006, Jeff Whitty wrote a letter to NBC's "Tonight Show" host, Jay Leno, criticizing the performer for his use of homosexuals as material for his monologues and jokes. The letter, which Whitty only sent to three people, soon spread across the internet and led to Whitty being interviewed on CNN the following Wednesday. [citation |title=American Morning |date=April 26, 2006 |url=http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0604/26/ltm.04.html |accessdate=2007-12-18 |periodical=CNN Transcripts ] Within a week Jay Leno called the playwright and the two had a conversation. Whitty described the outcome by saying "comedy is tough."Fact|date=December 2007

References

External links

* [http://www.whitless.com Whitless.com] (Personal Website)
* [http://www.scr.org/season/05-06season/hedda.asp "The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler"] at South Coast Repertory
* [http://www.americantheatrewing.org/seminars/detail/avenue_q_09_03/ Production: Avenue Q] - "Working in the Theatre Seminar" video at American Theatre Wing.org, September 2003