Luke Yankee
Born (1960-02-07) February 7, 1960[1]
Alma materUniversity of California, Riverside, Juilliard School[2]
Occupation(s)Playwright, director, writer
Notable work
Websiteyankeehillproductions.com

Luke Yankee (born February 7, 1960)[1] is an American writer, playwright, and director.[7][8][9][10][11]

Early life and education

Yankee is the son of actress Eileen Heckart.[12] His father, Jack Yankee, was an insurance broker.[13][14] He studied at the University of California, Riverside, New York University, and at the Juilliard Drama School in New York. He has an MFA[15] in Playwriting and Screenwriting.[2] He is married to Don Hill, the Chair of Drama at the University of California, Irvine.

Career

Yankee worked as Producing Artistic Director of the Long Beach Civic Light Opera.[16] He assistant directed six Broadway plays for such directors as Harold Prince, Ellis Rabb, Brian Murray, and Gerald Freedman. [7] His play, The Last Lifeboat, has had 55 productions in North America.[17] His memoir Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart was published in 2006 by Backstage Books. Michael Musto described it as "one of the most compassionate and illuminating showbiz books ever written."[18]

In 2010, his play The Jesus Hickey was staged and produced by the Katselas Theatre Company, starring Harry Hamlin.[19] The same play received both the TRU Voices Award, and the Joel and Phyllis Ehrlich Award.[20][21]

Yankee’s latest work is Marilyn, Mom & Me; a play about his mother’s intense friendship with Marilyn Monroe while shooting the film Bus Stop.[22] It was the recipient of the 2022 Stanley Award for Drama.[17]

He is the Head of Playwriting at California State University, Fullerton[23] and an adjunct professor at Chapman University.[2]

Bibliography

Plays

  • A Place at Forest Lawn, co-authored with James Bontempo, (Dramatists Play Service, 2007) ISBN 9780822222002
  • The Last Lifeboat, (Dramatists Play Service, 2014) ISBN 9780822230243
  • The Jesus Hickey, (Independently Published, 2017) ISBN 9781521359792
  • The Man Who Killed the Cure (Independently Published, 2017) ISBN 9781521356654
  • Marilyn, Mom & Me (2019)

Nonfiction

  • Just Outside the Spotlight: Growing Up with Eileen Heckart (Back Stage Books, 2006) ISBN 9780823078882
  • The Art of Writing for the Theatre: An Introduction to Script Analysis, Criticism, and Playwriting (Bloomsbury Publishing, 2022) ISBN 9781350155602

References

  1. 1 2 "Luke Yankee - IMDb". www.imdb.com. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  2. 1 2 3 "Luke Yankee Faculty Profile Chapman University". Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  3. ↑ Cristi, A. A. "Photos: SBCC Theatre Arts Department THE LAST LIFEBOAT". BroadwayWorld.com.
  4. ↑ "Review: SBCC Theatre Group's 'The Last Lifeboat' Navigates the Depths of Titanic Tragedy". www.noozhawk.com. 14 November 2018.
  5. ↑ "'Titanic' play probes life of ship owner". November 13, 2014.
  6. ↑ "Last Lifeboat Makes its Geauga County Maiden Voyage". Geauga County Maple Leaf | Your News Resource in Geauga County. September 8, 2016.
  7. 1 2 Hershenson, Roberta (14 November 2008). "Building a Love for Live Theater". New York Times. Mr. Yankee, who is also an actor and playwright, directed "Man of La Mancha."
  8. ↑ Gates, Anita (9 December 2007). "That Crazy Old Dude Is Chasing Windmills Again". The New York Times. although it is possible that Luke Yankee's otherwise fine direction may have misplaced some of their humor.
  9. ↑ Marchese, Eric (17 June 2017). "'Crimes of the Heart' in Long Beach shows playwright Beth Henley at her best". In director Luke Yankee's hands at International City Theatre, the 1978 seriocomedy is dryly funny and engagingly but never brittly dramatic, his well-chosen actors adroitly relaying both ends of the play's emotional and tonal continuums.
  10. ↑ "'Shipwrecked!' delivers an adventure-filled life story at ICT in Long Beach". October 29, 2016.
  11. ↑ "ON WITH THE SHOW: ICT Presents Noel Coward's Satirical "Private Lives"". August 31, 2011.
  12. ↑ Wood, Mark; Lucas, Eddie (31 May 2013). Bewitched and Beyond: The Fan Who Came To Dinner. BearManor Media. p. 104. ISBN 978-1593932626. Years later, I learned that the director of that play was a young man named Luke Yankee. Luke is the son of actress Eileen Heckart
  13. ↑ Klein, Alvin (6 September 1987). "Actors Lend Talents To Darien AIDS Benefit". New York Times. Mr. Yankee, the son of Miss Heckart and Jack Yankee, an insurance broker.
  14. ↑ Smith, Dinitia (2 April 2000). "Theater; At Last, Playing Grandma, She Gets to Be the Star". The couple had three sons, Mark, 47, a liquor salesman; Philip, 45, a stage manager for cruise ship theatrical productions, and Luke, 40, the director.
  15. ↑ Grigware, Don (7 October 2014). "BWW Reports: LUKE YANKEE's New Play About the AFTERMATH of the TITANIC". He has directed and produced all over the country and was a protégé of the late John Houseman at USC, where Mr. Hill received an MFA in directing.
  16. ↑ Shirley, Don (1995-10-24). "Long Beach Civic Light Opera Director Doubts a Comeback". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  17. 1 2 "Luke Yankee wins 2022 Stanley Drama Award". Theatre and Speech Department. 2022-07-12. Retrieved 2023-09-06.
  18. ↑ Musto, Michael (30 May 2006). "NY Mirror". www.villagevoice.com. The Village Voice. Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  19. ↑ Propst, Andy (11 May 2010). "Harry Hamlin to Star in Luke Yankee's The Jesus Hickey". www.theatermania.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  20. ↑ "'The Jesus Hickey' Wins Inaugural Ehrlich Award". 3 July 2007. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
  21. ↑ "The Jesus Hickey | New Play Exchange". newplayexchange.org.
  22. ↑ "Marilyn, Mom & Me New Play Exchange". Retrieved 16 June 2022.
  23. ↑ "Faculty and Staff Directory - Department of Theatre and Dance (Theatre) | CSUF". www.fullerton.edu. Retrieved 2023-09-06.


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