Editing Christopher Durang (section)

==Work==
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His work often deals critically with issues of [[child abuse]], [[Roman Catholic]] [[dogma]], culture, and [[homosexuality]]. [[Ben Brantley]] summarized key themes from Durang's plays in a review written in 1994: 1) narcissism; 2) fear of engagement with a danger-filled world; 3) the strangulating nature of family ties; 4) sexual disorientation and the tenuousness of individual identity.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Brantley|first=Ben|date=November 14, 1994|title=Durang Durang: Plays That Cast as Irreverent Eye Over Two Revered Playwrights.|work=New York Times}}</ref> To this list the abusive power of authority figures could be added.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Chirico|first=Miriam|title=The Theatre of Christopher Durang|publisher=Methuen Drama|year=2020|pages=12–13}}</ref> 

While Durang's use of parody and his criticism of many social institutions might appear overly cynical at times, he stated:<blockquote> ... when I say everyone is crazy that means it's a very bad day where the amount of crazy people in the world has spread out to the entire universe and it doesn't seem possible to cope with anything... I think we're all [[Neurosis|neurotic]]. And I do think relationships are certainly difficult. Nonetheless, those lines in the play do get a laugh, so there's something. It's not as despairing as it sounds, but I don't not believe it.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://bombmagazine.org/articles/1987/07/01/christopher-durang/|title=Interview: Christopher Durang|website=BOMB Magazine|access-date=January 18, 2024|archive-date=January 18, 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240118153855/https://bombmagazine.org/articles/1987/07/01/christopher-durang/|url-status=live}}</ref>
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Much of Durang's style can be attributed to the aesthetic of [[black comedy]], a humor style that offers a fatalistic view of life. Durang discussed the particular frame of mind that requires the viewer to distance himself from the horrific episode of human suffering and pain; he explained:<blockquote>I exaggerate awful things further, and then I present it in a way that is funny, and for those of us who find it funny, it has to do with a very clear [[suspension of disbelief]]. It is a play, after all, with acted characters; it allows us a distance we couldn’t have in reality.&nbsp; To me this distance allows me to find some rather serious topics funny.</blockquote>Durang suggested that his form of humor requires a double-consciousness, an ability to register scenes of cruelty or pain, while simultaneously comprehending the humor.&nbsp; He credited [[Arthur Kopit]]'s “tragicfarce” ''[[Oh Dad, Poor Dad, Mamma's Hung You in the Closet and I'm Feelin' So Sad]]'' as an early influence on his creative vision, a black comedy in which a woman totes her dead husband's corpse on vacation with her.  Humor is one way of resolving conflict and anxiety, and black comedy goes a step further to relieve tension regarding subjects that are typically difficult to think about, such as death, family dysfunction, or torture.<ref name=":0" />

His plays have been performed nationwide, including on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] and [[Off-Broadway]].<ref name="ibdb">{{cite web|url=https://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=4832|title=Christopher Durang|publisher=Internet Broadway Database|access-date=November 19, 2018|archive-date=September 24, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924131430/http://www.ibdb.com/person.php?id=4832|url-status=live}}</ref> His works include those in the bibliography as well as a collection of one-act parodies meant to be performed in one evening entitled ''[[Durang/Durang]]'' that includes "Mrs. Sorken", "For Whom The Southern Belle Tolls" (a parody of ''[[The Glass Menagerie]]'' by [[Tennessee Williams]]), "A Stye of the Eye", "Nina in the Morning", "Wanda's Visit", and "Business Lunch at the Russian Tea Room".

Together with [[Marsha Norman]], Durang directed The Lila Acheson Wallace American Playwrights Program at the [[Juilliard School]] from 1984 to 2016, teaching playwrights Joshua Harmon and Noah Haidle, as well as Pulitzer-Prize winning [[David Lindsay-Abaire]], who succeeded Durang as co-director.

Durang performed as an actor for both stage and screen. He first came to prominence in his [[Off-Broadway]] satirical review ''Das Lusitania Songspiel'', which he performed with friend and fellow Yale alum [[Sigourney Weaver]]. Later he co-starred in one of his own plays as Matt in ''The Marriage of Bette and Boo'', as well as Man in the original production of ''Laughing Wild''.

===In film===
Durang denounced the [[Robert Altman]] 1987 [[Beyond Therapy (film)|film adaptation]] of ''[[Beyond Therapy]]'', calling it "horrific". He accused Altman of totally rewriting the script "so that all psychology is thrown out the window, and the characters dash around acting crazy but with literally no behavioral logic underneath."<ref>Durang, Christopher (1995). [https://books.google.com/books?id=fkAsAQAAIAAJ ''Christopher Durang: Complete Full-Length Plays, 1975–1995'']. United States: Smith and Kraus. pg. 212; {{ISBN|9781575250175}}</ref>

Durang appeared as an actor in the 1987 comedy ''[[The Secret of My Success (1987 film)|The Secret of My Success]]'', 1988's ''[[Mr. North]]'', 1989's ''[[Penn & Teller Get Killed]]'', 1990's ''[[In the Spirit (film)|In the Spirit]]'', 1992's ''[[Housesitter]]'', and 1994's ''[[The Cowboy Way (film)|The Cowboy Way]]''.<ref>Baltake, Joe (June 5, 1990). [https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=80773677 "Actresses bring right spirit to this odd-couple comedy"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210709183555/https://www.newspapers.com/image/?clipping_id=80773677 |date=July 9, 2021 }}. ''The Sacramento Bee''. pg. 57. Retrieved July 4, 2021.</ref><ref name = Evans>{{cite news|url = https://deadline.com/2024/04/christopher-durang-dead-playwright-1235872874/|title = Christopher Durang Dies: Playwright With A Genius For The Absurd Was 75|last = Evans|first = Greg|date = April 3, 2024|accessdate = April 3, 2024|work = [[Deadline Hollywood]]|archive-date = April 3, 2024|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20240403141740/https://deadline.com/2024/04/christopher-durang-dead-playwright-1235872874/|url-status = live}}</ref>

Durang wrote a number of unproduced screenplays, including ''The Nun Who Shot Liberty Valance'', ''The House of Husbands'' (which he co-authored with [[Wendy Wasserstein]]), and ''The Adventures of Lola''.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

===On television===
''Wanda's Visit'', one of the six one-acts in ''Durang/Durang,'' was originally written for the [[Public Broadcasting Service|PBS]] series ''[[Trying Times]]''. Durang played the part of The Waiter in that production.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.christopherdurang.com/OneActsLong-Belle-Stye-Wanda.htm|author=Durang, Christoper|title=Longer One Act Plays (between 30 and 60 minutes)|website=ChristopherDurang.com|access-date=November 19, 2018|archive-date=September 16, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180916224542/http://www.christopherdurang.com/OneActsLong-Belle-Stye-Wanda.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref>

Durang appeared as himself on the October 11, 1986 episode of ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', hosted by his longtime friend Sigourney Weaver. In the episode, Durang and Weaver parodied the works of [[Bertolt Brecht]], and both were interviewed in the debut of the recurring sketch ''[[Church Lady|Church Chat]]'', with Durang as himself.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/flashback-friday-who-knew-sigourney-weaver-and-chr_64585.html|title=Flashback Friday: Who Knew? Sigourney Weaver and Chris Durang Had a German Phase Before Vanya Made Them Russian|author=Levitt, Hayley|date=March 15, 2013|website=TheaterMania.com|access-date=September 6, 2015|archive-date=November 19, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181119214350/https://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city-theater/news/flashback-friday-who-knew-sigourney-weaver-and-chr_64585.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

Durang's 1987 sketch "The Funeral", written for a televised [[Carol Burnett]] special, features a grieving widow (Burnett) who is disturbed at her husband's wake by an eccentric mourner, played by [[Robin Williams]].<ref name = Evans/>