Gina Gionfriddo (born 1969 or 1970) is an American playwright and television writer. Her plays Becky Shaw and Rapture, Blister, Burn were finalists for the 2009 and 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, respectively. She has written for the television series Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, FBI: Most Wanted, The Alienist, and House of Cards.
Biography Gionfriddo grew up in Washington, D.C., where she attended Georgetown Day School.Cohen, Patricia. "Onstage, Tackling Ambition and Crime" The New York Times, December 29, 2008 She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College in 1991 and a Master of Fine Arts from Brown University in 1997. At Brown, she studied with playwright Paula Vogel.Goodman, Lawrence. "Art and Life" Brown Alumni Magazine, May/June 2013
In addition to writing her own material, she has also taught playwriting at Brown University, Providence College, and Rhode Island College.
She has lived in Providence, Rhode Island"Interview. Tim Sanford And Gina Gionfriddo" Playwrights Horizons, accessed August 29, 2015 and currently resides in New York City, where she is a single mother.
Work Gionfriddo has written for both the stage and for television. She tends to write dark comedies of topics that occasionally touch on the abuse of women and often features male protagonists. U.S. Drag features a series of assaults, After Ashley features rape and murder, and Becky Shaw has a robbery at gunpoint.
Television Gionfriddo was a writer for the television series Law & Order. René Balcer, the head writer and executive producer of Law & Order, hired her after he read her play After Ashley. Balcer said: “She really has an ear for the dialogue of everyday Americans and the quirkiness of everyday Americans... the kind of people you see being interviewed on Nancy Grace.”
Stage Gionfriddo received the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2002 for her play U.S. Drag (in a tie with Susan Miller),Ehren, Christine. " 'A Map of Doubt and Rescue', 'U.S. Drag' Win 2002 Blackburn Prize" playbill.com, February 12, 2002 the 2002 Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Playwrights,Hernandez, Ernio. "'After Ashley' Wins "Bug ‘n Bub" Playwright Award; Reading Held in NYC, Dec. 8" playbill.com, November 26, 2003 and a 2005 Guggenheim Fellowship."Gina Gionfriddo Creative Arts" Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, accessed August 29, 2015 Director Peter DuBois and Gionfriddo met at Brown University in the 1990s, and DuBois directed her thesis production (U.S. Drag) there. He has directed her plays Rapture, Blister, Burn, Becky Shaw, and Can You Forgive Her?Hartigan, Patty. "Career vs. family in ‘Rapture, Blister, Burn’ Boston Globe, May 25, 2013
U. S. Drag was presented by the Connecticut Repertory Theatre Playwrights' Lab in Storrs, Connecticut in July 1998 in a workshop, directed by Anna Shapiro.Simonson, Robert and Lefkowitz, David. "Connecticut Rep Inaugurates Playwrights' Lab June 26" playbill.com, June 26, 1998 The play was next produced by Clubbed Thumb at the HERE Arts Center, New York City in June 2001. The play was directed by Pam MacKinnon. It was produced off-Broadway from February 23, 2008, to March 16, 2008, by the stageFARM at the Beckett Theatre, directed by Trip Cullman.Gionfriddo, Gina. "Script, p. 7" U. S. Drag, Dramatists Play Service Inc, 2006, " 'U. S. Drag' Listing, stageFARM" thestagefarm.org, accessed August 29, 2015
Gionfriddo's play After Ashley received the 2005 Obie Award for Performance for Kieran Culkin.Simonson, Robert. "Shanley, Hughes, Culkin, Marvel, O'Connell Among 2005 Obie Winners" playbill.com, May 17, 2005
Becky Shaw, which premiered off-Broadway in 2008, was a finalist for the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.Gans, Andrew and Jones, Kenneth. "Lynn Nottage's 'Ruined' Wins Pulitzer Prize for Drama" playbill.com, April 20, 2009 The play was revived on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre in 2026, starring Madeline Brewer, Lauren Patten, Patrick Ball, Alden Ehrenreich and Linda Emond. The production was nominated for the 2026 Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play.
Gionfriddo's play Rapture, Blister, Burn premiered off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons in June 2012. brooklynrail.org The original off-Broadway cast, which featured Amy Brenneman and Lee Tergesen, performed the play at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles in August 2013.Purcell, Carey. "Original Cast of 'Rapture, Blister, Burn,' Featuring Amy Brenneman and Lee Tergesen, to Reunite for Geffen Playhouse" playbill.com, July 9, 2013 The play was a finalist for the 2013 Pulitzer Prize for Drama."Pulitzer Prize for Drama, 2013" pulitzer.org, accessed August 28, 2015
Can You Forgive Her? premiered in Boston at the Huntington Theatre in March 2016.Can You Forgive Her? broadwayworld.com, February 24, 2016 It was directed by Peter Dubois.Goodwin, Jeremy D. "Financial insecurity? Playwright Gina Gionfriddo can make it funny.", Boston Globe, March 24, 2016
Gionfriddo's play The Silence of the Lambs, based on Thomas Harris's novel of the same name will make its world premiere at Curve, Leicester in August 2026 before touring the UK and Ireland.
Plays Safe (2000) (short) Guinevere (2001) U.S. Drag (2001) (Originally produced by Clubbed Thumb) After Ashley (2004) Squalor (2007) (short) Becky Shaw (2008) Rapture, Blister, Burn (2012) Can You Forgive Her? (2016) The Silence of the Lambs (2026)
Television House of Cards (2013) Law & Order (Episodes: "Betrayal", "Driven", "Executioner", "Bogeyman", "Lost Boys") Law & Order: Criminal Intent (Episodes: "Country Crossover", "Masquerade", "Vacancy", "Dollhouse", "Prisoner", "Beast", "Bombshell") Cold Case (Episode: "Schadenfreude") Law & Order True Crime (Episodes 3 and 6, season 1) The Alienist (Episodes 3 and 4, season 1)
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2005Outer Critics Circle AwardJohn Gassner AwardAfter Ashley2009Pulitzer Prize for DramaBecky ShawOuter Critics Circle AwardJohn Gassner AwardDrama Desk AwardOutstanding Play2013Pulitzer Prize for DramaRapture, Blister, Burn2026Tony AwardBest Revival of a PlayBecky Shaw
References