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Tracy Letts

トレイシー・レッツ

Toreishī Rettsu

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1965 （Tulsa, Oklahoma）
Nationality
United States
Languages
English
Residence History
Tulsa, Oklahoma → Durant, Oklahoma → Dallas, Texas → Chicago, Illinois

Career

Occupations
Playwright, Screenwriter, Actor
Active Years
1988-
Affiliations
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Memberships
Steppenwolf Theatre Company
Influenced By
Tennessee Williams, William Faulkner, Jim Thompson
Nominations
Pulitzer finalist (Man from Nebraska), Pulitzer finalist (The Minutes), Primetime Emmy nomination for Guest Actor

Education

Durant High School
General
Period: early 1980s
Year of Graduation: 1983
Country: United States
Graduated high school

Awards

Pulitzer Prize for Drama
2008
Work: August: Osage County
Category: Drama
Organization: Columbia University
Result: Won
Tony Award for Best Play
2008
Work: August: Osage County
Organization: American Theatre Wing
Result: Won
Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play
2013
Work: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Organization: American Theatre Wing
Result: Won
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Play
2008
Work: August: Osage County
Result: Won
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play
2013
Work: Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Result: Won

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Killer Joe

1993 Drama

A dark tale of a poor family hiring a hitman

Moral dilemmasSpiritual struggles
Adaptations
  • [Film] Killer Joe / William Friedkin (2011)

Bug

1996 Drama

Story of a man and woman tormented by paranoia

ParanoiaIsolation
Adaptations
  • [Film] Bug / William Friedkin (2006)

Man from Nebraska

2003 Drama

A man facing a crisis of faith

FaithAmerican values

August: Osage County

2007 Family drama

Three days in the life of a dysfunctional family

Family secretsAddictionLoss
Adaptations
  • [Film] August: Osage County / John Wells (2013)

Superior Donuts

2008 Comedy

Interactions between a donut shop owner and customer

RaceGenerational conflict
Adaptations
  • [TV series] Superior Donuts (2017)

The Minutes

2017 Drama

Shocking drama in a city council meeting

American societyToxicity

Bibliography

  • Killer Joe (1993)
  • Bug (1996)
  • Man from Nebraska (2003)
  • August: Osage County (2007)
  • Superior Donuts (2008)
  • Three Sisters (adaptation, 2009)
  • Mary Page Marlowe (2016)
  • Linda Vista (2017)
  • The Minutes (2017)

Adaptations

  • Bug (2006 film)
  • Killer Joe (2011 film)
  • August: Osage County (2013 film)
  • Superior Donuts TV series

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Sound as storytelling toolRealism
Recurring Motifs
Moral and spiritual strugglesFamily dysfunctionMidwestern America

Health

  • Alcoholism
    1993以前
    Sober since 1993

Legacy

Major figure in contemporary American theater. Pulitzer and Tony winner. Key Steppenwolf member.

In Popular Culture

  • Married to actress Carrie Coon

Trivia

  • Mother Billie Letts author, father Dennis Letts actor
  • Married Carrie Coon with 2 children
  • Sober since 1993
  • Longtime Steppenwolf Theatre Company member