A memorial service for playwright A.R. Gurney, who passed away June 13, was held September 12 at Broadway's Music Box Theatre.
Jim Simpson and Carol Ostrow, founder and producing director of The Flea Theater, respectively, were asked by Gurney's family to produce the service. The two produced ten world premieres by the late playwright.
Flip through photos of the memorial below:
Many of Mr. Gurney’s favorite actors and directors participated. Also included was members of The Bat Theater Company, The Flea’s resident company of actors for whom Gurney wrote four of his plays, including Two Class Acts—the last of his plays produced.
“Pete, as he was affectionately known, lived a long and rich life and we hope to share the breadth of his experience both on and off the stage,” said Ostrow in a statement. “He was a devoted son and brother as well as a dedicated husband and father to his four children and eight grandchildren. He was an honor student, a naval officer, a teacher, professor and scholar all the while writing plays. We hope to distill the fullness of his life and to honor one of our most cherished playwrights.”
Mr. Gurney, whose plays Scenes From American Life, Love Letters, The Middle Ages, and The Dining Room chronicled a middle-class America that is slowly vanishing, wrote nearly 50 full-length plays; four were produced on Broadway, including Sylvia, starring Annaleigh Ashford, in a 2015 revival. Mr. Gurney was married to his wife Molly for 59 years. They have four children and eight grandchildren.
