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— Thu, Nov 16, 2006 —
Doug Wright Chops It Up
Scandalous Memories Stimulate Playwright

A reader just sent us this article from the Dallas Observer on homo playwright Doug Wright. As you may or may not know, Wright first made a name for himself with I Am My Own Wife (for which he won both a Pulitzer and a Tony and went on to pen the surprisingly entertaining play-turned-movie "based on truth" account of Marquis de Sade, Quills.
wrightT.jpg
The meat of the article concerns how Wright's experience growing up gay in the Park Cities area of Dallas helped fuel his creative process. Of particular interest to young Wright were the demented realities of the seemingly perfect neighborhood. Glenna Whitley reports:

"As a kid growing up there, I had playmates whose parents had drug problems or secret closeted sexual lives or were always on the brink of scandal. I remember the Cullen Davis trial. A couple of teachers lost their jobs because of sex scandals with students. That was fascinating to me as a kid."

He was also fascinated by The Twilight Zone, Roald Dahl's books and cartoons by Charles Addams, whatever was weird and creepy and off-kilter. That fascination would serve Wright well.


Of course, this comes as no surprise, especially considering that Wright just opened his stage-version of Grey Gardens - the cult movie about "Big Edie" Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie .

We can't wait to see what twist he'll put on the Broadway version of The Little Mermaid

Also, here's another snippet we find notable:

Before his first Halloween, Wright's mother asked her son who he wanted to be for trick-or-treating. Little Doug didn't hesitate.

"A fairy princess!" he said.

To her credit, his mother kept a straight face. But when she gave the boy a big box containing a costume, it didn't hold a pink dress, white wings and silver wand. Inside was a bright red devil outfit. "Better I be Satan than a run-of-the-mill fairy princess," Wright says dryly.


Certain people may say they're one in the same.

Not us, of course.

"Feel My Rage" [Dallas Observer]

Comments


No. 1
zazamtl says:

Cullen Davis?
wasn t it the oil mogul who killed spouse, daughter and lover???
no sex in that, not exciting at all....
another perv!!!
lol

November 16, 2006 3:48 PM
No. 2
jvm says:

I think Quills was written fifteen plus years ago. So I Am My Own Wife isn't really how he first made his name.

November 16, 2006 4:10 PM
No. 3
jack jett says:

not that it matters but you should know that the auhtor(?) of this article was part of the swift boating team here in dallas that fucked over john kerry. she is a HUGE
RIGHT WING EVANGELICAL.

i can't imagine she would write a positive article like this without calling him a big fag. the woman just went on nancy grace trying to defend a lady for killing her children cause jesus told her to do it.

it doesn't take away from the guys talent. i am just amazed this lady could write a positive word about a gay man. she must be being punnished at the observer, or got paid extra to do it.

jack e. jett

November 16, 2006 8:48 PM
No. 4
Rebecca says:

I have never met Doug, but I do know his father through business practice. This man comes from a your typical Leave it to Beaver family. What he has going for him that differs from everyone else is parents who have loved and encouraged him no matter what. I don't know of any father I've ever met who's more proud of his boy than Doug's.
Beyond that, I have worked in the Park Cities/University Park area for over 5 years. This place is a little bubble world all it's own! No one is real, scandal STILL runs wild. I suppose when you get that many people with that much money in one little bubble it becomes a competition to see who can create the most drama.
Kudos to Doug for taking the craziness around him and turning it into a career!
BTW...Quills was years before I am my own Wife. Dallas news RAGGED Wright at the time of Quills release because of his sexuality. I guess now that he's won a Pulitzer and Tony they want to claim him again.

December 14, 2006 8:14 AM

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