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J. T. Rogers

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J. T. Rogers
Rogers speaks during an event at the International Peace Institute in 2017.
Rogers speaks during an event at the International Peace Institute in 2017.
EducationUniversity of North Carolina School of the Arts (BFA)
GenreDrama
Notable worksBlood and Gifts
Oslo
Corruption

J. T. Rogers (born May 20, 1968) is an American playwright. He is best known for his play Oslo (2016) about the 1990s Oslo Peace Accords between Israel and Palestine. The play received widespread acclaim as well as the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, and Obie Award for Best Play.[1] He is also known for his plays Madagascar (2004),The Overwhelming (2006), Blood and Gifts (2010), and Corruption (2024).

Rogers adapted his play into the HBO film Oslo (2021) which was executive produced by Steven Spielberg and received two Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Rogers is currently the creator, writer and showrunner for the HBO Max television series Tokyo Vice (2022–2024).[2][3][4][5]

Early life and education

Rogers attended Rock Bridge High School in Columbia, Missouri,[6] and graduated from the University of North Carolina School of the Arts in 1990, where he studied acting. He also received an honorary doctorate from UNCSA in 2009.[7] Rogers serves on the board of the Dramatists Legal Defense Fund.

Career

2004–2009: Early works

J. T. Rogers' play Madagascar is set in a hotel room overlooking the Spanish Steps in Rome. It is about a mysterious disappearance that haunts the life of the play's three characters. It was commissioned by and had its world premiere at the Salt Lake Acting Company in November 2004.[8] The play received the American Theatre Critics Association's 2004 M. Elizabeth Osborn Award and the 2005 Pinter Review Prize for Drama, which included its first publication by the University of Tampa Press and a related public dramatic reading. It was also a finalist for the ATCA's Steinberg New Play Award and performed at the Summer Play Festival in New York City in July 2005. The play had its Australian premiere at the Melbourne Theatre Company in February 2010,[9] directed by Sam Strong.[10] The play had its European debut at London's Theatre 503 in May 2010, directed by Tom Littler and featuring Sorcha Cusack, Barry Stanton and Miranda Foster.[11]

His play The Overwhelming, in which an American family who arrive in Kigali, Rwanda, in early 1994, must confront life-and-death realities of the Rwandan genocide, had its world premiere at the Cottesloe Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London, in association with Out of Joint, in May 2006. It then toured throughout the UK and was performed on BBC radio. Its American premiere was at the Roundabout Theatre in September 2007. He received the Otis Guernsey New Voices Playwriting Award at the 2007 William Inge Theatre Festival in Independence, Kansas. The Overwhelming has since been done throughout the world, and it was selected as a Top 10 Play of the Year by Time Magazine, Time Out New York and the Chicago TribuneIt was also nominated for Best Play of the Year by London's South Bank Show and Boston's Elliot Norton Awards.[12]

In 2009, Rogers was the sole American playwright along with 11 British authors to create The Great Game: Afghanistan for the Tricycle Theatre, London. The cycle of plays was a sensation,[13] garnering an Olivier nomination for all involved. His White People, which had its world première at the Philadelphia Theatre Company and then received the L.A. Drama Critics Circle and John Barrymore Award nominations for "Best Play of the Year". The revised play was produced by Starry Night Entertainment Off-Broadway in 2009, and has been seen at the English Theatre of Berlin. The play was seen in repertory with Madagascar at the Road Theatre in Los Angeles in 2010. His Seeing the Elephant was nominated for the Joseph Kesselring Prize for "Best New American Play", and his play Murmuring in a Dead Tongue was produced by Epic Rep, in New York City, where he is a company member, in its 2003–2004 season. In 2008, it was mounted as part of the inaugural DC Theater Alliance.

2010–2019: Bloods and Gifts and Oslo

Rogers wrote the full-length play Blood and Gifts, which debuted at the Lyttelton Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London, in September 2010, starring Lloyd Owen with direction by Howard Davies. The play premiered in the US Off-Broadway in October 2011 at the Lincoln Center Newhouse Theater, directed by Bartlett Sher.[14] Charles Isherwood, in his review in The New York Times, wrote that the play was "superb", with a "first rate production...the characters...really seem to be living in this turbulent history..."[15] The reviewer for The Guardian, Michael Billington, criticised the writer's "advantage of hindsight which lends much of the action a self-conscious irony" but otherwise praised him for a "complex, demanding play."[16] The play was nominated for the 2012 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Play[17] and Outstanding Lead Actor, Jefferson Mays and the 2012 Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Play and Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play, Jefferson Mays.[18]

Rogers' 2016 political drama Oslo became his most successful work to date, including a highly acclaimed Broadway run.[19] Oslo premiered Off-Broadway at the Lincoln Center Newhouse Theatre to nearly universal acclaim.[20] Oslo transferred to the Lincoln Center Beaumont Theatre, a Broadway house, where it opened on April 13, 2017. Of the larger Broadway production, Ben Brantley of the New York Times wrote that "J. T. Rogers's Oslo, an against-the-odds story of international peacemaking, is undeniably a big play, as expansive and ambitious as any in recent Broadway history. So it is particularly gratifying to announce that it has been allowed to stretch to its full height in the thrilling production that opened on Thursday night, directed with a master's hand by Bartlett Sher."[19] Oslo's cast features Jennifer Ehle and Jefferson Mays, who also appeared in the Off-Broadway production.[21]

The Broadway production won seven awards for Best New Play, including the 2017 Tony Award for Best Play. After Broadway, Oslo transferred to London for a September 2017 run at the Royal National Theater, followed by a three-month transfer to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London's West End.[22] [50] The London production was nominated for the 2017 Best Play by the Evening Standard Theater Awards and the 2018 Best New Play by the Laurence Olivier Awards. In 2018, Oslo opened in Tel Aviv, Israel, in South Korea by the National Theater Company of Korea, and later in Norway and Germany. The New National Theater in Japan ran the production in 2021. Rogers wrote the screenplay for a 2021 filmed version of his Tony Award-winning play Oslo.[23] The film starred Ruth Wilson and Andrew Scott and was directed by Tony-winner Bartlett Sher, who helmed the Broadway play. Steven Spielberg and Marc Platt served as executive producers alongside Rogers, Sher, and Cambra Overend.[24] It is a production of HBO and Endeavor Content. It nominated for two Primetime Emmy Awards.[25][24][26]

2020–present

Rogers wrote the television drama Tokyo Vice, based on the non-fiction book by Jake Adelstein. The eight-part series was produced for HBO Max and stars Ansel Elgort, playing Adelstein, an American journalist who embeds himself into the Tokyo Vice police squad to reveal corruption. The first episode was directed by Michael Mann.[4] The series also features Ken Watanabe,[27] Rachel Keller, and Ella Rumpf.[28] It chronicles Jake's daily descent into the underbelly of Tokyo, where nothing and no one is what or who they seem.[29][30] The eight-episode first season aired in 2022. Tokyo Vice was renewed for a second season, scheduled to return to Max in 2024.[4][31][32] Rogers is currently writing a TV series for Netflix.[33]

In 2024 he reunited with director Bartlett Sher for his latest play Corruption about the 2011 News International phone hacking scandal based on the 2021 novel Dial M for Murdoch. The play started previous in February 2024 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre at Lincoln Center. The production stars Toby Stephens, Dylan Baker and Saffron Burrows.[34]

Style and recognition

Rogers has indicated that his playwriting interests include: "stories... framed against great political rupture... [about people] who struggle with, and against... [unfolding] world events — and who are [permanently changed] through that struggle."[35][36] Rogers's plays are published by TCG Books and Nick Hern, and Dramatists Play Service in acting editions. His essays have appeared in The New York Times,[37] The Guardian,[38] New Statesman,[39] and American Theatre.[40]

Rogers was selected as one of ten playwrights in the United States to receive a NEA/TCG Theatre Residency for 2004–2005, through which he was playwright in residence at the Salt Lake Acting Company (Salt Lake City). In 2004 and 2008, Rogers was awarded playwriting fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts. His plays are published by Faber and Faber in the US and UK and in acting editions in the US through Dramatists Play Service and Playscripts. Rogers is a member of the Dramatists Guild and a resident playwright at New Dramatists. In 2012, he won a John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation Fellowship for his work.[41]

Personal life

Rogers lives in New York.[42]

Works

Theatre

Year Title Venue Ref.
1998 Murmuring in a Dead Tongue Next Stage Company, New York [43]
1999 White People Philadelphia Theatre Company [44]
2004 Madagascar The Public Theatre, New York [45]
2006 The Overwhelming Cottesloe Theatre, West End [46]
2007 Roundabout Theatre Company, New York [47]
2010 Blood and Gifts Cottesloe Theatre, West End [48]
2011 Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center [49]
2012 La Jolla Playhouse, California [50]
2016 Oslo Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center [51]
2017 Vivian Beaumont Theatre, Broadway [52]
Lyttelton Theatre, West End [53]
Harold Pinter Theatre, West End [54]
2024 Corruption Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre, Lincoln Center [55]

Television

Year Title Writer Producer Notes Ref.
2021 Oslo Yes Executive HBO television film [56]
2022–2024 Tokyo Vice Yes Executive Also creator; HBO Max series [57]

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2017 New York Drama Critics' Circle Best Play Oslo (play) Won [58]
Tony Award Best Play Won [59]
Drama Desk Award Outstanding Play Won [60]
Drama League Award Outstanding Production of a Play Won [61]
Obie Award Best New American Theatrical Work Won [62]
Lucille Lortel Award Best Play Won [63]
Outer Critics Circle Award Outstanding New Broadway Play Won [64]
2018 Laurence Olivier Award Best New Play Nominated [65]
2021 Primetime Emmy Award Outstanding Television Movie Oslo (television film) Nominated [66]

See also

References

  1. ^ Obie Awards, "2017 Winners Archived 2017-03-15 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ Andreeva, Nellie; Petski, Denise (Sep 12, 2019). "'Tokyo Vice': Ken Watanabe To Star In HBO Max Drama Series". Retrieved Apr 13, 2021.
  3. ^ Rogers, J.T. (playwright), "Japan’s Wowow Joins ‘Tokyo Vice’ Alongside Endeavor and HBO Max", November 24, 2020, Variety (magazine) retrieved Nov. 24, 2020
  4. ^ a b c Raup, Jordan (Nov 24, 2020). "Michael Mann Resumes Production on Tokyo Vice". Retrieved Apr 13, 2021.
  5. ^ "Japan's WOWOW Boards Michael Mann's 'Tokyo Vice' Series". The Hollywood Reporter. Nov 23, 2020. Retrieved Apr 13, 2021.
  6. ^ Bartle, Mitchell (12 June 2017). "Rock Bridge graduate wins Tony award". Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  7. ^ "Playwright and alumnus J.T. Rogers wins Tony Award for "Oslo"". www.uncsa.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  8. ^ Lincoln, Ivan M. " 'Madagascar': World premiere by Salt Lake Acting Company begins Tuesday" deseretnews.com, November 14, 2004
  9. ^ "Madagascar | Melbourne Theatre Company". Archived from the original on 2019-01-12.
  10. ^ Broadbent, Penelope. "Madagascar australianstage.com.au, February 19, 2010
  11. ^ Shenton, Mark. "JT Rogers' 'Madagascar' to Receive British Premiere at London's Theatre 503" Playbill, April 30, 2010.
  12. ^ "The Overwhelming". New Dramatists.org. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  13. ^ Hetrick, Adam. "Olivier-Nominated The Great Game: Afghanistan Arrives in New York". Playbill. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  14. ^ "Reviews of Blood and Gifts". LCT.org. Retrieved 26 December 2013.
  15. ^ Isherwood, Charles. "Choosing Sides in Afghanistan: Spies Playing in the Great Game" The New York Times, November 21, 2011
  16. ^ Billington, Michael. "Theatre Review. 'Blood and Gifts' " The Guardian, September 15, 2010
  17. ^ "News Article". www.uncsa.edu. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  18. ^ Blood and Gifts lortel.org, retrieved March 23, 2017
  19. ^ a b Brantley, Ben (13 April 2017). "Review: 'Oslo' Fills a Large Canvas in a Thrilling Production". The New York Times. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  20. ^ Stasio, Marilyn. "Off Broadway Review: ‘Oslo'" Variety, July 11, 2016
  21. ^ Clement, Olivia. " 'Oslo' Begins on Broadway March 23" Playbill, March 23, 2017
  22. ^ "Oslo by J.T. Rogers transfers from New York to the Harold Pinter and National Theatre". 6 April 2017. Retrieved 27 April 2018.
  23. ^ "Marc Platt Boards Film Adaptation of Political Broadway Play 'Oslo' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 13 April 2017.
  24. ^ a b "Ruth Wilson, Andrew Scott to Topline HBO Movie From Steven Spielberg". The Hollywood Reporter. Nov 9, 2020. Retrieved Apr 13, 2021.
  25. ^ Rogers, J.T. (playwright), "Ruth Wilson & Andrew Scott Starring In HBO Movie ‘Oslo’; Spielberg Exec’ing Tony-Winning Play Adaptation", November 9, 2020, Deadline Hollywood retrieved Nov. 24, 2020
  26. ^ McPhee, Ryan (Nov 9, 2020). "Andrew Scott and Ruth Wilson to Star in Movie Adaptation of Tony-Winning Oslo". Playbill. Retrieved Apr 13, 2021.
  27. ^ Thorne, Will (September 12, 2019). "Ken Watanabe Joins Ansel Elgort in 'Tokyo Vice' at HBO Max".
  28. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (February 19, 2020). "Odessa Young & Ella Rumpf Join 'Tokyo Vice' At HBO Max".
  29. ^ Otterson, Joe (June 6, 2019). "Ansel Elgort to Star in Drama Series 'Tokyo Vice' at WarnerMedia Streaming Service".
  30. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (June 6, 2019). "WarnerMedia Streamer Orders 'Tokyo Vice' Drama Series Starring Ansel Elgort From Endeavor Content".
  31. ^ "'Tokyo Vice' Season 2 at HBO Max Casts Takayuki Suzuki (EXCLUSIVE) Series". Variety. Nov 22, 2022. Retrieved February 15, 2023.
  32. ^ "'Tokyo Vice': When to Expect Return of Max Drama". 9 January 2024.
  33. ^ "Playwright J T Rogers: "I'm constantly aware I know nothing." – The Jewish Chronicle". Archived from the original on 2019-02-12.
  34. ^ "J.T. Rogers Play 'Corruption' About UK Phone Hacking Scandal Set For Lincoln Center Theater Debut; Bartlett Sher Directing". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  35. ^ Rose, Charlie (interviewer), with interviewees diplomat Terje Rød-Larsen, playwright J. T. Rogers, and director Bartlett Sher, with other segments, in Charlie Rose: The Week, May 5, 2017 Archived July 29, 2017, at the Wayback Machine, (Video) as aired May 6, 2017, Public Broadcasting System (PBS), retrieved May 6, 2017
  36. ^ Rogers, J.T. (playwright), Theater: "'Oslo' and the Drama in Diplomacy", June 17, 2016, The New York Times retrieved May 6, 2017
  37. ^ Rogers, J. T. (June 17, 2016). "'Oslo' and the Drama in Diplomacy". The New York Times.
  38. ^ "The best political plays – picked by David Hare, James Graham and more". The Guardian. March 15, 2018 – via www.theguardian.com.
  39. ^ "Moral maze". www.newstatesman.com.
  40. ^ "What Can Theatre Do? A Post-Election Colloquy, Part 2". AMERICAN THEATRE. November 30, 2016.
  41. ^ "J. T. Rogers Guggenheim Page". Gf.org.
  42. ^ Soloski, Alexis (November 16, 2011). "Mr. Rogers's Very Tough Neighborhood". The New York Times.
  43. ^ "Murmuring in a Dead Tongue". Playscripts. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  44. ^ "White People". J.T. Rogers. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  45. ^ "Madagascar". Abouttheartists. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  46. ^ "The Overwhelming". London Theatre. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  47. ^ "J.T. Rogers' Rwanda-Set The Overwhelming Opens Off-Broadway Oct. 23". Playbill. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  48. ^ "Blood and Gifts, House of Games and Design for Living". The Independent. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  49. ^ "Blood and Gifts". Lincoln Center Theatre. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  50. ^ "Blood and Gifts Joins La Jolla Playhouse Lineup This Summer; Lucie Tiberghien Directs". Playbill. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  51. ^ "Lincoln Center Theater Announces Bartlett Sher-Helmed Oslo". Playbill. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  52. ^ "Oslo Broadway". Lincoln Center Theatre. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  53. ^ "Oslo review – high drama in the back channels". The Guardian. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  54. ^ "Oslo at Harold Pinter". London Theatre. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  55. ^ "Corruption - Mitzi E. Newhouse Theatre". New York Theatre. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  56. ^ "'Oslo' Review: Timely HBO Movie Tackles Landmark Israeli-Palestinian Peace Talks". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  57. ^ "Tokyo Vice season 2 first look reveals new characters, new dangers". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  58. ^ "Tony-Nominated 'Oslo' Wins 2017 New York Drama Critics Circle Award". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  59. ^ "Tony Awards 2017: Complete Winners List". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  60. ^ "Drama Desk Awards 2017: Bette Midler, 'Oslo' Take Top Honors (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  61. ^ " Variety, May 2017
  62. ^ "Oslo and The Band's Visit Among 2017 Obie Award Winners". Playbill. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  63. ^ "Lortel Awards Updating" broadwayworld.com, May 7, 2017
  64. ^ "Outer Critics Circle Awards 2017 Full List" Variety, 2017
  65. ^ "Olivier awards 2018: complete list of nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
  66. ^ "J.T. Rogers - Emmy Awards, Nominations, and Wins". Emmy Awards. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
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