Notable people · Playwright · Lyricist · Theater
Tom Eyen
Born in Cambridge to a family that ran a restaurant, Eyen became a key off-off-Broadway playwright and wrote the book and lyrics of Dreamgirls. He won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.
At a glance
- Born
- 1940-08-14
- Died
- 1991-05-26
- Education
- Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, did not graduate
- American Academy of Dramatic Arts, New York, NY, 1961-1962, did not finish
- Known as
- Playwright, Lyricist, Theater
- Organizations
- Theatre of the Eye Repertory, La MaMa
Life story
Tom Eyen was born in Cambridge in 1940, the youngest of six children of a family that owned a restaurant. He attended Ohio State University and studied acting at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in 1961-1962 but finished neither.
He moved to New York in 1960 and wrote and directed about 35 plays at Caffe Cino and La MaMa. In 1964 he formed the Theatre of the Eye Repertory with Rockefeller Foundation help and in 1965 gave Bette Midler her first professional roles.
His The Dirtiest Show in Town (1970) and Women Behind Bars (1975) were off-Broadway successes, and Dreamgirls (1981), with composer Henry Krieger, won him the Tony and a Grammy for the cast album. He died in 1991 at 50, and his papers are at Ohio State University.
Timeline
- 1940-08-14: Born in Cambridge, Ohio (Cambridge, OH) source
- 1960: Moves to New York City (New York, NY) source
- 1964: Founds Theatre of the Eye Repertory (New York, NY) source
- 1965: Gives Bette Midler her first professional roles (New York, NY) source
- 1970: The Dirtiest Show in Town (New York, NY) source
- 1975: Women Behind Bars (New York, NY) source
- 1981: Dreamgirls; wins Tony Award for Best Book (New York, NY) source
- 1991-05-26: Dies in Palm Beach, Florida (Palm Beach, FL) source
What Tom is known for
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical, 1981 (Dreamgirls)
- Gave Bette Midler her first professional roles
- The Dirtiest Show in Town (1970)
- Women Behind Bars (1975)
- Dreamgirls (1981)
Honors and things named for them
- Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (1981)
- Grammy for Dreamgirls cast album
- Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee Theatre Research Institute Award (1993, posthumous)
Ohio places
Where Tom Eyen was born, lived, worked and is remembered, with the ZIP code, town and county pages for each.
- Born: Cambridge, Guernsey County ZIP 43725 · Cambridge · Guernsey County
- School: Columbus, Franklin County ZIP 43210 · Columbus · Franklin County
- Worked: New York City, New York County
Further reading
Sources
Confidence. Medium: the main facts were confirmed, but some details (often an address or ZIP code) were not.
- Wikipedia: Tom Eyen birth Cambridge; family restaurant; OSU; AADA; New York career; works; Tony; papers at OSU