John Cariani

Playwriting

John Cariani is an actor and a playwright. As an actor, he has appeared in plays and musicals on and off-Broadway and at regional theaters across the country. He’s been nominated for a Tony Award (Fiddler on the Roof), two Grammy Awards (Something Rotten! and Caroline, or Change), and appeared in the Tony Award-winning Best Musical The Band’s Visit. Well-known for his film and TV work, John has had recurring roles on TV’s Law & Order, Numb3rs and The Onion News Network and he has shared the big screen with Christopher Walken, Gina Rodriguez, and Robert de Niro. As a playwright, John is best known for his first play, Almost, Maine, which has become one of the most popular plays in the world. It has received nearly 6000 productions to date and has been translated into over a dozen languages. His other plays (LOVE/SICK, cul-de-sac, and Last Gas) have been produced over 500 times around the world and have been translated into several languages. As an artist, John is passionate about making room for the people who made him what he is: rural Americans. Rural Americans are woefully underrepresented in contemporary theatre. When they do appear on stage, they are portrayed as sad, addicted, and uneducated people. But they are so much more than that. John’s plays explore the hopeful, joyful parts of hardscrabble lives. And they take a loving look at what it is to grow up queer—like he did—in rural America.