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Winnie Holzman

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Winnie Holzman
Born
Manhattan, New York, U.S.
Education
(MFA)
Occupations
Years active1984–present
Known forMy So-Called Life
Wicked
Spouse
​
(m. 1984)​
ChildrenSavannah Dooley

Winnie Holzman is an American playwright, screenwriter, actor, and producer. She is best known for writing the book of the Tony Award winning Broadway musical Wicked, and for creating the television series My So-Called Life. She also co-wrote the screenplays for the two-part film versions of Wicked. Holzman's other television work includes the series Thirtysomething and Once and Again. Her other stage work includes short plays (in which she appeared with her actor husband, Paul Dooley) and the full-length drama, Choice.

Early life

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Holzman was born in Manhattan, New York, but grew up in Roslyn Heights, New York, on Long Island[1] in a Jewish family.[2] Although she was shy, she wanted to become an actor.[1] At 13, she attended the Circle in the Square Theatre School in New York.[3]

Career

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Holzman graduated with a degree in English and a concentration in Creative Writing at Princeton University. She won many poetry awards, including the Academy of American Poets Prize.[3]

Holzman had been performing in sketch comedy for years, "determined to never make a dime,"[1] but on the recommendation of a college friend, she applied to attend the musical theater program at New York University. She eventually got her master's degree in Musical Theatre Writing on a full scholarship. Arthur Laurents was one of her mentors.[1] Other teachers included Stephen Sondheim, Hal Prince, Betty Comden, Adolph Green, and Leonard Bernstein.[citation needed]

Theater

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Holzman contributed scenes to the 1983 satirical musical comedy revue Serious Bizness, which ran at O'Neils Upstairs cabaret in New York City.[4][5]

While at NYU she wrote the musical Birds of Paradise (with composer David Evans), which was produced Off-Broadway in 1987 and directed by Laurents.[6] It got scathing reviews.[1]

Holzman has written several plays with her husband, actor Paul Dooley. In the short play Post-its®: Notes on a Marriage, an actor and actress read the posted notes between a couple that span the duration of their lives together.[7] Their first full-length collaboration, Assisted Living, premiered April 5 thorough May 12, 2013, at Los Angeles's Odyssey Theatre, starring the couple.[8] The play was retitled One of her Biggest Fans when it ran at George Street Playhouse (New Jersey) from January 28 to February 23, 2014. Holzman said the play was "something we came up with when we were first married," based on a "stack of fan mail that had sat unopened on Paul's desk for months."[9] In the play, "The lives of a cantankerous soap opera star and his makeup artist collide with the those of his biggest fan and her father with the discovery of a piece of fan mail that changes everything -- though perhaps not in the ways they once expected."[10] Holzman has described the play as being about " how other people make you change, and how the things that happen in everyday life – the interventions and interactions – change you.”[11]

Holzman made her Broadway debut in 2003 when she wrote the book for the Stephen Schwartz musical Wicked, based on the novel of the same name by Gregory Maguire. She won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical.[12][13]

Holzman's play, Choice, premiered at Huntington Theater Company (Boston) in 2015.[14] It is a complex, sometimes surreal, comedic drama touching on topics that include parenting, friendship, and abortion. An updated version of the play was produced at McCarter Theater (New Jersey) from May 8 to June 2, 2024, with a cast that included Ilana Levine, Dakin Matthews, Caitlin Kinnunen, and Jake Cannavale. The 2024 production incorporated references to the COVID-19 pandemic and set the play in 2020/21.[15][16]

Television

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In 1988, Holzman's husband, actor-writer Paul Dooley, got a job in Los Angeles on the TV series Coming of Age. While visiting her brother, cinematographer Ernest Holzman, on the set of thirtysomething, writer Richard Kramer suggested she should write for the show. Ed Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz bought a spec script from Holzman, and she went on to become a staff writer on thirtysomething in 1989.[1] She wrote nine episodes during its last two seasons.[3] Zwick and Herskovitz later executive produced My So-Called Life, a show about a teenage girl. Holzman went from story editor to executive story editor to a creator and writer of the show.[1]

Holzman has collaborated on various short films with her daughter, Savannah. They penned a TV pilot based on the Sasha Paley novel Huge, which ABC Family greenlit in January 2010 with a direct-to-series order.[17][18] Huge premiered in late June 2010. The show team included Holzman, Dooley, her daughter, and her brother, who was the cinematographer.[1] The series was cancelled on October 4, 2010 due to low ratings compared with the network's other summer hits.[19]

From 2014 to 2016, Holzman was one of the producers and writers of the Showtime series Roadies, a behind-the-scenes comedy about people working with a touring rock band created by Cameron Crowe, J. J. Abrams (executive producing), and Holzman, that ran for a season.[20] The series starred Luke Wilson, Imogen Poots, Keisha Castle-Hughes, Peter Cambor, Rafe Spall[21] and Carla Gugino.[22]

Film

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Holzman wrote the screenplay for the Universal Pictures film adaptation of Wicked. It will be released in two parts. The first, Wicked Part One, which Universal has called "the first chapter of a two-part immersive, cultural celebration" will debut November 27, 2024. The sequel film, Wicked Part Two, is scheduled to be released November 26, 2025.[23]

Acting

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Holzman has had a number of acting spots, primarily roles in her own plays with her husband, and cameo roles on her own TV shows. Holzman played the chocolate-obsessed divorced woman in the movie Jerry Maguire and Larry David's wife's therapist on Curb Your Enthusiasm.[24] She wrote and performed several personal essays at the Un-Cabaret spoken word shows in Los Angeles and is featured on their CD Play the Word (Vol. 1).[25]

Personal life

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Holzman has been married to character actor Paul Dooley, whom she met at an improv acting class in New York,[26] since November 18, 1984.[27] Holzman notes that their 26-year age difference is "... a big part of our lives, but in a way it's meaningless."[1] They have a daughter Savannah Dooley[1] and live in Toluca Lake in Los Angeles, California.[26]

Filmography

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Writing credits

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Film and television

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Stage

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Acting credits

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Pollak, Kevin (17 January 2011). "Episode 96 – Paul Dooley and Winnie Holzman!". Kevin Pollak's Chat Show. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  2. ^ Jennifer Altmann (March 21, 2012). "Winnie Holzman '76, on writing for television". Princeton Alumni Weekly.
  3. ^ a b c "The So-Called Players". My So-Called Life Bible. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  4. ^ "Stage: Serious Bizness, Comedy". New York Times. Sec C, Page 3. 30 Sep 1983.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: location (link)
  5. ^ "Concord Theatricals: Serious Bizness". Concord Theatricals. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  6. ^ "Winnie Holzman". Playscripts.com. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  7. ^ "Post-its® (Notes on a Marriage)". Playscripts.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  8. ^ Gans, Andrew (5 Apr 2013). "Assisted Living, New Play by Wicked's Winnie Holzman and Husband Paul Dooley, Debuts April 5". Playbill.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  9. ^ Shellenberger, Shen (27 Jan 2014). "Powerhouse Couple Dooley and Holzman Brings "One of Your Biggest Fans" to George Street Playhouse". Discover Jersey Arts. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  10. ^ "One of Your Biggest Fans". Playscripts.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  11. ^ Shellenberger, Shen (27 Jan 2014). "Powerhouse Couple Dooley and Holzman Brings "One of Your Biggest Fans" to George Street Playhouse". Discover Jersey Arts. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  12. ^ Buckley, Michael (6 June 2004). "Stage to Screens: A Chat with Wicked Nominee and TV Veteran Winnie Holzman". Playbill.com. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  13. ^ Gans, Andrew; Simonson, Robert (16 May 2004). "Wicked, Assassins, Henry IV, Wife Win Drama Desk Awards". Playbill.com. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  14. ^ Brown, Joel (28 Oct 2015). "Huntington's Latest Look at Choices That Shape Lives". BU Today. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  15. ^ Rizzo, Frank (4 June 2024). "'Choice' Review: Winnie Holzman's Play Deals With Life's Big Decisions — Including Abortion". Variety.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  16. ^ Wolf, Stacy E. (28 May 2024). "For Winnie Holzman, "Choice" Is Personal". Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  17. ^ "ABC Family Announces Pick-Up Of Dramas "Huge" And "Pretty Little Liars"" (PDF) (Press release). ABC Family. 27 January 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 December 2010. Retrieved 28 January 2010.
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (22 March 2010). "Nikki Blonsky to star in ABC Family's 'Huge'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
  19. ^ Ram, Archana (4 October 2010). "ABC Family cancels 'Huge': Are you sad to see it go?". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 24 September 2011.
  20. ^ O'Connell, Michael (18 June 2014). "Showtime Orders Cameron Crowe's Rock Comedy Pilot 'Roadies'". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  21. ^ Golberg, Lesley (8 December 2014). "Showtime's Cameron Crowe Comedy 'Roadies' Casts Quintet". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 30 December 2014.
  22. ^ Wagmeister, Elizabeth (3 August 2015). "Carla Gugino Replaces Christina Hendricks in Showtime's 'Roadies' Pilot". Variety. Retrieved 21 June 2016.
  23. ^ "Synopsis Page". wickedmovie.com [Official Movie Website]. Retrieved 11 June 2024.
  24. ^ Gans, Andrew (5 Apr 2013). "Assisted Living, New Play by Wicked's Winnie Holzman and Husband Paul Dooley, Debuts April 5". Playbill.com. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  25. ^ "Play the Word! Volume 1". Amazon Audiobook. Retrieved 5 June 2024.
  26. ^ a b Ng, David (10 April 2013). "Finally a go: A couple finishes writing 'Assisted Living,' at Odyssey Theatre Ensemble, nearly 30 years after its inception". The Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  27. ^ Friedlander, Whitney (29 March 2013). "Wicked Writer Winnie Holzman and Her Husband Paul Dooley Wrote and Star in a Play Together. It Only Took Them 28 Years". LA Weekly. Retrieved 3 January 2014.
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