Enright, Nicholas (Paul) 1950-2003

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ENRIGHT, Nicholas (Paul) 1950-2003

(Nick Enright)

PERSONAL: Born December 22, 1950, in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia; died of melanoma March 31, 2003, in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. Education: Attended St. Ignatius College, 1962-67; Sydney University, B.A., 1972; New York University School of the Arts, M.F.A., 1977.

CAREER: Playwright, drama teacher, and actor. State Theatre Company of South Australia, Adelaide, associate director, 1978-81, teacher of acting, 1978, 1989-92, head of acting, 1982-84; teacher at National Institute of Dramatic Art, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, West Australian Academy of Performing Arts, and Australian Theatre for Young People; host and narrator of symphony and opera presentations for stage and television; actor in television films, including Breaking Up, 1985, and Brotherhood of the Rose, 1989.

AWARDS, HONORS: New South Wales Premier's play award, 1983; Australia Council grants, 1975-76, 1984, 1991; Australia Writers' Guild award, 1990; Academy Award nomination for best original screenplay, Motion Picture Academy of Arts and Sciences, 1992, for Lorenzo's Oil.

WRITINGS:

PLAYS

(Adaptor, with Frank Hauser) Sophocles, Electra, produced in Melbourne, New South Wales, Australia, 1978.

(With Ron Blair) The Servant of Two Masters (adaptation of the play by Carlo Goldoni), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1978.

Oh, What a Lovely War, Mate! (adaptation of Australian scenes in the play created by Joan Littlewood), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1979.

The Venetian Twins (adaptation of the play by Carlo Goldoni), music by Terence Clarke, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1979, revised version produced in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, 1990.

King Stag (adaptation of a play by Carlo Gozzi), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1980.

On the Wallaby (produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1980), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1982.

Music (for children), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1981.

Fatal Johnny (for children), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1982.

First Class Women, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1982.

Variations, music by Terence Clarke, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1982.

The Marriage of Figaro (adaptation of the play by Beaumarchais), produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1983.

Summer Rain, music by Terence Clarke, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1983, revised version, 1989.

Don Juan (adaptation of the play by Molière; produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1984), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1984.

The Snow Queen (adaptation of the story by Hans Christian Andersen), music by Graham Dudley, produced in Adelaide, South Australia, Australia, 1985.

Daylight Saving (produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1989), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1990.

Carnival of the Animals, music by Saint-Saëens (produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1989), ABC Publications (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1991.

Mongrels, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1991.

St. James Infirmary (produced in Penrith, New South Wales, Australia, 1991), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1992.

A Property of the Clan, produced in Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, 1991.

(Under name Nick Enright) Good Works (produced in Queensland, Australia, 1995; produced in Bristol, England, 1997), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1995.

Black Rock (also see below; produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1995), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1996.

The Way I Was, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1995.

Miracle City, music by Max Lambert, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1995.

The Voyage of Mary Bryant, produced in Perth, Western Australia, Australia, 1996.

The Female Factory, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1997.

(Author of book, under name Nick Enright) The Boy from Oz (musical), music and lyrics by Peter Allen, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1998.

(Under name Nick Enright; with Justin Monjo) Cloudstreet (adaptation of the novel by Tim Winton; produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1998), Currency Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1999.

Chasing the Dragon, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 1998.

A Man with Five Children, produced in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, 2002.

Also writer of The Quartet from Rigoletto, produced 1995.

RADIO PLAYS

Ship without a Sail (documentary), 1985.

(Adaptor) Euripedes, The Trojan Women, 1989.

Watching over Israel, 1990.

St. James Infirmary, 1992.

Black Rock, 1997.

OTHER

The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet (for children; based on a radio series), illustrated by Victoria Roberts, David Ell Press (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1980.

(And actor; with Lisa Benyon) Come in Spinner (television; adapted from the novel by F. James and D. Cusack), 1989.

(Under name Nick Enright; with George Miller) Lorenzo's Oil (screenplay), Universal, 1992.

Adapted The Maitland and Morpeth String Quartet as an animated television series. Contributor to periodicals, including Sydney Morning Herald, Australian, National Times, Theatre Australia, and Vogue Australia. Reviewer for ABC Radio, Books and Writing, and First Edition.

Recordings include The Venetian Twins, Larrikin Records (Sydney, New South Wales, Australia), 1981, and Carnival of the Animals with Peter and the Wolf, music by Saint-Saëns, Polygram Records, 1989.

ADAPTATIONS: Black Rock was adapted for film, 1997. The book of the musical The Boy from Oz was adapted for Broadway production by Martin Sherman, 2003.

SIDELIGHTS: At his death in 2003, at the age of fifty-two, Australian playwright Nicholas Enright left behind a long list of acclaimed plays as well as many young thespians who remembered him as a dedicated drama teacher. Writing—sometimes under the name Nick Enright—for television and radio in addition to the stage, Enright became most well known to American audiences as the coauthor, with medical doctor George Miller, of the Academy Award-nominated screenplay for the film Lorenzo's Oil. The film is based on the true story of Augusto Odone (Nick Nolte) and his wife, Michaela (Susan Sarandon), who fought to save the life of a son who has been diagnosed with adrenoleukodystrophy, or ALD, an incurable disease of the brain. The film follows the quest of these parents to understand and deal with their son's illness; ALD is passed from mother to son, leaving Michaela with feelings of guilt as well as fear regarding her son's Lorenzo's fate. In 2004 the real-life Lorenzo was still enjoying a vital life, although Michaela had passed away.

Lorenzo's Oil follows the parents as they discover and refine a combination of plant oils that lessen their son's symptoms, all the while fighting the medical establishment and fielding objections from parents of other ALD sufferers. As James Berardinelli commented for Movie-Reviews online, "in the final analysis, when Lorenzo's Oil is stripped to the bare story, it's about the war for knowledge and the victory of hope through perseverance." Commonweal reviewer Richard Alleva called the script "superb," adding that it "doesn't confine itself to illustrating one theme but allows many connected themes to be developed in the course of the story. The limitations of sheer professionalism vs. the less informed but suppler efforts of the amateur, the contracting responses of people similarly afflicted, the way catastrophe can both solidify and blast human relationships: these and many other human matters are more than merely touched upon by this splendid film."

Enright's play Black Rock, about the death of a teenage girl in a New South Wales factory town, also eventually made it to film, as well as onto Australian radio. The Boy from Oz, which enjoyed its original Australian run with a book by Enright, follows the life of Peter Allen, who died of AIDS in 1992. Allen, an entertainer, was one of the first to introduce gay camp to mainstream audiences. With its book rewritten by Martin Sherman, The Boy from Oz eventually came to Broadway, with actor Hugh Jackman as its star; other characters include entertainer Lisa Minnelli, Allen's wife for a very brief period of time, and Minnelli's mother, Judy Garland, who had discovered the Australian in Hong Kong and mentored him for many years.

Enright was a popular figure in the United States, especially after the release of Lorenzo's Oil. In a Variety tribute to the late playwright, it was noted that toward the end of his life Enright dedicated a significant portion of his time to teaching. Of his drama students Enright was quoted as commenting: "You learn more from them, their life experiences and their view of the world. They bring passion and joy that is often lacking in young professionals."