Jordan Harrison

Jordan Harrison (born 1977) is an American playwright.

He grew up on Bainbridge Island, Washington.

Harrison received a B.A. from Stanford University in 1999 and an M.F.A. from Brown University, where he studied with Paula Vogel.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

The Museum Play had workshops at Brown University (2003), readings at Playwrights Horizons (2003) and Signature Theatre Company (2005) and a production at Red Eye Theatre, Minneapolis (2004).

Shortly after graduating from Brown, his play Kid-Simple, which he wrote while in grad school, was produced at the Actors Theatre of Louisville in 2004.

Act a Lady, after being developed at the PlayPenn New Play Conference in 2005, was subsequently produced in several venues including the New Conservatory Theatre Center, San Francisco in April 2009.

Finn in the Underworld premiered at Berkeley Repertory Theatre, California, in 2005, directed by Les Waters.

The Actors Theatre of Louisville subsequently premiered his plays Act a Lady (2006) and Maple and Vine, both of which were directed by Anne Kauffman, and The Grown-Up, which was directed by Ken Rus Schmoll.

His Off-Broadway plays include Doris to Darlene (2007) and Maple and Vine at Playwrights Horizons (2011), Amazons and their Men (2008) by Clubbed Thumb at the Ohio Theatre and Futura (2010) at National Asian American Theater Company.

He wrote the book for a children's musical, The Flea and the Professor, with music composed by Richard Gray and lyrics by Harrison and Gray.

The musical was commissioned by the Virginia and Harvey Kimmel Arts Education Fund of the Philadelphia Foundation and received an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

It was performed by the Arden Theatre Company, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in May to June 2011, directed by Anne Kauffman.

Suprema is a musical, with music and lyrics by Daniel Zaitchik and book and lyrics by Harrison.

The musical was developed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's 2011 Music Theatre Conference.

The musical had a reading at Ars Nova in May 2012, directed by Leigh Silverman.

The play had a reading at the South Coast Repertory's 2013 Pacific Playwrights Festival on April 28, 2013, directed by Pam MacKinnon.

His play Marjorie Prime premiered at the Center Theatre Group Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles, California, in September 2014, under the direction of Les Waters.

The play featured Lois Smith as "Marjorie", Lisa Emery as "Tess", her daughter, Frank Wood as "Jon", Tess's husband, and Jeff Ward as "Walter", a computer-programmed, pixel-generated companion.

His play Marjorie Prime was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The play was a finalist for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, called "a sly and surprising work about technology and artificial intelligence told through images and ideas that resonate."

Marjorie Prime opened Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on November 20, 2015, in previews, officially on December 14, and closed on January 24, 2016, directed by Anne Kauffman.

The Off-Broadway cast featured Noah Bean, Lisa Emery, Stephen Root, and Lois Smith.

The Variety reviewer noted that the play "envisions a day in the near future when we'll be able to program robots to serve as humanoid companions for the old, the infirm and the lonely. The play ... is also a sensitive study of family dynamics, which makes it all the more engaging."

The play has been adapted for a film, written and directed by Michael Almereyda.

The film stars Tim Robbins (Jon), Jon Hamm (Walter), Geena Davis (Tess) and Lois Smith.

Principal photography began in October 2015.

The 2016 Horton Foote Prize for Outstanding New American Play was awarded to Marjorie Prime.

The prize includes a $20,000 monetary award.

The play was nominated for the 2016 Drama League Award, for Outstanding Production Of A Broadway Or Off-Broadway Play and Distinguished Performance, Lois Smith; and the 2016 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Director, Anne Kaufman.

The film premiered at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival (Park City, Utah) in January 2017.

The film won the Sloan Feature Film Prize at the Sundance Film Festival; the prize includes a $20,000 cash award.

Artists Repertory Theatre, located in Portland, Oregon, staged the Northwest premiere of Marjorie Prime from February 7 to March 5, 2017.

The Amateurs premiered Off-Broadway at the Vineyard Theatre on February 8, 2018, in previews and closed on March 29, 2018.

Directed by Oliver Butler the play featured Kyle Beltran, Quincy Tyler Bernstine, Michael Cyril Creighton, Greg Keller, Jennifer Kim and Thomas Jay Ryan.

The play was nominated for the 2018 Off Broadway Alliance Award, Best New Play and the 2018 Lucille Lortel Award, Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Bernstine).

His play Log Cabin premiered Off-Broadway at Playwrights Horizons on June 1, 2018, in previews, officially on June 25.

The play involves a tight-knit group of gays and lesbians and is directed by Pam MacKinnon with Jesse Tyler Ferguson starring.

Harrison writes for the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.

Missing Link Theatre, also located in Portland, Oregon, staged a production of Marjorie Prime in September 2019.