Douglas Carter Beane
About
Biography
Biography
When openly gay New York playwright Douglas Cater Beane got the news that his first screenplay, "Too Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar" (1995), had been sold, he was earning a living as a baby-sitter for friends. He trained at ASCAP's Musical Theatre Workshop where he wrote the book and score for the musical revue "White Lies" which was based on the tabloid THE NATIONAL ENQUIRER. Shortly thereafter, he enjoyed a brief success with his first produced full-length play, "Advice From a Caterpillar" (1991), co-starring Dennis Christopher and Ally Sheedy.
While on vacation with his mother in 1993, Beane began drafting what was to become the final script for "Too Wong Foo ...," partly in response to his mother's reaction to TV drag diva RuPaul ('She's a lovely girl, but she has terrible proportions.') and partly in reaction to the propaganda video "The Gay Agenda" which showed a march over which a voice intoned, "These so-called drag queens want to take over your town." Once he completed the script, several producers passed until a bidding war broke out between Disney and Steven Spielberg's Amblin for the rights. Spielberg prevailed and the film, which centered on three drag queens whose car breaks down in middle America, went into production. While many major players auditioned, the final cast featured Wesley Snipes, Patrick Swayze and John Leguizamo and became a surprise hit. (It didn't hurt business that the similarly-themed Australian film "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" had already proven to be a box-office success.)
Once established, Beane found his services in demand. He worked on an unsold pilot for a sitcom, drafted the script for a feature version of "Bewitched" (which went back into development after the untimely death of its director Ted Bessell), and took time to co-found a New York-based theater company, The Drama Dept., for which he serves as artistic director. His second full-length play, "The Country Club" was produced at the Long Wharf, but he hit pay dirt with the Off-Broadway hit "As Bees in Honey Drown," produced under the auspices of the Drama Dept. That play, a comic dissection of the trappings of fame, greed and glamour, charted the relationship between the self-created socialite Alexa Vere de Vere who hires a struggling gay novelist to writer a biography. Nearly every major female star from Madonna to Nicole Kidman reportedly checked out the play as a possible screen vehicle. The film rights were sold to Universal with Beane attached as both producer and screenwriter. Following quickly on the heels of that success, the feature adaptation of "Advice From a Caterpillar" (lenses 1998) was produced, starring Drama Dept. member Cynthia Nixon alongside Jon Tenney and Andy Dick.
Filmography
Writer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Life Events
1991
First full-length play produced Off-Broadway, "Advice From a Caterpillar"
1995
First produced screenplay, "To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar"
1995
Co-founded Drama Dept., Inc., a New York theater company; served as first artistic director
1997
Scored a hit off-Broadway with the play "As Bees in Honey Drown"
1998
His play "The Country Club" was produced at Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CT
2000
Penned screen version of his play "Advice From a Caterpillar"
2001
Wrote the play "Music From a Sparkling Planet"
2002
Directed stage adaptation of "Free to Be ... You and Me"
2006
Helmed the Broadway play, "The Little Dog Laughed"; earned a Tony nomination for Best Play
2007
Wrote the book for a stage musical adaptation of the 1980 film, "Xanadu"; earned a Tony award nomination for Best Book of a Musical
2011
Co-wrote the stage adaptation of the 1992 film, "Sister Act"; earned a Tony nomination for Best Book of a Musical
