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Karen Hartman was the first-ever playwright honored by Amplify (formerly Volt), an unprecedented festival of three simultaneous off-Broadway premieres by a single author: New Golden Age (Primary Stages, Blackburn Prize Finalist); The Lucky Star (The Directors Company); and Goldie, Max & Milk (MBL Productions, shortlisted for the LAMBDA Literary Award). A Guggenheim Fellow, Hartman’s work has been supported by the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Foundation at Bellagio, Princeton’s Hodder Fellowship, the Royal National Theatre of Great Britain, MacDowell Colony, New Dramatists, the Helen Merrill Foundation, Hedgebrook, the Playwrights Center, a Fulbright Scholarship, and more. Hartman’s plays are published by Concord Theatricals (Samuel French), as well as Dramatists Play Service, Theater Communications Group, and Playscripts, and her personal and political essays have appeared in the New York Times and the Washington Post. Current projects include ALICE BLISS in the 2025 NAMT Festival of New Musicals (music: Jenny Giering, lyrics: Adam Gwon, Weston-Ghostlight New Musical Award), In The Mood, a musical with swing standards directed by Tony winner Kenny Leon, and a film adaptation for August Point Productions of her award-winning play Roz and Ray. Hartman founded and leads The Hundred Day Reckoning: a Creative Response to Hard Change.
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NEWS
ALICE BLISS in the NAMT Festival of New Musicals
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Book by Karen Hartman, Music by Jenny Giering, Lyrics by Adam Gwon, based on the novel by Laura Harrington October 23 & 24 at New World Stages 2007, Upstate New York. When Alice’s dad gets deployed to Iraq, she’s furious, with no one to hate but her mom. Alice valiantly shoulders her way through tenth grade – driving lessons, first love, and all – trying to keep Dad safe by acting perfect at home. A heartstopping, richly harmonic score buoys this fresh, surprisingly funny look at girls and women on the frayed edge of America, taking the heat of war. |
GOLDIE, MAX & MILK shortlisted for a 2025 Lambda Literary Award
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Max, a single lesbian, just gave birth. She’s unemployed, with a house that’s falling apart, an ex on the loose, and no clue how to nurse her newborn. Can Goldie, an Orthodox Jewish lactation consultant, guide Max into motherhood? Or will conflicting family values get the better of them both? A surprising and deeply human comedy about motherhood, family, and doing what comes naturally. |
New Substack, The Hundred Day Reckoning, a Creative Response to Hard Change
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In which an award-winning playwright (me) mines ancient dramatic principles and a range of current wisdom to expand creativity, capacity, and freedom in the face of real-life human drama (a.k.a. yours). You’ll find candid personal writing, hot takes on stone cold dramatic precepts, tales from alumni of The Hundred Day Reckoning, and creative prompts that uplift what I’ve come to believe is the central inquiry in life (and drama): how do we navigate a world we cannot control? |