William Luce

William Luce wrote his Broadway and London success The Belle of Amherst for Julie Harris, who won her fifth Tony Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Emily Dickinson. For American soprano Renée Fleming, Luce wrote My Business Is To Love, which Fleming premiered in Lincoln Center and London's Barbican Centre, with Harris and Bloom co-starring. Luce's Broadway hit Barrymore starred Christopher Plummer as legendary John Barrymore. Plummer won a Tony Award for Best Actor. Barrymore's UK production, titled One Helluva Life, starred Tony Award winner Tom Conti. For her portrayal of Isak Dinesen in Luce's play Lucifer's Child, Julie Harris received a Tony nomination. Harris also starred in Luce's play Brontë, written for WGBH and Irish Television. The WGBH production won the Peabody Award and Columbia University's Armstrong Award. Lillian, Luce's Broadway play on Lillian Hellman, starred Tony Award actress Zoe Caldwell, with productions again in London and the Sydney Opera House. Luce's play Bravo, Caruso! celebrated The Cleveland Play House's 75th anniversary. Luce's play Zelda starred Olga Bellin off-Broadway; later as The Last Flapper, the play starred Piper Laurie. Luce's two plays, Chanel and Nijinsky, premiered at Parco Theatre in Tokyo. Luce's Sound Portrait of William Shakespeare for NPR starred David Warner, David Dukes, Peter Donat, Arthur Hill, Julie Harris, Joan Hackett and Marian Mercer. Baptiste, Luce's comedy about Moliére, premiered at Hartford Stage. Luce is twice a Writers' Guild Award nominee for his CBS movies The Last Days of Patton and The Woman He Loved. To composer Henry Mollicone's music, Luce wrote the libretti for two works: their new opera Gabriel's Daughter, which premiered in Colorado; and A Rat's Tale for orchestra, chorus and narrator, with its premiere in California. Their latest work for orchestra, chorus and soloists is Beatitude Mass.