Doug Haverty

Doug Haverty was born in Sacramento and graduated from the University of the Pacific in Stockton with a major in Theatre and a minor in Journalism.

His first play, a college comedy called Hello, This Is The Bottom Drawer, opened in Los Angeles in 1980 and was a surprise, award-winning hit, garnering the attention of Miss Audrey Wood in New York. She subsequently signed him to her stable of playwrights at ICM. The drama critic at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner dubbed Haverty “the Frank Capra of the ‘Me’ Generation.”

Premiering at Los Angeles’ Group Repertory Theatre in 1984, Haverty's In My Mind's Eye was inspired by one of his teachers. Mind's Eye won him a most promising playwright award as well as the Drama-Logue Award for Best Playwriting in 1985. Published by Samuel French.

Doug was commissioned by Access Theatre of Santa Barbara to write the libretto for a musical fantasy that incorporated sign language into and throughout the story, making it accessible to all audiences, including the hearing impaired. The Legend of the Crystal Waters toured the South/West and garnered Haverty a playwriting award at the American Deaf Drama Festival.

In 1987, Death Defying Acts, a drama about a career woman who gives up her job to become a hospice volunteer, was presented by the Long Island Stage, NY. This production, which consisted of all Broadway actors, was met with tremendous response both from audiences and critics. In 1989, Haverty was invited back to LIS for the world premiere of his comedy-drama Aftershocks, about a 32-year-old woman who looks up her natural mother. Aftershocks won the coveted International Margo Jones Playwriting Competition and has subsequently been produced across the country.

A new musical, Roleplay, about five women in group therapy, co-written by Adryan Russ, opened in April 1989 for a six-week run at the Group Repertory Theatre in Los Angeles. The critical and public response was so strong that this innovative musical ran for five months. Roleplay was subsequently produced at The Colony Studio Theatre in 1991 and opened off-off-Broadway in July of 1992 at the Village Theatre Company. Again, audiences fell in love with this all-female neuroses-fest and the show was extended and extended and was eventually optioned by Richard Frankel Productions. An extremely successful out-of-town tryout opened at The Florida Studio Theatre in Sarasota in December ’93 and then opened off-Broadway at The Cherry Lane Theatre on November 7th, 1994 under a new title, Inside Out. The New York Times said, “A bright, witty and wise musical about the way we live now... A smart, spunky musical.. Characters seem like real people, even when they sing and dance.” The Original Cast Recording was released on DRG Records. The Laguna Playhouse production earned Doug and Adryan Russ a Robby Award, which was handed to them by Mr. John Raitt at the ceremony held at The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel. The European premiere of Inside Out was presented in April 2005 by The English Theatre Group of Zug in Zurich, Switzerland. The production immediately sold out and was brought back in January of 2006. This play was subsequently translated into Serbian and opened in Belgrade in October 2018 and ran continuously through March 2020, when the theater world came grinding to a COVID-19 halt.

The 1991 Los Angeles’ Colony Theatre Company presented a Haverty comedy-drama about Huntington’s Disease, Could I Have This Dance, which was selected by the American Theatre Critics’ Association as the Best New Play of 1991 (produced outside of New York City) and was subsequently included in the Otis-Gurnsey Best Plays of 1991-92. Dance had already won Seattle’s “New Plays Discovery Festival” and was a finalist for 1991 Humana Festival at Actor’s Theatre at Louisville. The Colony production garnered 12 Drama-Logue Awards, including one for playwriting. Dance went on to be produced in New York City at the Village Theatre Company in September 1993 and premiered in Melbourne, Australia. Published by Samuel French.

Doug also wrote the libretto for another musical commissioned by Access Theatre which opened in November of 1991, Flavia and the Dream Maker. This family musical is based on the popular author/poet/painter's autobiography (with songs by Shelley Markham and Bob Garrett). Published by Dramatic Publishing Company.

In 2000 Theatre West (L.A.) presented the world premiere of Doug’s contemporary tragedy Come Baby, Cradle And All. The play deals with late-term abortion and featured the extraordinary Lee Meriwether.

Also co-written with Adryan Russ, iGhost is inspired by Oscar Wilde’s “The Canterville Ghost.” This musical is contemporary spin on the classic tale and compares and contrasts the similarities between ghosts and Bluetooth, wireless wizardry. World premiered in May 2011 at The Lyric Theatre and was part of the 4th annual Los Angeles Festival of New Musicals.

Also in 2011, the world premiere of Doug’s Next Window, Please at the Group Rep. This play is a theatrical portrait of six women and takes place at a bank, behind the plexiglass in the midst of a bank merger and layoffs. This play was very well received and became one of the most profitable plays at this 38-year-old theatre.

In 2012, Doug was commissioned to write the book for a new musical called The Ghost of Gershwin with all-new music by Wayland Pickard written in the style of George & Ira Gershwin. He ended up also co-writing lyrics to four of the 16 musical numbers and the production opened at The Group Rep in May 2014 and played to nearly sold-out houses for seven weeks, making it their highest-grossing, most attended production.

Developed under the guidance of the late Betty Garrett, Doug’s musical Love Again was developed at Theatre West and The Group Rep and was included in The Group Rep’s 41st season and opened in May 2015, directed by A Chorus Line original cast member Kay Cole.

In December 2018, the world premiere of A Carol Christmas took place at The Group Rep. This musical adaptation of A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens featured book by Doug Haverty and Music & Lyrics by Bruce Kimmel. Both were nominated individually for Ovation Awards.

Doug currently serves as Artistic Director at The Group Rep and co-moderates Theatre West’s Writer’s Workshop. He studied playwriting with Charles Clerc, Gardner McKay, Danny Simon, Stephen Schwartz, Lonny Chapman and Oliver Hailey.