Anthony E. Gallo | |
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Born | Vandergrift, Pennsylvania, US | February 3, 1939
Known for | Playwright, economist & film and stage producer |
Children | 1 |
Anthony Ernest (Tony) Gallo (born February 3, 1939) is an American playwright.[1] He has written over 60 dramatic works.
Anthony Gallo was born on February 3, 1939, and raised in Vandergrift, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Saveria Raso and Domenic Gallo.[1] In 1940, a house fire killed Anthony's brother and left his father, a factory worker, in poor health.
Anthony Gallo received an undergraduate degree from the College of William and Mary and a master's degree from the Wharton School. He then worked as a banker, a college professor,[2] and a food marketing economist with the federal government. He was also a pioneer in the renovation of historic homes in the Capitol Hill Historic District in Washington, DC.[3]
Gallo's career as a playwright began in 1980 when he visited Israel. On his return, Gallo became interested in Judeo-Christian studies and decided to become a playwright.[4] This decision was also influenced by his friend, Herbert Stein. After retirement in 1996, Gallo became a prolific playwright, dubbed the "Wharton School Playwright" by his friends.
In 2007, Gallo married Susan Flaum Hesser, an information technology executive. Gallo has one son from a previous marriage, Thomas Augustus Gallo.
Gallo has created over 60 works. Gallo owns his own theater company, the Seventh Street Playhouse, and motion picture company, Eastern Market Studios.[5] While he defines himself as a Judeo-Christian playwright, he states that all of his plays are meant for general audiences. His only guiding maxim is that there are a million roads to God, "and I hope I am on the right one."
Two of Gallo's plays are Holocaust dramas (Margherita and Eugenio) and two are Biblical dramas (The Agony of David and The Last Days of King Solomon). Five of his plays are about American civilization (Vandergrift, Lincoln and God, Better than the Best, Charleston Revisited, and the Botticelli Cruise). Gallo's play, Paul, is an examination of the life of the Apostle Paul. Heathcliff is Gallo's first absurdist comedy.[4]
Gallo's plays have been staged nearly 100 times in 40 venues, including in Washington, DC: The Kennedy Center,[6] The National Press Club,[7][8] Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Cosmos Theatre,[9] The Universalist Stage, The Warehouse Theater, The Corner Store Stage, and the Capital Fringe Festival; in New York City: New York University, New York International Midtown Festival/Dorothy Strelsin Stage, The Dramatists Guild of America,[10] Casa Italiana, Where Eagles Dare Theatre, Abingdon Theatre, and Midtown International Theatre Festival where one of his actresses won best supporting actress; and in Maryland: The Greenbelt Arts Center,[11] Silver Spring Stage/PF, and St. John's Church.
Three of Gallo's plays (Margherita, Eugenio, and Lincoln and God) are under contract to the Nederlander Producing Group for production in New York City. Margherita was scheduled to be jointly produced by Brown–Nederlander and the Seventh Street Playhouse in 2012.[needs update]
The playwright is also very much involved in film-making and screenwriting. The Eastern Market Studios in Washington is currently shooting a feature film, Charleston Revisited, based on Gallo's successful stage play.[citation needed] He is also the librettist and lyricist for four musicals: Lincoln and God[21] (John Ward composer), Vandergrift[22] (Beatrix Whitehall composer), Peggy[23] (Margaret and Grant Bagley composers), and David[23] (Margaret and Grant Bagley composers).