Claudia Shear

Shear was born to Julian "Bud" and Helaine Catoggio. Her mother was a glamorous executive in the cosmetic industry, a talented amateur painter and collector of antiques. Her father, who was a Deputy Chief"Ranks of the FDNY" wikipedia.com, accessed April 24, 2016 in the New York City Fire Department at the time of her birth,[https://web.archive.org/web/20160602194239/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-10-01/news/8602270912_1_claudia-shear-firefighter-mr-shear "Julian D. Shear Obituary in the Sun Sentinel"] sun-sentinel.com, accessed April 24, 2016 left her mother and her older sister Diane, soon after she was born.[http://www.encyclopedia.com/article-1G2-3420800015/dirty-blonde.html "Dirty Blonde Encyclopedia.com entry"] encyclopedia.com, accessed April 24, 2016 She attended the City College of New York.[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/175564%7C0/Claudia-Shear/ "Claudia Shear Overview"] tcm.com, accessed May 3, 2015Mansnerus, Laura. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/04/06/garden/a-conversation-with-claudia-shear-blown-sideways-through-lunch.html "A Conversation With: Claudia Shear; Blown Sideways Through Lunch"], The New York Times, April 6, 1994, Section C, Page 1, retrieved August 26, 2023

Shear came to prominence with her self-penned solo performance piece Blown Sideways Through Life (described by Frank Rich as an "autobiographical monologue"). The show premiered at the New York Theatre Workshop in September 1993.Rich, Frank. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/22/theater/review-theater-blown-sideways-through-life-fat-64-jobs-later-misfit-finally.html "Review/Theater: Blown Sideways Through Life; Fat and 64 Jobs Later, Misfit Finally Finds A Niche on the Stage"] The New York Times, September 22, 1993 The show then opened at the Off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre on January 7, 1994, closing on July 17, 1994, after 221 performances.[http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=928 " Blown Sideways Through Life Listing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616111837/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=928 |date=June 16, 2012 }} lortel.org, accessed May 3, 2015 Shear won an Obie Award, Special Citation and a 1994 Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Solo Performance.[http://www.dramadesk.org/awards "Awards, see 1994"] dramadesk.org, accessed May 31, 2015[http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/28079/Claudia-Shear "Claudia Shear Awards"] playbillvault.com, accessed May 31, 2015 Shear's employment experiences as a member of the American work force - sixty-four jobs in all, including pastry chef, nude model, waitress, whorehouse receptionist, proofreader, and Italian translator - provided her a wealth of material for her piece. She adapted it for a 1995 presentation on the PBS series American Playhouse.[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/455663/blown-sideways-through-life " Blown Sideways Through Life Listing"] tcm.com, accessed May 2, 2015

Shear wrote the play Dirty Blonde, her exploration of the life and career of Mae West. The play premiered

Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop, running from January 10, 2000, to February 13, 2000[http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=201 " Dirty Blonde Listing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616111849/http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=201 |date=June 16, 2012 }} lortel.org, accessed May 2, 2015 and then opened on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre on April 14, 2000 (previews); both productions were directed by James Lapine.McBride, Murdoch. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/shears-dirty-blonde-begins-bway-previews-at-helen-hayes-april-14-88491/print "Shear's 'Dirty Blonde' Begins Bway Previews At Helen Hayes April 14"]{{Dead link|date=July 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} playbill.com, April 14, 2000 She earned Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations for both Best Play and Best Actress and won the Theatre World Award.[http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/6707/Dirty-Blonde " Dirty Blonde Broadway Production and Awards"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526124314/http://www.playbillvault.com/Show/Detail/6707/Dirty-Blonde |date=May 26, 2015 }} playbillvault.com, accessed May 2, 2015

Shear's acting credits include the films It Could Happen to You (1994) and Living Out Loud (1998)[https://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/175564%7C0/Claudia-Shear/ "Claudia Shear"] tcm.com, accessed May 2, 2015 and a guest appearance as "fake Monica" on the NBC sitcom Friends in 1995. She has also written for such publications as The New York Times, Vogue, and Travel & Leisure, among others.

Restoration, a new play written by her, premiered in June 2009 at La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, California, commissioned by La Jolla Playhouse Artistic Director Christopher AshleyRaymond, Gerard. [http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/article/restoring-beauty-an-interview-with-claudia-shear "Restoring Beauty: An Interview with Claudia Shear"] slantmagazine.co, June 1, 2010Lipton, Brian Scott. [http://www.theatermania.com/san-diego-theater/news/05-2009/alan-mandell-claudia-shear-kate-shindle-et-al-set-_19383.html Alan Mandell, Claudia Shear, Kate Shindle, et al. Set for La Jolla's "Restoration'"] theatermania.com, May 29, 2009 after an idea by Shear. In Restoration, Shear plays "Giulia, a down-on-her-luck art restorer from Brooklyn who receives what could possibly be a career-reviving job of 'refreshing' Michelangelo’s David in time for its quincentennial celebration in Florence."Hernandez, Ernio. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/off-broadway-cast-complete-for-claudia-shears-restoration-at-nytw-167537 "Off-Broadway Cast Complete for Claudia Shear's 'Restoration' at NYTW"] playbill.com, April 9, 2010 Christopher Ashley, who staged the world premiere of Restoration at La Jolla Playhouse, directed the work for its New York debut. The play premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop on April 30, 2010 (previews) and officially on May 19, 2010, through June 13, 2010.Peter, Thomas. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/restoration-claudia-shear-goes-from-dirty-blonde-to-cleaning-up-david-168537 " 'Restoration': Claudia Shear Goes from 'Dirty Blonde' to Cleaning Up David"] playbill.com, May 18, 2010[https://nytw.org/restoration_info.asp " Restoration New York Theatre Workshop"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141127152955/http://www.nytw.org/restoration_info.asp |date=November 27, 2014 }} nytw.org, accessed May 31, 2015

Shear appeared in the Broadway play by Michele Lowe, The Smell of the Kill, which had a brief run of 40 performances in 2002.Simonson, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/news/article/smell-of-the-kill-closes-on-broadway-april-28-105379 " 'Smell of the Kill' Closes on Broadway, April 28"] playbill.com, April 28, 2002

Shear co-wrote the book for the new musical based on the book Tuck Everlasting, also titled Tuck Everlasting. The music and lyrics are written by Chris Miller and Nathan Tysen with direction by Casey Nicholaw. The musical premiered at the Alliance Theatre, Atlanta, from January 21, 2015, to February 22, 2015.[http://alliancetheatre.org/production/tuck-everlasting Tuck Everlasting] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150506192627/http://alliancetheatre.org/production/tuck-everlasting |date=May 6, 2015 }} alliancetheatre.org, accessed May 31, 2015Isherwood, Charles. [https://www.nytimes.com/2015/02/10/theater/review-tuck-everlasting-swaps-out-the-circle-of-life-for-an-eternally-unspooling-ribbon.html?_r=0 "Review: 'Tuck Everlasting' Swaps Out the Circle of Life for an Eternally Unspooling Ribbon"] The New York Times, February 9, 2015 The musical opened on Broadway in previews on March 31, 2016, and officially in April 2016.Gioia, Michael.[http://www.playbill.com/news/article/tuck-everlasting-will-spread-magic-on-broadway-in-2016-349064 " 'Tuck Everlasting' Will Spread Magic On Broadway in 2016"] playbill.com, May 13, 2015[http://www.ibdb.com/production.php?id=501949 "'Tuck Everlasting' Broadway Listing"] ibdb.com, accessed October 10, 2015Viagas, Robert. [http://www.playbill.com/article/tuck-everlasting-opens-on-broadway-tonight# " 'Tuck Everlasting' Opens on Broadway Tonight"], playbill.com, April 26, 2016.

In 2017 she starred in EVENING AT THE TALKHOUSE, written by Wallace Shawn, with Matthew Broderick at The New Group at the Signature Theatre in New York City.

{{Reflist}}

• {{IBDB name|76341}}
• [http://lortel.org/Archives/CreditableEntity/2201 Claudia Shear] at Internet Off-Broadway Database
• {{IMDb name|0790396}}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20071208215617/http://archive.salon.com/people/feature/2000/05/22/shear/index.html Salon.com interview]
• [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio4/womanshour/2004_24_wed_03.shtml BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour interview]

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Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American dramatists and playwrights

Category:20th-century American women writers

Category:20th-century American actresses

Category:21st-century American dramatists and playwrights

Category:21st-century American actresses

Category:21st-century American women writers

Category:American stage actresses

Category:American film actresses

Category:American television actresses

Category:Actresses from Brooklyn

Category:Writers from Brooklyn

Category:American women dramatists and playwrights

Category:City College of New York alumni

Category:Theatre World Award winners

Category:Year of birth missing (living people)