Douglas Parker

{{short description|American dramatist}}

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Douglas M. Parker (born May 25 1963) is a playwright known for biographical and reality-based plays. His works include BESSIE: The Life and Music of Bessie Smith (2005); Life on the Mississippi (2006); Declarations (2007); Life on the Mississippi, a musical based on his play (2008); Thicker Than Water (2009); and "The Private History of a Campaign That Failed" (2011).{{Cite web |last=Latimer |first=Ashlee |date=October 13, 2016 |title=Photos: Genesis Theatricals' THICKER THAN WATER |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Photo-Flash-Genesis-Theatricals-THICKER-THAN-WATER-20161013 |access-date=2022-03-28 |website=BroadwayWorld |language=en}}

Working as a librettist and lyricist, Parker adapted his play Life on the Mississippi into a musical with composer Denver Casado.{{Cite web |title=Life on the Mississippi {{!}} Northern Sky Theater |url=https://northernskytheater.com/show/life-on-the-mississippi-2/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231004011403/https://northernskytheater.com/show/life-on-the-mississippi-2/ |archive-date=October 4, 2023 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=Northern Sky Theater}} In October 2008, Life on the Mississippi was named by the National Alliance for Musical Theater as one of their Five Shows You Should Know.{{Cn|date=May 2024}} In January 2009, Goodspeed Opera House presented the musical as one of three shows in their Festival of New Artists.{{Cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |date=December 19, 2008 |title=Band Geeks!, Factory Girls, Life on the Mississippi Will Be Sung in Goodspeed Institute |url=https://playbill.com/article/band-geeks-factory-girls-life-on-the-mississippi-will-be-sung-in-goodspeed-institute-com-156305 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220119092631/https://playbill.com/article/band-geeks-factory-girls-life-on-the-mississippi-will-be-sung-in-goodspeed-institute-com-156305 |archive-date=January 19, 2022}} In January 2010, a shorter version of Life on the Mississippi for younger audiences premiered at the Coterie Theater in Kansas City.{{cite news |last=Trussell |first=Robert |date=1 February 2010 |title=It's a Wonderful "Life on the Mississippi |url=https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cUio9jd-IoIJ:www.coterietheatre.org/uploadedFiles/PDFs/Life%2520on%2520the%2520Mississippi%2520KC%2520Star%2520Review.doc+parker+casado+%22life+on+the+mississippi%22+kansas+city+star+robert+trussell&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShgXYoZ-VBMjZ-DL49htbl0F5biP2Qpz1pCYAdmZCDJb6U2FNxNPcRblAwa-9YHBCHJ5Fptqb6qJfTGBrmo-KnSxaksiMt_4a-7hSRg4YKNHaUw8FIdXHVra4bJvPAiH1xm7Mjr&sig=AHIEtbTfa1ShFEcTIflVxZbEtQRVrJT1jQ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411220830/https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:cUio9jd-IoIJ:www.coterietheatre.org/uploadedFiles/PDFs/Life%2520on%2520the%2520Mississippi%2520KC%2520Star%2520Review.doc+parker+casado+%22life+on+the+mississippi%22+kansas+city+star+robert+trussell&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEEShgXYoZ-VBMjZ-DL49htbl0F5biP2Qpz1pCYAdmZCDJb6U2FNxNPcRblAwa-9YHBCHJ5Fptqb6qJfTGBrmo-KnSxaksiMt_4a-7hSRg4YKNHaUw8FIdXHVra4bJvPAiH1xm7Mjr&sig=AHIEtbTfa1ShFEcTIflVxZbEtQRVrJT1jQ |archive-date=April 11, 2016 |accessdate=19 May 2011 |work=Kansas City Star |format=DOC}} In June 2010, the full-length version premiered with a ten-week run at American Folklore Theater in Wisconsin.

In July 2012, Parker's play Thicker Than Water won second prize at Barter Theater's Appalachian Festival of Plays and Playwrights. In September 2013, Thicker Than Water received a full production, with a scheduled run of six weeks.{{cite news|url=http://m.tricities.com/swvatoday/news/editorials/article_e173fc46-1afe-11e3-9473-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm|title=REVIEW: THICKER THAN WATER at Barter 'Forceful'|last=Aday|first=Gary|date=9 September 2013|work=Washington County News|accessdate=17 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304064900/http://m.tricities.com/swvatoday/news/editorials/article_e173fc46-1afe-11e3-9473-0019bb30f31a.html?mode=jqm|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}} In October 2013, Thicker Than Water was selected as an official entrant for the 2014 Pulitzer Prize in Drama but did not win.{{Cite web |last=Cearns |first=Liz |date=September 26, 2016 |title=Genesis Theatrical Productions Presents THICKER THAN WATER |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Genesis-Theatrical-Productions-Presents-THICKER-THAN-WATER-20160926 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170427215002/https://www.broadwayworld.com/chicago/article/Genesis-Theatrical-Productions-Presents-THICKER-THAN-WATER-20160926 |archive-date=April 27, 2017 |access-date=2024-05-19 |website=BroadwayWorld |language=en}}

In August 2014, Parker's first book, Contemporary Monologues for Young Actors, was published. His second book, Fantasy Monologues for Young Actors, was published in September 2015 and his third book, Contemporary Scenes for Young Actors, was published in August 2016.{{Cn|date=May 2024}}