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"Others will recall that for a decade beginning in 1983 he was practically ubiquitous in the New York theater. He had plays produced at Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage, Playwrights Horizon, Theater for the New City, the Public Theatre and Circle Rep. He won the George Oppenheimer / Newsday Play writing award for CHRISTMAS ON MARS in 1983, the same year that he won his first Obie Award for 'most promising young playwright.' He won another Obie in 1993 for THE HOUSE GUESTS." 3
Harry Kondoleon wrote 2 novels, a book of poetry, and "17 plays, and in each one I've seen he brings irreconcilable characters, moods and situations onto a stage and lets them make their way toward a wary truce." 4
SAVED OR DESTROYED premiered posthumously in 2000 in a festival of Kondoleon works presented by Rattlestick Productions in New York City. It marked the directorial debut of playwright Craig Lucas.
"This is one of those once-in-a-lifetime stagings that seem to have stepped directly full-blown and radiant, from an author's imagination . . . Essential viewing for any lover of theatre!" 5
"The play pushes the subject of theatricality into Pirandello-like terrain--reality and theater blurring like the sea and sky of a distant horizon." 6
"It's tonic to find a play that hurls the force of our irrational, tragic existence with all its pointed beauty and absurdity and cruelty and elegance-the squalid and the sublime side by side, just like life." 2
SAVED OR DESTROYED premiered posthumously in 2000 in a festival of Kondoleon works presented by Rattlestick Productions in New York City.
"A brilliantly written play that crackles with jokes, aphorisms, and truth about life, this subtle masterpiece is perfect for anyone who loves the intricacies of the theatre . . . Harry Kondoleon was an unconventional and gifted playwright who died of AIDS when he was only 39 years old. His irreverent approach to drama, often ignoring the rules and conventions of drama, has since become hugely influential on stage and in Hollywood, with Kaufman's BEING JOHN MALKOVICH the ultimate example of a Kondoleon-influenced piece." 1
"Although it's cold comfort, Kondoleon's legacy lives on in the admiration of other playwrights. First and foremost is Nicky Silver, whose darkly over-the-top comedies would be unthinkable without Kondoleon's example. John Patrick Shanley and Richard Greenberg have also paid homage to Kondoleon in their work. And a generation of younger playwrights including Chay Yew, Tom Donaghy, and Hang Ong – cite him as an influence" 6