WELLER, MICHAEL

WELLER, MICHAEL (1942– ), U.S. playwright. Born in New York, Weller was educated at Brandeis and Manchester University. He entered the New York theater scene in 1972 with his play Moonchildren. He followed this great success with a number of finely crafted scripts, including Fishing (1973); The Greatest Little Show on Earth (1974); The Bodybuilders (1975); Grant's Movie (1976); Dwarfman (1977); Loose Ends (1978); and Spoils of War (1988). Weller's other plays include Split (1979); Barbarians (1982); The Ballad of Soapy Smith (1985); Ghost on Fire (1987); Lake No Bottom (1991); Buying Time (1995); What the Night Is For (2002); and Approaching Moomtaj (2004). Weller wrote the screenplay for the film version of the musical Hair (1979) as well as for Ragtime (Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay, 1981); Lost Angels (1989); the TV version of Spoils of War (1994); and was a writer/producer of the TV series Once and Again (1999–2002). Weller was a co-founder of the Mentor Project at the Off-Broadway Cherry Lane Theatre. He also worked as an adviser for several emerging theater companies. In 2005 the Broken Watch Theater Company named its new venue in New York City the Michael Weller Theater. (Jonathan Licht / Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)