Alfred Uhry

Alfred Fox Uhry ( born December 3, 1936 in Atlanta, Georgia ) is an American writer. He became internationally known through his excellent with the Pulitzer Prize drama Driving Miss Daisy.

Uhry's early literary works consisted in the texts of poetry and librettos for a series of unsuccessful musicals, including America's Sweetheart about Al Capone. His first success was The Robber Bridegroom (1975 ), a musical with music by Robert Waltman on a novella by Eudora Welty. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film Mystic Pizza (1988).

Atlanta Trilogy

Driving Miss Daisy ( 1987) is the first of three stage plays, which are together known as Atlanta Trilogy and all play in the first half of the 20th century. The piece followed over 25 years, the relationship between an elderly Jewish widow and her black driver. After the piece Uhry wrote the screenplay for the film Miss Daisy, which won an Oscar.

The second piece of the trilogy, The Last Night of Ballyhoo (1996 ), set in the year 1939 during the premiere of the movie Gone with the Wind. It was commissioned for the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta, which took place at the same time to the 1996 Summer Olympics. The play won the Tony Award.

The final piece is the musical Parade ( 1998) on the lynching of Jewish factory manager Leo Frank in 1915. Libretto was also awarded the Tony Award.