September 23rd in African American History – George Costello Wolfe

George Costello Wolfe

September 23, 1954 George Costello Wolfe, playwright and director of theater and films, was born in Frankfort, Kentucky.

Wolfe earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theater from Pomona College and then taught for several years in Los Angeles and New York where he earned a Masters of Fine Arts from New York University in 1983. In 1989, Wolfe won an Obie Award for Best Off-Broadway Director for his play “Spunk” and in 1991 he gained national attention for “Jelly’s Last Jam”, which received 11 Tony nominations and won him the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Book of a Musical.

In 1993, Wolfe directed “Angels in America: Millennium Approaches” which won a Tony Award. From 1993 to 2004, Wolfe served as Artistic Director and Producer of the New York Shakespeare Festival where in 1996 he created “Bring in Da Noise, Bring in Da Funk” which won him a second Tony Award. In 2004, Wolfe began directing films, beginning with the HBO film “Lackawanna Blues.” His latest movie was the 2008 “Nights in Rodanthe.”

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