Madeleine George
Works:
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Hurricane Diane (2017) – Obie Award-winning comedy blending Greek myth and climate discourse.
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The (curious case of) Watson Intelligence – Pulitzer Prize finalist and Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award winner.
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Seven Homeless Mammoths Wander New England – Susan Smith Blackburn finalist.
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The Zero Hour – Lambda Literary Award finalist.
Raised in Amherst, Massachusetts, George is an acclaimed American playwright, author, and television writer. She began writing plays as a teenager, participating in programs like the Young Playwrights Festival in New York while still in high school. She later earned her B.A. from Cornell University and an M.F.A. from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Throughout her career, George has been recognized for her sharp wit, deep empathy, and inventive theatrical imagination. She has held positions such as Mellon Playwright-in-Residence at Two River Theater and works as a writer and executive story editor on the Hulu mystery-comedy Only Murders in the Building. Her honors include the Whiting Award for Drama, a Princess Grace Award, a Lilly Award, Hermitage Major Theater Award, and Obie Awards.
Style and Themes
George’s work is known for its inventive structural conceits, as she merges comedy, mythology, and serious thematic injuries. Her plays are known to question the following concepts:
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Explore human connection, identity, and social dynamics with sharp dialogue and nuanced character relationships.
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Combine formal theatrical techniques with contemporary issues– from satire and heightened comic rhythms to dramatic depth.
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Engage with queer perspectives and female, or female-centered, ensembles.
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Mix fantastic or unconventional elements (Gods, computers, exaggerated conceits) with grounded human experiences.
Her writing balances humor and seriousness, inviting audiences to laugh while engaging with deeper social and existential questions crucial to our times.
Inspiration Behind Hurricane Diane:
George began conceiving Hurricane Diane after reading The Botany of Desire by Michael Pollan, especially the chapter on Johnny Appleseed. Pollan recasts the historical figure as an “American Dionysus” — someone who walked the land planting apple trees for hard cider — which sparked George’s imagination about what would happen if Dionysus returned to modern America.
Commissioned shortly after Hurricane Sandy, the play allowed her to situate a mythical narrative in a real community still feeling the effects of the climate crisis.
Rather than a direct adaptation of Euripides’ The Bacchae, Hurricane Diane functions as a modern sequel of sorts.
The play uses comedy and familiar suburban archetypes to address:
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Climate change and environmental complacency.
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The tensions between people’s desires for comfort and the urgency of ecological crisis.
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Human complicity and responsibility in the face of systemic challenges.
For more information and interviews on George and her process with Hurricane Diane, visit these websites.