John Murray author page

John Murray biography

John Murray was an American playwright and stage editor who wrote for both adults and young performers. He co-authored the Broadway comedy Room Service, later adapted for film, and compiled drama collections designed for school and youth theatre.

For teenage casts, he assembled royalty-free one-act comedies and mysteries, publishing titles widely used in classrooms and drama clubs. His collections include Comedies and Farces for Teen-Agers, Comedies and Mysteries for Young Actors, and Fifteen Plays for Today’s Teen-Agers (revised edition 1985). He also edited performance material for solo work, such as Modern Monologues for Young People (1982).

These anthologies, issued by publishers including Kalmbach’s Books Division and Plays, Inc., provided scripts with production notes and permissive performance terms for school use. Murray’s work remains a resource for youth theatre programmes.

Representative title: Mystery Plays for Young Actors (Plays, Inc., 1984).