Lindsey Ferrentino

Lindsey Ferrentino
Ferrentino in 2025
EducationNew York University (BFA)
Hunter College (MFA)
Yale University (MFA)
OccupationsPlaywright, Screenwriter
FatherJohn Ferrentino
WebsiteOfficial website

Lindsey Ferrentino is an American contemporary playwright and screenwriter.

Adrien Brody and Lindsey Ferrentino at The Fear of 13 Broadway Opening

Early life

Lindsey Ferrentino is the daughter of comedian and magician John Ferrentino.[1][2]

Adrien Brody and Lindsey Ferrentino arrive at the Olivier Awards 2025

Career

Ugly Lies the Bone

Ugly Lies the Bone was a New York Times Critic's Pick and played a sold-out, extended run at Roundabout Theatre in the year 2015. In The New York Times review of the play Charles Isherwood wrote that Ferrentino was "a brave playwright of dauntless conviction whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism."[3][4] Deadline Hollywood described Ugly Lies the Bone as, "clearly the work of a young talent with plenty ahead of her."[5] The Observer described it as, "raw and inescapably moving. A play of small moments that hide big emotions."[6] Ferrentino received the 2016 Kesselring Prize for Ugly Lies the Bone.[7] It was later produced at The National Theatre in London in the 900-seat Lyttleton Theatre in 2017.[8]

Amy and the Orphans

In 2018, Amy and the Orphans premiered at Roundabout Theatre Company and was called "barrier breaking" in the New York Times. Featuring American Horror Story's Jamie Brewer, Amy and the Orphans is the first Off-Broadway (or Broadway) show to have an actor with Down syndrome in a leading role.[9] In the New York Times review of Amy and the Orphans, Brantley wrote that Ferrentino "possesses a muscular empathy which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions."[10] Ferrentino, Brewer, and Eddie Barbanell received the Catalyst Awards Entertainment Industry Excellence Award for Amy and the Orphans.[11]

This Flat Earth

In 2018, This Flat Earth ran at Playwrights Horizons. The New York Times wrote that This Flat Earth is "Ferrentino's most daring play to date, with profound and essential subjects. She is bravely attempting to contextualize 21st-century horrors within the sort of existential framework in which Thornton Wilder and Edward Albee specialized."[12]

The Year To Come

In December 2018, the play The Year to Come premiered. The show is a reverse-chronological drama about an American family reuniting each New Year’s Eve, revealing how political and personal rifts evolve over time. Set around a backyard pool, the play explores how a family—and a nation—fractures and heals across decades. The show opened at La Jolla Playhouse and was positively received with a Critic's Pick by the San Diego Union-Tribune.[13][14]

Not Fade Away

Ferrentino's first film, Not Fade Away, was in development at Annapurna Pictures, as of March 2019, produced by David O. Russell and John Krasinski, starring Emily Blunt.[15]

Amy

In 2021, it was announced that Ferrentino would write and direct Amy, a film adaptation of her stage play Amy and the Orphans, for Netflix, with Aggregate Films attached to produce.[16]

In relation to upcoming film projects, in a 2024 Hollywood Reporter article, Ferrentino was named Netflix's 'Go-To' Writer.[17] The article also announced a "Playboy" film in the works and an adaptation of Rebecca Yarros' best-selling novel "In the Likely Event," both penned by Ferrentino for Netflix.[18]

The Artist

The Artist, which Ferrentino co-adapted for the stage with Drew McOnie from the 2011 Oscar-winning film, opened at the Royal Plymouth in the UK in 2024. The show (which features almost no spoken words) reimagines the silent movie, blending vibrant choreography and period music to celebrate Hollywood's transition from silent films to talkies. The Guardian reviewed the piece as an "effervescent and delightfully inventive stage show".[19] The Telegraph named it "an artistic triumph that has ‘West End-bound hit’ written all over it." [20]

The Queen of Versailles

Ferrentino's first stage musical, The Queen of Versailles, opened on Broadway in October 2025. The show, which starred Kristin Chenoweth and F. Murray Abraham, was an adaptation of the 2012 documentary following David and Jackie Segal as they attempt to build the biggest home in America (modeled of the palace of Versailles) before the financial crisis brings construction to a halt. The music and lyrics were written by Oscar and Tony award-winner Stephen Schwartz.[21] The show closed on Broadway in December 2025, six weeks past its opening.[21][22]

Tony Awards 2025 - Lindsey Ferrentino and Kristin Chenoweth

The Fear of 13

Most recently, Ferrentino debuted her play The Fear of 13 (also a documentary adaptation) to London audiences at the Donmar Warehouse. The production starred Adrien Brody as Nick Yarris, a death row exoneree who attempts to overturn his conviction. The production was sold out throughout the duration of its London run.[23] The play was named "one of the best new shows in years" by Alex Wood of WhatsOnStage.[24] Both Ferrentino and Brody, respectively, were nominated for an Olivier Award.[25] The show transferred to Broadway in 2026, opening at the James Earl Jones Theatre on April 15. This production saw Brody reprise his role as Yarris opposite Tessa Thompson, who portrayed his love interest; the play marked both performers' Broadway debuts.[26] Though the show was initially scheduled to run until July 12 of that year, it eventually closed on June 28, two weeks earlier than expected.[27][a]

Adrien Brody and Lindsey Ferrentino arrive at the 2025 Laurence Olivier Awards

Style

Ferrentino is known for writing character led stories that live within larger national narratives. The New York Times wrote that Ferrentino "possesses a muscular empathy which seeks to enter the minds of people for whom life is often a struggle of heroic proportions"[10] and called her "a dramatist willing to wrestle with overpowering contemporary subjects." Ferrentino's 2015 off-Broadway hit Ugly Lies The Bone cemented her as a singular voice amongst contemporary playwrights, the New York Times lauding her as "A brave playwright of dauntless conviction whose unflinching portraits are hard to come by outside of journalism." Following the August 2024 world premiere of her new musical The Queen of Versailles, Variety praised her as having "a moral conscience second to none among her generation of playwrights."[35][12]

Awards and honors

Ferrentino's awards and honors include Olivier nomination 2025, the 2016 Kesselring Prize,[7] Laurents/Hatcher Citation of Excellence,[36] ASCAP Cole Porter Playwriting Prize,[37] Paul Newman Drama Award,[38] 2015 Kilroys List,[39] finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize,[40] the Catalyst Awards Entertainment Industry Excellence Award,[11] NYU Distinguished Young Alumna Award,[37] nominated for the Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award,[41] and is the only two-time finalist for the Kendeda Playwriting Prize.[42]

Personal life

Ferrentino was engaged to British actor Ralf Little from 2018 to 2024.

Notes

  1. ↑ Attributed to multiple references:[28][29][30][31][32][33][34]

References

  1. ↑ Morris, Nicky (26 December 2023). "Meet Death in Paradise star Ralf Little's famous fiancée". HELLO!. Retrieved 30 December 2023.
  2. ↑ "Authors: Lindsey Ferrentino", A Concord Theatricals Company Samuel French, 2019
  3. ↑ Charles Isherwood, "Review: 'Ugly Lies the Bone,' With Mamie Gummer as a Combat Veteran", The New York Times, October 13, 2015
  4. ↑ Olivia Clement, "Lindsey Ferrentino Tells Another Underrepresented Story in Amy and the Orphans", Playbill, March 3, 2018
  5. ↑ Gerard, Jeremy (2015-10-14). "Mamie Gummer's Disfigured Vet Tries VR In 'Ugly Lies The Bone' – Review". Deadline. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  6. ↑ "A Trifle on Adultery Is Overshadowed by Mamie Gummer's Portrayal of a Wounded Soldier". Observer. 2015-10-13. Retrieved 2019-09-12.
  7. 1 2 Andrew R. Chow, "The Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino Wins the Kesselring Prize", The New York Times, September 4, 2016
  8. ↑ Brian Logan, "Ugly Lies the Bone review – war veteran faces her demons in virtual reality rehab", The Guardian, March 2, 2017
  9. ↑ Sopan Deb, "A Barrier Breaks: An Actress With Down Syndrome Plays the Lead", The New York Times, February 14, 2018
  10. 1 2 Ben Brantley, "Three Degrees of Loneliness in 'Amy and the Orphans'", The New York Times, March 1, 2018
  11. 1 2 Olivia Clement, "Amy and the Orphans Recipient of The Arc's Catalyst Award", Playbill, November 7, 2018
  12. 1 2 Ben Brantley, "This Flat Earth' Traces Childhood Fears No Parent Can Allay", The New York Times, April 9, 2018
  13. ↑ James Herbert, "Review: La Jolla Playhouse's compelling 'The Year to Come' a grand family story set on rewind", The San Diego Tribune, December 10, 2018
  14. ↑ "Review: La Jolla Playhouse's compelling 'The Year to Come' a grand family story set on rewind". San Diego Union-Tribune. 2018-12-10. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  15. ↑ Vlessing, Etan (March 21, 2019). "Emily Blunt in Talks to Join Annapurna Drama 'Not Fade Away'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  16. ↑ Rubin, Rebecca (2021-03-16). "Netflix to Adapt 'Amy and the Orphans' Play With Director Lindsey Ferrentino (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 2021-06-17.
  17. ↑ Ford, Lily (October 10, 2024). "Hollywood's Hottest Ticket: Meet Netflix's "Go-To" Writer, Lindsey Ferrentino".
  18. ↑ Ford, Lily (October 21, 2024). "Netflix Developing Film Adaptation of Rebecca Yarros Novel 'In the Likely Event' (Exclusive)".
  19. ↑ Wiegand, Chris (May 20, 2024). "The Artist review – peppy stage show adds volume to silent cinema hit" – via The Guardian.
  20. ↑ Cavendish, Dominic. "The Artist: A scintillating celebration of Hollywood's silent stars". The Telegraph. The Telegraph. Retrieved 28 October 2025.
  21. 1 2 "The Queen of Versailles (Broadway, St. James Theatre, 2025)". Playbill. Archived from the original on 2026-03-29. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  22. ↑ Paulson, Michael (2025-12-23). "'The Queen of Versailles' Bombed on Broadway. What Went Wrong?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2026-03-29.
  23. ↑ Lewis, Tim (October 13, 2024). "'I could not get through the script without crying': Adrien Brody talks to the death row survivor who he's playing on the London stage". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  24. ↑ Wood, Alex. "The Fear of 13 review – Adrien Brody is sensational in new era for the Donmar Warehouse". WhatsOnStage. WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 27 October 2025.
  25. ↑ "Olivier Awards 2025". Official London Theatre. Retrieved 26 January 2026.
  26. ↑ Evans, Greg (January 13, 2026). "Adrien Brody And Tessa Thompson To Make Broadway Debuts In Wrongful Conviction Drama 'The Fear Of 13'". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  27. ↑ Culwell-Block, Logan (June 28, 2026). "Death Becomes Her, The Fear of 13 Take Final Broadway Bows June 28". Playbill. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  28. ↑ Shaw, Helen (April 16, 2026). "Review: 'The Fear of 13' Doesn't Entirely Add Up". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  29. ↑ Tinubu, Aramide (April 16, 2026). "'The Fear of 13' Broadway Review: Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson's Dynamic Performances Rein in a Tonally Bumpy Play". Variety. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  30. ↑ Evans, Greg (April 16, 2026). "'The Fear Of 13' Broadway Review: Adrien Brody And Justice Long Delayed". Deadline. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  31. ↑ Rooney, David (April 16, 2026). "'The Fear of 13' Theater Review: Adrien Brody Brings Unquestionable Commitment to a Death Row Drama Dulled by Pedestrian Writing". The Hollywood Reporter. Penske Media Corporation. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  32. ↑ McHenry, Jackson (April 15, 2026). "The Fear of 13 Doesn't Get Far Outside of Adrien Brody's Head". Vulture. Vox Media. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  33. ↑ Feldman, Adam (April 16, 2026). "Broadway review: The Fear of 13 is just fine". Time Out. Time Out Group. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  34. ↑ Lawson, Richard (April 16, 2026). "The Fear of 13 review – Adrien Brody and Tessa Thompson lead sturdy, safe Broadway transfer". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved July 30, 2026.
  35. ↑ Verini, Bob (2024-08-02). "'The Queen of Versailles' Review: Kristin Chenoweth Shines in a Lavish New Musical With a Social Satire Bite". Variety. Retrieved 2024-08-03.
  36. ↑ Adam Hetrick, "Playwright Rajiv Joseph's Guards at the Taj Wins Laurents/Hatcher Award; Playwright Lindsey Ferrentino Also Honored", Playbill, January 29, 2015
  37. 1 2 "NYUAA Award Honorees", NYU, 2018
  38. ↑ "WOODWARD/NEWMAN DRAMA AWARD", BPP, 2015
  39. ↑ "THE LIST 2015: The Top 7%", The Kilroys', 2015
  40. ↑ "The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize", The Blackburn Prize, 2015
  41. ↑ Gordon Cox, "Outer Critics Circle Nominations: 'American Psycho,' 'She Loves Me' Take the Lead (FULL LIST)", Variety, April 19, 2016
  42. ↑ "Winners and Finalists", Alliance Theatre, 2019
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