John Monteleone, Playwright & Screenwriter
Recs & Reviews
MURRAY SCHISGAL
As the author of six plays on Broadway, including 'Luv' and 'Jimmy Shine,' and the co-writer of the film 'Tootsie,' among others, it is some thirty-five years in theater and film that causes me to celebrate John's talent as both writer and actor."
Full Letterof Rec.
Murray's Bio
GARY KOTT
"Since my Hollywood writing career (Writer/Supervising Producer The Cosby Show), I've had the pleasure of getting to know John Monteleone who starred in my solo HIM AND HIS LAST NIGHT OF SANITY. He is a talented performer and writer, whose work should be seriously considered."
Full Letter of Rec.
Gary's Bio
John is a playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, and was a professor and Artist in Residence for 15 years at Dowling College, NY, before it closed. He received his B.F.A. in acting and Theater from N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Program, and his M.A. in Educational Theater from Adelphi University graduating Summa Cum Laude. He has extensive acting, writing, directing, producing and teaching experience.
Recent Reviews
Florida Studio Theatre
Nov. 7, 2023
"PRISONERS IN PARADISE has rich character dynamics and great use of humor and subtext. The tension is never derailed, and the character arcs are interesting and profound, especially for a piece with such great comedic balance."
Catherine Randazzo
Associate Artist/Literary Manager
Read Synopsis
Reviews blurbs taken from full reviews below
"Jerry (in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story) is played by John Monteleone, an actor who is more than capable of handling Mr. Albee's complex character... his performance is a mixture of wild-eyed fear and soaring strength."
Leah D. Frank,
The New York Times
"BRAVURA PERFORMANCE... Monteleone demonstrates a convincing range in evoking 10 different characters" (in 'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People".)
Steve Parks
Newsday
"SPELLBINDING....
'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People," his second solo, Monteleone slips with ease from one character to another with an original or hysterical line to draw you in."
SCN
''Powerful Performance in "Diary of a Mad Man"
Mr. Monteleone meets the almost impossible task of portraying a demented man who is sinking into the quagmire of hopeless melancholia by finding out elements of humor that fit like pegs between layers of tragedy.'
Leah D. Frank
The New York Times
Monteleone keeps faith with the Gogol story, testing the conscience of his audience. the sicker his madman becomes, the funnier his lines. And laughing at him becomes a little sick, too. But it can't be helped. Monteleone is both funny and pathetic as the madman."
Steve Parks
Newsday
"John Monteleone is an engaging Mayer Schindel."
Newsday
"John Monteleone has a promising look of puzzlement at Aldo the Butler."
Clive Barnes
The New York Post
“Your performance was certainly excellent!”
Nancy Bosco
Circle In The Square Theatre
"Congratulations on a most powerful performance.'
Olivia Kim
PBS
"John Monteleone plays Johnny with such vigor and energy that he could easily overwhelm the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. But he doesn't. What a difficult fine line to tread - to play an enthusiastic, slightly crazy, Shakespeare-quoting hash linger who refuses to leave a girl's apartment after having sex - but to play it without expressing a sense of evil. Never once does the audience feel that Frankie is in physical danger - he's nuts, but he's harmless."
Bridget LeRoy
The Independent
"This production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is one of the most moving evenings of theatre this reviewer has ever had the joy of attending. Don't miss it! It is a pure delight - but it's also a deep-dish creation... John Monteleone, an experienced actor, is wonderful as Johnny."
Patsy Southgate
The East Hampton Star
"John Monteleone's Johnny is a finely shaded drawing of a compulsive, sweet, caring and agonizingly uncertain human-in other words, lots of us in our worst and best moments. In the words of Oscar Hammerstein, he's a man who stumbles, but a man who cares, and Mr. Monteleone conveys him with a refreshing complex of blind energy and forgiving gentleness."
Lee Davis
The Southampton Press
Review EXCERPS Major Papers click here
Review from Student Actor in SNAPSHOT
STUDENT REVIEW OF Snapshot
Nov 8th, 2023 - Student Production - Humanities and Performing Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Campus of the University of South Carolina, Upstate, Spartanburg, SC.
"I played Child in a small production of John Monteleone’s Snapshot at USC Upstate and marveled at the script. Snapshot helped me process my own existential dread and feeling of loss that comes with being mortal. It beautifully captures the passing of time and the cryptic process of memory.
I enjoyed the grand soliloquies that felt like modern takes on universal questions posed by playwrights going back to Shakespeare’s time and how they mixed humor and tragedy while also leaving the actor a lot of space to create their own unique take on the work.
I had a lot of fun being a baby and I loved going through both existential and personal grief on stage. The line “The dreams of yesterday have become faded memories of tomorrow” is my personal favorite, and the entire last soliloquy left me wanting to do more. Snapshot is chock full of high emotions and grand questions that any actor would love to sink their teeth into.
I highly recommend people to read the script and create their own interpretations; there’s always more to discover in a work as complex and multilayered as this."
Samuel Bass
RECENT PRODUCTIONS
SNAPSHOT
2nd Production in less than 1 year of this 30 year old play
Oct. 25th - 27th, 2024
Troy University in Troy, Alabama
Friday Nov 8th, 2023
Humanities and Performing Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Campus of the University of South Carolina, Upstate, Spartanburg, SC.
Read Synopsis
HE AND SHE
Nov. 18th, 2021
Aquinas College Performing Arts Center
Read Synopsis
NEW WORKS
PLAYS
Flight of the Dove - (completed 2024)
Head - (completed 2023)
The Debate - (completed 2022)
SCREENPLAYS
Smattered - (completed 2021)
WORKS IN PROGRESS
A Pile of Money - Full-Length Screenplay
Prisoners in Paradise - (the play) is being adapted for the screen.
Click Reviews Below to Enlarge and Read
John Monteleone, Playwright & Screenwriter
John is a playwright, screenwriter, actor, director, and was a professor and Artist in Residence for 15 years at Dowling College, NY, before it closed. He received his B.F.A. in acting and Theater from N.Y.U. Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Program, and his M.A. in Educational Theater from Adelphi University graduating Summa Cum Laude. He has extensive acting, writing, directing, producing and teaching experience.
Writing
COMPLETED REWRITE OF FULL LENGTH SCREENPLAY
TOP STORY
“TOP STORY” is a gripping feature-length thriller that thrusts the perils of Deepfake Technology into the spotlight when in the hands of a brilliant yet ruthless Madman.
JOHN'S PLAYS
that have been produced
Full-Length Plays
PRISONERS IN PARADISE
Professional reading in NYC at The Currican Theater.
Professional reading in NYC on Theater Row.
Professional reading in NYC at Theater 22.
Professional reading at Dowling College Performing Arts Center with professional Actors.
THE LAMP
Professional staged readings at the 42nd Street Workshop
Professional staged reading at The Harold Clurman Theater on Theater Row NYC
FARMLAND
Professionally Produced - Repertory in residence Dowling College
DIARY OF A MADMAN
Professionally Produced by the Repertory Theater in residence Dowling College
PERFECTLY NORM-ILL PEOPLE
Professionally Produced by the Repertory Theater in residence Dowling College
One-Act Plays
THE BOX
Professionally Produced in NYC - William Redfield Theater
HOMESICK
Professionally Produced in NYC - William Redfield Theater
HE AND SHE
Professionally Produced in NYC at Theater 22.
Professionally Produced at Dowling College
Student Production – Dowling College
Student Production – Aquinas College=
DROWNING STALLION
Produced – Malaysia University.
TOMORROW
Produced - Student Production – Dowling College
CHARADE
Produced - Student Production – Dowling College
SNAPSHOT
Produced - Student Production – Dowling College
Reviews blurbs taken from full reviews below
"Jerry (in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story) is played by John Monteleone, an actor who is more than capable of handling Mr. Albee's complex character... his performance is a mixture of wild-eyed fear and soaring strength."
Leah D. Frank,
The New York Times
"BRAVURA PERFORMANCE... Monteleone demonstrates a convincing range in evoking 10 different characters" (in 'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People".)
Steve Parks
Newsday
"SPELLBINDING....
'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People," his second solo, Monteleone slips with ease from one character to another with an original or hysterical line to draw you in."
SCN
''Powerful Performance in "Diary of a Mad Man"
Mr. Monteleone meets the almost impossible task of portraying a demented man who is sinking into the quagmire of hopeless melancholia by finding out elements of humor that fit like pegs between layers of tragedy.'
Leah D. Frank
The New York Times
Monteleone keeps faith with the Gogol story, testing the conscience of his audience. the sicker his madman becomes, the funnier his lines. And laughing at him becomes a little sick, too. But it can't be helped. Monteleone is both funny and pathetic as the madman."
Steve Parks
Newsday
"John Monteleone is an engaging Mayer Schindel."
Newsday
"John Monteleone has a promising look of puzzlement at Aldo the Butler."
Clive Barnes
The New York Post
“Your performance was certainly excellent!”
Nancy Bosco
Circle In The Square Theatre
"Congratulations on a most powerful performance.'
Olivia Kim
PBS
"John Monteleone plays Johnny with such vigor and energy that he could easily overwhelm the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. But he doesn't. What a difficult fine line to tread - to play an enthusiastic, slightly crazy, Shakespeare-quoting hash linger who refuses to leave a girl's apartment after having sex - but to play it without expressing a sense of evil. Never once does the audience feel that Frankie is in physical danger - he's nuts, but he's harmless."
Bridget LeRoy
The Independent
"This production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is one of the most moving evenings of theatre this reviewer has ever had the joy of attending. Don't miss it! It is a pure delight - but it's also a deep-dish creation... John Monteleone, an experienced actor, is wonderful as Johnny."
Patsy Southgate
The East Hampton Star
"John Monteleone's Johnny is a finely shaded drawing of a compulsive, sweet, caring and agonizingly uncertain human-in other words, lots of us in our worst and best moments. In the words of Oscar Hammerstein, he's a man who stumbles, but a man who cares, and Mr. Monteleone conveys him with a refreshing complex of blind energy and forgiving gentleness."
Lee Davis
The Southampton Press
MOST RECENT REVIEWS
PRISONER IN PARADISE
Florida Studio Theatre
Nov. 7, 2023
"PRISONERS IN PARADISE has rich character dynamics and great use of humor and subtext. The tension is never derailed, and the character arcs are interesting and profound, especially for a piece with such great comedic balance."
Catherine Randazzo
Associate Artist/Literary Manager
Read Synopsis
Reviews blurbs taken from full reviews below
STUDENT REVIEW OF a Student Actor in my One-Act Play "SNAPSHOT:"
"I played Child in a small production of John Monteleone’s Snapshot at USC Upstate and marveled at the script. Snapshot helped me process my own existential dread and feeling of loss that comes with being mortal. It beautifully captures the passing of time and the cryptic process of memory.
I enjoyed the grand soliloquies that felt like modern takes on universal questions posed by playwrights going back to Shakespeare’s time and how they mixed humor and tragedy while also leaving the actor a lot of space to create their own unique take on the work.
I had a lot of fun being a baby and I loved going through both existential and personal grief on stage. The line “The dreams of yesterday have become faded memories of tomorrow” is my personal favorite, and the entire last soliloquy left me wanting to do more. Snapshot is chock full of high emotions and grand questions that any actor would love to sink their teeth into.
I highly recommend people to read the script and create their own interpretations; there’s always more to discover in a work as complex and multilayered as this."
Samuel Bass
Nov 8th, 2023 - Student Production - Humanities and Performing Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Campus of the University of South Carolina, Upstate, Spartanburg, SC.
MOST RECENT PRODUCTIONS
SNAPSHOT
2nd Production in less than 1 year of this 30 year old play
Oct. 25th - 27th, 2024
Troy University in Troy, Alabama
Friday Nov 8th, 2023
Humanities and Performing Arts Center, Studio Theatre
Campus of the University of South Carolina, Upstate, Spartanburg, SC.
Read Synopsis
HE AND SHE
Nov. 18th, 2021
Aquinas College Performing Arts Center
Read Synopsis
NEW WORKS
PLAYS
"Flight of the Dove" - (completed 2024)
"Head" - (completed 2023)
"The Debate" - (completed 2022)
SCREENPLAYS
"Smattered" - (completed 2022)
WORKS IN PROGRESS
"A Pile of Money" - Full-Length Screenplay
"Prisoners in Paradise" (the play) is being adapted for the screen.
MURRAY SCHISGAL
As the author of six plays on Broadway, including 'Luv' and 'Jimmy Shine,' and the co-writer of the film 'Tootsie,' among others, it is some thirty-five years in theater and film that causes me to celebrate John's talent as both writer and actor."
Full Letterof Rec.
Wikepedia | IMDB
GARY KOTT
"Since my Hollywood writing career (Writer/Supervising Producer The Cosby Show), I've had the pleasure of getting to know John Monteleone who starred in my solo HIM AND HIS LAST NIGHT OF SANITY. He is a talented performer and writer, whose work should be seriously considered."
Reviews blurbs taken from full reviews below
"Jerry (in Edward Albee's play The Zoo Story) is played by John Monteleone, an actor who is more than capable of handling Mr. Albee's complex character... his performance is a mixture of wild-eyed fear and soaring strength."
Leah D. Frank,
The New York Times
"BRAVURA PERFORMANCE... Monteleone demonstrates a convincing range in evoking 10 different characters" (in 'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People".)
Steve Parks
Newsday
"SPELLBINDING....
'in Perfectly Norm-iLL People," his second solo, Monteleone slips with ease from one character to another with an original or hysterical line to draw you in."
SCN
''Powerful Performance in "Diary of a Mad Man"
Mr. Monteleone meets the almost impossible task of portraying a demented man who is sinking into the quagmire of hopeless melancholia by finding out elements of humor that fit like pegs between layers of tragedy.'
Leah D. Frank
The New York Times
Monteleone keeps faith with the Gogol story, testing the conscience of his audience. the sicker his madman becomes, the funnier his lines. And laughing at him becomes a little sick, too. But it can't be helped. Monteleone is both funny and pathetic as the madman."
Steve Parks
Newsday
"John Monteleone is an engaging Mayer Schindel."
Newsday
"John Monteleone has a promising look of puzzlement at Aldo the Butler."
Clive Barnes
The New York Post
“Your performance was certainly excellent!”
Nancy Bosco
Circle In The Square Theatre
"Congratulations on a most powerful performance.'
Olivia Kim
PBS
"John Monteleone plays Johnny with such vigor and energy that he could easily overwhelm the audience and make them feel uncomfortable. But he doesn't. What a difficult fine line to tread - to play an enthusiastic, slightly crazy, Shakespeare-quoting hash linger who refuses to leave a girl's apartment after having sex - but to play it without expressing a sense of evil. Never once does the audience feel that Frankie is in physical danger - he's nuts, but he's harmless."
Bridget LeRoy
The Independent
"This production of Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune is one of the most moving evenings of theatre this reviewer has ever had the joy of attending. Don't miss it! It is a pure delight - but it's also a deep-dish creation... John Monteleone, an experienced actor, is wonderful as Johnny."
Patsy Southgate
The East Hampton Star
"John Monteleone's Johnny is a finely shaded drawing of a compulsive, sweet, caring and agonizingly uncertain human-in other words, lots of us in our worst and best moments. In the words of Oscar Hammerstein, he's a man who stumbles, but a man who cares, and Mr. Monteleone conveys him with a refreshing complex of blind energy and forgiving gentleness."
Lee Davis
The Southampton Press
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Click Images Below to Enlarge and Read
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