Funny man Douglas Carter Beane is a playwright and screenwriter known for his work on To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar, as well as the plays The Little Dog Laughed (Tony® and Olivier nominations for Best Play, GLAAD Media Award), Mr. & Mrs. Fitch, As Bees in Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle Gassner Award), Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar, The Cartells, and the upcoming The Nance.

Lately, Beane has been flexing his musical muscles as well: He charmed critics and audiences with Xanadu, for which he won the Outer Critics Circle Award Best Musical, Drama Desk Award for Best Book, and a Tony nomination for Best Book.

Last season, Beane received a Tony nomination for Best Book for Sister Act, and his latest show, Lysistrata Jones, just opened on Broadway, receiving rave reviews from the New York Times and elsewhere.

What's next for the Character Approved talent? In 2012 he'll be updating a classic, none other than Rodgers & Hammerstein's Cinderella, featuring a book by--you guessed it--Douglas Carter Beane. Laughter to come!

[Image: Walter McBride]