Maurice Valency

Maurice Valency (1903-1996) was a playwright, author, critic and popular professor of Comparative Literature at Columbia University. He was best known for his award-winning adaptations of plays by Jean Giraudoux (The Madwoman of Chaillot, Ondine, The Enchanted and The Apollo of Bellac) and Friedrich Dürrenmatt (The Visit). Valency's version of The Madwoman of Chaillot became the basis of the Jerry Herman musical Dear World on Broadway. Valency's version of The Visit became the basis of the Kander and Ebb musical The Visit on Broadway. Valency's original plays include The Thracian Horses, Regarding Electra and Conversation with a Sphinx, and he wrote numerous textbooks on drama.