Gretchen Cryer is an actor, singer, writer, and director. She grew up outside a tiny town in Indiana (pop. 200) and was not exposed to theater. However, her father sold school supplies, including velvet curtains for school stages. So at age five she rigged up a stage with velvet curtains and wrote a play for herself and her 2-year-old brother - “The King and the Fairy.” The brother was the king - a non-speaking role - and the fairy had all the lines. They charged the audience - their parents - 5 cents to help pay for groceries. Years later when she met Nancy Ford at DePauw University they started collaborating on their first musical before Gretchen had even seen one. The summer after their sophomore year they both were chorus girls in summer stock and that is where they learned by osmosis the craft of writing musicals. They went on to write two musicals while at DePauw and after graduation they wrote another which was directed by David Cryer for his Masters thesis at Boston University. Both Gretchen and Nancy moved to New York and began working in the theater. Gretchen performed on Broadway in “Little Me,” “110 In the Shade,” and “1776,” and Off-Broadway in “NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN,” (for which she wrote book and lyrics) and “I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD” (Best Actress and Best Musical, Joseph Jefferson Award) along with a Grammy nomination for the cast recording,) “BLUE PLATE SPECIAL (1983),” “TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN(1985),” “ALTERATIONS (1986),” and “STILL GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER.”

The complete list of shows written by Gretchen and Nancy is below. Gretchen also wrote the lyrics for “BOOTH IS BACK IN TOWN” - book by Austin Pendleton and music by Arthur Rubinstein. She wrote the book for the Public Theater’s “WEDDING OF IPHIGENIA” and “IPHIGENIA IN CONCERT” (both 1971) scored by Peter Link. Currently she is teaching “Creating Your Own Solo Performance” and will be presenting five of her solo artists at the Cherry Lane Theater in May 2021. 

Gretchen is on the Council of the Dramatists Guild, the board of the Authors League, and is President Emeritus of the Dramatists Guild Foundation. She is a recipient of the Edward Kleban Award, Doctor of Arts degrees from Eastern Michigan University and Colorado College, an Obie Award, a New York Outer Critics Award, a Drama Desk Award, Joseph Jefferson Award, a Grammy nomination, an Indiana Governors Award, and will be inducted into the Off-Broadway Hall of Fame in 2020 as “Legend of Off-Broadway.”

CRYER & FORD Musicals: ‘For Reasons of Royalty’ (1955, DePauw University), ‘Hey Angie!’ (1957,DePauw University), ‘Rendezvous’ (1960, Boston University) NOW IS THE TIME FOR ALL GOOD MEN (1967 – Theatre De Lys, NYC, directed by Word Baker) THE LAST SWEET DAYS OF ISAAC (1970 – The East Side Playhouse, directed by Word Baker), ‘Shelter’ (1973 - The Golden Theatre, directed by Austin Pendleton), I’M GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER AND TAKING IT ON THE ROAD (1978 – The Public Theatre and Circle in the Square downtown, directed by Word Baker), HANG ON TO THE GOOD TIMES (1986 – The Manhattan Theatre Club , directed by Richard Maltby, Jr.), ‘Eleanor’ (1986 -Williamstown Theatre Festival – directed by Gretchen Cryer), ‘The American Girls Revue’– (1998,Chicago, New York, Los Angeles – directed by Kim Rubenstein), ‘Circle of Friends’ – (2000 –Chicago, New York – directed by Scott Davidson), ANNE OF GREEN GABLES (2008 - Theatreworks/USA, Lucille Lortel Theatre – directed by Tyler Marchant), STILL GETTING MY ACT TOGETHER (2011, York Theatre – directed by West Hyler). Cryer and Ford are represented by The Barbara Hogenson Agency.