Uhry was born in Atlanta, Georgia, the son of Alene, a social worker, and Ralph K. Uhry, a furniture designer and artist. He was born into a German Jewish family with one sister, the author Ann Uhry Abrams. Uhry graduated from Druid Hills High School in 1954 and subsequently graduated from Brown University where he wrote two original musicals with Brownbrokers. Druid Hills High School's Uhry Theater is named in honor of Uhry. During his first years in New York City, learning the craft of lyric-writing, Uhry received a stipend from Frank Loesser; after his eventual success, Uhry often praised Loesser's generosity and encouragement.
Career
Uhry's early work for the stage was as a lyricist and librettist for a number of commercially unsuccessful musicals, including a revival of Little Johnny Jones starring Donny Osmond which ran for one performance on Broadway. His first collaboration with Robert Waldman was the 1968 musical Here's Where I Belong, which closed after one performance on Broadway. They had considerably better success with The Robber Bridegroom, which premiered on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976, had a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony Award nomination, for best book of a musical in 1976. America's Sweetheart, with music by Robert Waldman and with the book co-written by Uhry with John Weidman, ran at the Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut in March 1985 to April 1985, and then at the Coconut Grove Playhouse, Miami, Florida, where it closed. The Robber Bridegroom was revived Off-Broadway in March 2016 at the Roundabout Theatre Company and directed by Alex Timbers. This production won three Lucille Lortel Awards including Outstanding Revival.
Uhry's play Edgardo Mine is based on the true story of Edgardo Mortara, an Italian child taken by police from his Jewish family in 1858 because one of their domestic servants had baptized him. The play, directed by Doug Hughes, opened at Hartford Stage, Hartford, Connecticut in November 2002. The Manhattan Theatre Club produced Uhry's musical LoveMusik on Broadway in 2007. The story depicts the relationship between composer Kurt Weill and his wife, Lotte Lenya, using Weill's music. Apples & Oranges premiered on October 10, 2012 at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. This new play is about the rediscovery of a sibling relationship. Angel Reapers, a collaboration with director/choreographer Martha Clarke, ran Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre from February 2 to March 20, 2016. This production won the Lucille Lortel Award for "Outstanding Alternative Theatrical Experience".
Film
Uhry wrote the screenplay for the 1989 film version of Driving Miss Daisy and for the 1992 film Rich in Love; he co-wrote the screenplay for the 1988 filmMystic Pizza. His next screenplay is for a film announced in 2009, From Swastika to Jim Crow, a dramatization of a documentary about Jewish professors who flee Nazi Germany, find posts in the Southern US, and identify with their African-American students and their struggle under Jim Crow.
Personal life
Uhry is married to Joanna Kellogg. They have four daughters and live in New York City.
