Broadway to Dim Its Lights for Playwright Peter Shaffer

The ”Equus” and ”Amadeus” scribe died at 90 years of age.

Broadway marquees will dim in honor of award-winning playwright Peter Shaffer.
Broadway marquees will dim in honor of Tony Award-winning playwright Peter Shaffer.
(© Joseph Marzullo/WENN)

Broadway will dim its lights on Thursday, June 16, at 6:45pm, for exactly one minute in memory of playwright Peter Shaffer, who died on June 6 at the age of 90.

Shaffer is best known for penning the plays Equus, Amadeus, and Lettice and Lovage.

Equus, the story of a young man who stabbed the eyes of six horses, ran for more than 1,000 performances on Broadway and won the 1975 Tony Award for Best Play. It was famously revived in London in 2007 and on Broadway in 2008, with Harry Potter star Daniel Radcliffe taking on the central role.

Amadeus followed in 1979, winning the Evening Standard Drama Award and the Theatre Critics' Award for its London production. The story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and his rivalry with Antonio Salieri also won the 1981 Tony Award for Best Play and the 1985 Academy Award for Best Picture. Shaffer received the 1984 Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for his work.

Lettice and Lovage was written for Dame Maggie Smith in 1986, and the actress would go on to win a Tony Award for her performance in 1990. His later plays include Whom Do I Have the Honour of Addressing? (1990) and The Gift of the Gorgon (1992).