B i o g r a p h i e s
MIKLOS LASZLO, (1903-1973) was well known as a playwright in his native Hungary before coming to America in 1938. He won the Royal Hungarian Dramatic Academy’s Grand Prize in 1934 for his internationally produced play, The Happiest Man. His single greatest American success was the play Illatszertar, translated into English as Parfumerie. The screenplay by Samson Raphaelson became the Ernst Lubitsch film “The Shop Around the Corner” (1940) with James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan and later “In the Good Old Summertime” (1949) with Van Johnson and Judy Garland. Most recently it has emerged again as the Nora Ephron film “You’ve Got Mail” (1998) with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. It has also been adapted to the musical theatre as the ever popular She Loves Me (Jerry Bock & Sheldon Harnick) performed perennially in many venues since its original opening on Broadway in 1963. Only one other of Miklos Laszlo’s plays was ever widely produced in the Americas. Entitled “St. Lazar's Pharmacy”, the play starred famed actress Miriam Hopkins and toured all over Canada and the United States.
E.P. DOWDALL, the nephew of Miklos Laszlo, lives and works outside of New York City. He is a composer, I.T. Consultant and avid gardener. Several short plays by Mr. Dowdall were featured at the “Slam Boston” competitions in recent years. Truly a “family project”, this adaptation was developed from the original 1936 play subsequently translated by Mr. Laszlo and his wife Florence in 1956 and now freshly re-made for another generation of theatre-goers. The adaptation of 'Parfumerie' was undertaken because of a personal desire to maintain the integrity of the original work while making sure it would be produced with the spirit of the original storyline as told to him over the years by his aunt and uncle.
Mr. Dowdall is a graduate of the University of Arizona (Tucson) School of Music and the Pace University Lubin Business School’s MBA program. He is a member of BMI and the Dramatist’s Guild.
