Departure for a prolific playwright
If it's true that hard work never killed anyone, Sir Alan Ayckbourn surely will live forever. Ambitious and prodigious, with more than 70 plays (and counting) behind him, the 72-year-old Ayckbourn has made his name with a pointedly loquacious style of character-driven theater. He's been rewarded with two Tony Awards (one for lifetime achievement), several Tony nominations, a Laurence Olivier Award, a Critics' Circle…