Levenson was raised in Bethesda, Maryland and attended St. Andrew’s Episcopal School and Brown University. He originally studied theater and English but then turned to playwriting. In discussing his interests in writing, he said: "...it does seem that a lot of my work tends to move in that direction. I do find the dynamics in the family to be fascinating and endlessly variable. Family is, obviously, among the most universal experiences." Although he writes for television as well as the stage, he said: "Theater will always be my first love."
Career
Stage
Levenson wrote the book for the musical Dear Evan Hansen which opened on Broadway in December 2016, after premiering at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC in 2015. His stage playwriting credits include The Language of Trees and Seven Minutes in Heaven. The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin was produced Off-Broadway by the Roundabout Theatre Company at the Laura Pels Theatre, opening in June 2013. The play was produced under the Roundabout Theatre's New Play Initiative. His play If I Forget opened Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre on February 22, 2017 and closed on April 30, 2017. Directed by Daniel Sullivan the cast featured Jeremy Shamos, Kate Walsh and Maria Dizzia. His play Days of Rage opened at the Off-Broadway Second Stage Theater's Tony Kiser Theatre on October 2, 2018 with direction by Trip Cullman. The play concerns activists in the late 1960s. Days of Rage was earlier presented at the Hartford Stage Brand New Play Festival in a reading in November 2011, directed by Darko Tresnjak.
Television
He was a writer for the Showtime series Masters of Sex, which ran for four seasons, from 2013 to 2016. He served as showrunner for the FX biographical miniseries Fosse/Verdon about the lives of director-choreographer Bob Fosse and actor-singer Gwen Verdon. The series premiered in 2019.
Film
He will pen the screenplay for Lin-Manuel Miranda's film adaptation of Jonathan Larson's biographical musical Tick, Tick... Boom!, which will be produced by Brian Grazer and Ron Howard. He will adapt his and Pasek and Paul's script for Stephen Chbosky's film adaptation of Dear Evan Hansen, as well as pen the script for the remake of Fiddler on the Roof, which will be directed by Thomas Kail.
Personal life
Levenson is married to Whitney May, who has worked in art history and design history. They have a daughter, born in 2015.
