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 (1982) which ran for one performance on Broadway.

[4] They had considerably better success with The Robber Bridegroom, which premiered on Broadway in both 1975 and 1976,[5] had a year-long national tour, and garnered Uhry his first Tony Award nomination, for best book of a musical in 1976.

[6] 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.

[7] The Robber Bridegroom was revived Off-Broadway in March 2016 at the Roundabout Theatre Company and directed by Alex Timbers.

[12] It was commissioned for the Cultural Olympiad in Atlanta which coincided with the 1996 Summer Olympics,[13] and received the Tony Award for Best Play when produced on Broadway in 1997.

[20] Angel Reapers, a collaboration with director/choreographer Martha Clarke, ran Off-Broadway at the Signature Theatre from February 2 to March 20, 2016.

[25] Uhry was married to Joanna Kellogg, Ed.D., from 1959 until her death on August 26, 2019, at age 82 from complications of Parkinson's disease and Lewy Body Dementia.