American Playwrights, 1880-1945

A Research and Production Sourcebook

American Playwrights, 1880-1945 cover

American Playwrights, 1880-1945

A Research and Production Sourcebook

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Description

During the years 1880 to 1945, American theatre grew up, moving from entertainment-driven motives and melodramatic formulas to serious confrontations with issues of its time and to an experimentation with forms that would allow those confrontations to be frank and earnest. Many of the playwrights of this time wrote works of lasting significance, while others have impacted the work of contemporary dramatists. This reference is a guide to American theatre during this formative period.

The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries for 40 American playwrights active between 1880 and 1945. Included are the most frequently canonized figures, as well as previously neglected women and minority playwrights whose work is a vital part of American theatre history. Each entry includes a biographical overview, a summary of the critical reception of major productions and significant revivals, a critical assessment of the playwright's career, and a listing of archival, primary, and secondary bibliographic material.

Table of Contents

Preface by William W. Demastes
Zoë Akins (1886-1958) by Susan Koprince
Maxwell Anderson (1888-1959) by Barbara Horn
Philip Barry (1896-1949) by Tony J. Stafford
S(amuel). N(athan). Behrman (1893-1973) by Robert Gross
David Belasco (1853-1931) by Dawn Dietrich
Rachel Crothers (1878-1958) by Colette Lindroth
Clyde Fitch (1865-1909) by Kim Marra
Zona Gale (1874-1938) by Jan Balakian
William Hooker Gillette (1853-1937) by Lue Morgan Douthit
Susan Keating Glaspell (1876-1948) by J. Ellen Gainor
Paul Green (1894-1981) by Mary Maddock
Lillian Hellman (1906-1984) by Janet Haedicke
James A. Herne (1839-1901) by Weldon B. Durham
Abram Hill (1910-1986) by Addell Austin Anderson
Bronson Crocker Howard (1842-1908) by Maarten Reilingh
Sidney Howard (1891-1939) by Arthur Gewirtz
William Dean Howells (1837-1920) by Julie Bates Dock
Langston Hughes (1902-1967) by Granger Babcock
Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) by John Lowe
Henry James (1843-1916) by Jackie Tucker
Georgia Douglas Johnson (1880-1966) by Addell Austin Anderson
George S. Kauffman (1889-1961) by Paul Rosefeldt
George Kelly (1887-1974) by Mark A. Graves
Sidney Kingsley (1906-) by Michael L. Counts
John Howard Lawson (1894-1977) by Michael C. O'Neill
Claire Booth Luce (1903-1987) by Mark Fearnow
Percy MacKaye (1875-1956) by Susan Proctor
Langdon Mitchell (1862-1935) by Laura Shea
William Vaughan Moody (1869-1910) by Lincoln Konkle
Clifford Odets (1906-1963) by William Demastes
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888-1953) by Margaret Loftus Ranald
Elmer Rice (1892-1967) by Michael Vanden Heuvel
William Saroyan (1908-1981) by Pamela Monaco
Irwin Shaw (1913-1984) by Walter Placzek
Edward Sheldon by Lawrence Jasper
Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) by Richard Wattenberg
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) by Mark Fearnow
Augustus Thomas (1857-1934) by Jane Seay Haspel
Sophie Treadwell (1885-1970) by Tonia Steed
Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) by Christopher J. Wheatley
Percy MacKaye (1875-1956) by Susan Proctor
Langdon Mitchell (1862-1935) by Laura Shea
William Vaughan Moody (1869-1910) by Lincoln Konkle
Clifford Odets (1906-1963) by William Demastes
Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888-1953) by Margaret Loftus Ranald
Elmer Rice (1892-1967) by Michael Vanden Heuvel
William Saroyan (1908-1981) by Pamela Monaco
Irwin Shaw (1913-1984) by Walter Placzek
Edward Sheldon by Lawrence Jasper
Robert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) by Richard Wattenberg
Gertrude Stein (1874-1946) by Mark Fearnow
Augustus Thomas (1857-1934) by Jane Seay Haspel
Sophie Treadwell (1885-1970) by Tonia Steed
Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) by Christopher J. Wheatley

Product details

Published 07 Nov 1994
Format Hardback
Edition 1st
Extent 512
ISBN 9780313286384
Imprint Greenwood
Dimensions 235 x 156 mm
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

William W. Demastes

WILLIAM W. DEMASTES is Professor of English at Lou…

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