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Rachel Crothers

Broadway Innovator, Feminist Pioneer

Rachel Crothers cover

Description

This is the story behind one of the most important – yet largely forgotten – women in American theater during the early 20th century.
Rachel Crothers was renowned for her ability to command all aspects of a stage production-unusual for playwrights and even more so for a woman of this time period. Rachel Crothers: Broadway Innovator, Feminist Pioneer celebrates her remarkable skill and feminism, from her experiences as a young actress in Illinois and New York to the success of her first play in 1906 and beyond. Crothers integrated themes of double standards, prostitution, and women's rights in her work, and she went on to become President of the Stage Women's War Relief Fund through both World Wars and the Great Depression. Incorporating extensive archival material, this book also discusses each of Crother's plays with careful consideration for her attention to detail, character influences, motivations for social justice, and creative vision.

Table of Contents

Preface
1. Growing Up in Illinois
2. Apprentice in New York
3. Three Plays on Broadway
4. Three Ambitious Ventures
5. Romances, Fairy Tales, and a Great War
6. Three Scripts Retrieved
7. The Young American Woman
8. The “Re-Marriage” Plays and Personal Challenges
9. Hollywood, Susan, and Another War
10. Two Plays and the Final Years

Notes
Select Sources
Select Creative Works
Index
About the Author

Product details

Bloomsbury Academic Test
Published 07 Aug 2025
Format Ebook (Epub & Mobi)
Edition 1st
Extent 216
ISBN 9798881804923
Imprint Bloomsbury Academic
Illustrations 10 b/w photos
Publisher Bloomsbury Publishing

About the contributors

Author

John Bassett

John Bassett is President Emeritus of Clark Univer…

Related Titles

Environment: Staging