Women Pulitzer Playwrights: Biographical Profiles and Analyses of the Plays

by Carolyn Casey Craig

Overview

In the first century of the coveted Pulitzer Prizes, only 11 women have won the prize for drama: Zona Gale (1921), Susan Glaspell (1931), Zoe Akins (1935), Mary Coyle Chase (1945), Ketti Frings (1958), Beth Henley (1981), Marsha Norma (1983), Wendy Wasserstein (1989), Paula Vogel (1998), Margaret Edson (1999), and Suzan-Lori Parks (2002).

This book is about them and their landmark plays, beginning with Gale's Miss Lulu Bett, which championed the unmarried woman forced to work in the home of a married relative, and closing with Parks' controversial Topdog/Underdog, which made her the first black woman to win the prize.

Drawn from personal interviews with the playwrights and research from archives and unpublished material, this work shows how the stage art of women has reflected life in the American family and traces a strong thread of feminist history in our culture. Overview chapters set the stage for each playwright and play with sketches of the time period, highlighting the major points of women's experiences in culture, society and the family. Other chapters analyze each play in detail and discuss the playwright's life and opinions. The book also includes a quick history of the Pulitzer Prize and a chapter honoring black female playwrights.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786418817
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	11/05/2004
Pages:	347
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Carolyn Casey Craig taught theatre and women’s studies at Loyola University in Chicago and is a member of the Actors’ Equity. She now lives in Portland, Oregon.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments     
Introduction. “Take, for Example…”: A Brief Retrospect on Women, Theatre, and Prizes     
Prologue. Family Ties-A Troublesome Knot?     

PART I. FAMILY LIES AND THE UNWED WOMAN: GALE, GLASPELL, AND AKINS     
1. The 1920s: Those Not-So-Good Old Days     
2. Zona Gale and the Real Village Tale     
3. Susan Glaspell: From Iowa Village to Greenwich Village     
4. The Depression Years: Gaining Despite the Losses     
5. Zoe Akins, Escape Artist     

PART II. DOMESTIC WARS: CHASE AND FRINGS     
6. The 1940s: Women in a World at War     
7. Mary Chase and Her Wartime Rabbit     
8. The 1950s: An Uncomfortable Homecoming     
9. Ketti Frings and Her Stageworthy Angel     

PART III. WHOSE WOMAN IS SHE? HENLEY, NORMAN, AND WASSERSTEIN     
10. Being Female in the 1950s, ’60s and ’70s     
11. Beth Henley’s Funny-Terrible World View     
12. The 1980s: Backlash and Beyond     
13. Marsha Norman: Getting Out the Truth about Family and Self     
14. Wendy Wasserstein: Lola’s Well-Rounded Daughter     

PART IV. LESSONS DRIVEN HOME: VOGEL AND EDSON     
15. The 1990s: Gender Crisis at the Crossroads (Or, Wrong Turn at the Men’s Movement)     
16. Paula Vogel’s Winding Road to Victory     
17. Margaret Edson's Advanced Course in Wit     

PART V. HISTORY IN THE STAGING? SUZAN-LORI PARKS AND THE SISTERHOOD OF BLACK PLAYWRIGHTS     
18. The Early 2000s: “Bang, Bang-You're American”     
19. Suzan-Lori Parks: Putting Dirt and Deadly Games Onstage     
20. “Also in the Winner’s Circle” (The Legacy of Black Women Playwrights)     

Epilogue: Parting Thoughts on Family Flux and Cultural Flummery     
Chapter Notes     
Selected Bibliography     
Index