American Drama 1945 - 2000
An Introduction
Blackwell Introductions to Literature
This concise introduction to American drama gives readers an
overview of how American drama developed from the end of the Second
World War to the turn of the twenty-first century.
* Provides a balanced assessment of the major plays and
playwrights of the period.
* Shows how these dramatists broke new ground in their
contribution to political, economic, social and cultural debates,
as well as in their dramaturgical strategies.
* Organized chronologically, with plays, playwrights and
movements clustered around different movements such as realism and
experimentalism.
* Gives readers a sense of the development of American drama over
time.
List of Illustrations.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 Politics, Existentialism, and American Drama,
1935-1945.
2 Money Is Life: American Drama, 1945-1959.
3 Reality and Illusion: American Drama, 1960-1975.
4 Mad as Hell: American Drama, 1976-1989.
5 The Body in Pain: American Drama, 1990-2000.
Notes.
Selected bibliography.
Index.
Acknowledgments.
Introduction.
1 Politics, Existentialism, and American Drama,
1935-1945.
2 Money Is Life: American Drama, 1945-1959.
3 Reality and Illusion: American Drama, 1960-1975.
4 Mad as Hell: American Drama, 1976-1989.
5 The Body in Pain: American Drama, 1990-2000.
Notes.
Selected bibliography.
Index.
A Choice Outstanding Academic Title for 2007
"This excellent, brief survey will pique the interest of readers
enough to send them off to the plays themselves. It is a must for
younger scholars and a good starting point for specialists ...
Essential." Choice
"An astute and timely reminder of the sheer range and
variety of American drama as it rose to international prominence, a
drama that engaged national myths and realities, anxieties and
hopes, as they were reflected in the lives of those who lived out
what Henry Luce called 'the American Century'."
Christopher Bigsby, University of East Anglia
"Strong and engaging ... .A fine resource ... that
the reader can use as a guide to further historical and thematic
thinking." Text and Presentation
"This excellent, brief survey will pique the interest of readers
enough to send them off to the plays themselves. It is a must for
younger scholars and a good starting point for specialists ...
Essential." Choice
"An astute and timely reminder of the sheer range and
variety of American drama as it rose to international prominence, a
drama that engaged national myths and realities, anxieties and
hopes, as they were reflected in the lives of those who lived out
what Henry Luce called 'the American Century'."
Christopher Bigsby, University of East Anglia
"Strong and engaging ... .A fine resource ... that
the reader can use as a guide to further historical and thematic
thinking." Text and Presentation
David Krasner teaches theatre, drama, and performance at Yale University. He is the author of Resistance, Parody and Double Consciousness in African American Theatre 1895-1910 (1997), and A Beautiful Pageant: African American Theatre, Drama and Performance in the Harlem Renaissance (2002). He is also the editor of A Companion to Twentieth-century American Drama (Blackwell, 2004), co-editor of Staging Philosophy: New Approaches to Theatre and Drama (2006), and co-editor (with Rebecca Schneider) of the University of Michigan Press's series Theatre: Theory/Text/Performance.