American Drama 1945 - 2000
An Introduction
Blackwell Introductions to Literature
1. Edition June 2006
224 Pages, Softcover
Wiley & Sons Ltd
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.
Acknowledgments vii
Introduction 1
1 Politics, Existentialism, and American Drama, 1935-1945 4
2 Money is Life: American Drama, 1945-1959 27
3 Reality and Illusion: American Drama, 1960-1975 62
4 Mad as Hell: American Drama, 1976-1989 100
5 The Body in Pain: American Drama, 1990-2000 147
Notes 183
Selected Bibliography 192
Index 195
"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
