American Drama, 1940-1960

Book excerpt: "The 1940s and 1950s indisputably compose the classic period of American drama, witnessing the first productions of The Iceman Cometh and Long Day's Journey Into Night, of Death of a Salesman and The Crucible, of The Glass Menagerie, A Streetcar Named Desire, and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Thomas P. Adler tells the story of these remarkable years largely through its dominant voices: Eugene O'Neill, Lillian Hellman, Arthur Miller, William Inge, Lorraine Hansberry, Edward Albee, and Tennessee Williams. One chapter - in Williams's case two - is devoted to each, and through careful analysis of the work of one playwright after another the persistent themes of the period emerge."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved