During the years 1880 to 1945, American theatre grew up, moving from entertainment-driven motives and melodramatic formulas to serious confrontations with issues of its time and to an experimentation with forms that would allow those confrontations to be frank and earnest. Many of the playwrights of this time wrote works of lasting significance, while others have impacted the work of contemporary dramatists. This reference is a guide to American theatre during this formative period.The volume includes alphabetically arranged entries for 40 American playwrights active between 1880 and 1945. Included are the most frequently canonized figures, as well as previously neglected women and minority playwrights whose work is a vital part of American theatre history. Each entry includes a biographical overview, a summary of the critical reception of major productions and significant revivals, a critical assessment of the playwright's career, and a listing of archival, primary, and secondary bibliographic material.

Entries assess the careers of forty American playwrights active between 1880 and 1945, and provide production and bibliographic information for their work

Preface by William W. DemastesZoë Akins (1886-1958) by Susan KoprinceMaxwell Anderson (1888-1959) by Barbara HornPhilip Barry (1896-1949) by Tony J. StaffordS(amuel). N(athan). Behrman (1893-1973) by Robert GrossDavid Belasco (1853-1931) by Dawn DietrichRachel Crothers (1878-1958) by Colette LindrothClyde Fitch (1865-1909) by Kim MarraZona Gale (1874-1938) by Jan BalakianWilliam Hooker Gillette (1853-1937) by Lue Morgan DouthitSusan Keating Glaspell (1876-1948) by J. Ellen GainorPaul Green (1894-1981) by Mary MaddockLillian Hellman (1906-1984) by Janet HaedickeJames A. Herne (1839-1901) by Weldon B. DurhamAbram Hill (1910-1986) by Addell Austin AndersonBronson Crocker Howard (1842-1908) by Maarten ReilinghSidney Howard (1891-1939) by Arthur GewirtzWilliam Dean Howells (1837-1920) by Julie Bates DockLangston Hughes (1902-1967) by Granger BabcockZora Neale Hurston (1891-1960) by John LoweHenry James (1843-1916) by Jackie TuckerGeorgia Douglas Johnson (1880-1966) by Addell Austin AndersonGeorge S. Kauffman (1889-1961) by Paul RosefeldtGeorge Kelly (1887-1974) by Mark A. GravesSidney Kingsley (1906-) by Michael L. CountsJohn Howard Lawson (1894-1977) by Michael C. O'NeillClaire Booth Luce (1903-1987) by Mark FearnowPercy MacKaye (1875-1956) by Susan ProctorLangdon Mitchell (1862-1935) by Laura SheaWilliam Vaughan Moody (1869-1910) by Lincoln KonkleClifford Odets (1906-1963) by William DemastesEugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888-1953) by Margaret Loftus RanaldElmer Rice (1892-1967) by Michael Vanden HeuvelWilliam Saroyan (1908-1981) by Pamela MonacoIrwin Shaw (1913-1984) by Walter PlaczekEdward Sheldon by Lawrence JasperRobert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) by Richard WattenbergGertrude Stein (1874-1946) by Mark FearnowAugustus Thomas (1857-1934) by Jane Seay HaspelSophie Treadwell (1885-1970) by Tonia SteedThornton Wilder (1897-1975) by Christopher J. WheatleyPercy MacKaye (1875-1956) by Susan ProctorLangdon Mitchell (1862-1935) by Laura SheaWilliam Vaughan Moody (1869-1910) by Lincoln KonkleClifford Odets (1906-1963) by William DemastesEugene Gladstone O'Neill (1888-1953) by Margaret Loftus RanaldElmer Rice (1892-1967) by Michael Vanden HeuvelWilliam Saroyan (1908-1981) by Pamela MonacoIrwin Shaw (1913-1984) by Walter PlaczekEdward Sheldon by Lawrence JasperRobert E. Sherwood (1896-1955) by Richard WattenbergGertrude Stein (1874-1946) by Mark FearnowAugustus Thomas (1857-1934) by Jane Seay HaspelSophie Treadwell (1885-1970) by Tonia SteedThornton Wilder (1897-1975) by Christopher J. Wheatley