Unrivalled in its coverage of recent work and writers, The Methuen Drama Guide to Contemporary American Playwrights surveys and analyses the breadth, vitality and development of theatrical work to emerge from America over the last fifty years. This authoritative guide leads you through the work of 25 major contemporary American playwrights, discussing more than 140 plays in detail. Written by a team of 25 eminent international scholars, each chapter provides: · a biographical introduction to the playwright's work; · a survey and concise analysis of the writer's most important plays; · a discussion of their style, dramaturgical concerns and critical reception; · a bibliography of published plays and a select list of critical works. Among the many Tony, Obie and Pulitzer prize-winning playwrights included are Sam Shepard, Tony Kushner, Suzan-Lori Parks, August Wilson, Paula Vogel and Neil LaBute. The abundance of work analysed enables fresh, illuminating conclusions to be drawn about the development of contemporary American playwriting.

INTRODUCTION1. EDWARD ALBEE(Tom Adler, Purdue, USA)2. MARlA IRENE FORNÉS(Scott Cummings, Boston College, USA)3. RICHARD GREENBERG(Jochen Achilles, Wurzburg, Germany)4. JOHN GUARE(Ken Urban, Harvard, USA)5. DAVID-HENRY HWANG(Russell Vandenbroucke, Louisville, USA)6. ADRIENNE KENNEDY(Klaus Benesch, LMU Munich, Germany)7. TONY KUSHNER (James Fisher, North Carolina, USA)8. NEIL LABUTE (Christopher Innes, Toronto, Canada)9. DAVID MAMET(Toby Zinman, Philadelphia, USA)10. DONALD MARGULIES(Kerstin Schmidt, Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt, Germany)11. TERRENCE MCNALLY(Peter Paul Schnierer, Heidelberg, Germany)12. ARTHUR MILLER (post - 1970)(Susan Abbotson, Rhode Island, USA)13. MARSHA NORMAN (Annalisa Brugnoli, University of Venice, Italy)14. SUZAN-LORI PARKS(Ilka Saal, Erfurt, Germany)15. SARAH RUHL(Deborah Geis, DePauw, USA)16. JOHN PATRICK SHANLEY(Annette J. Saddik, CUNY, USA)17. WALLACE SHAWN (Martin Middeke, Augsburg, Germany)18. SAM SHEPARD(Katherine Weiss, East Tennessee State University, USA)19. CHRISTOPHER SHINN(Stephen Bottoms, University of Manchester, UK)20. LUIS VALDEZ(Jorge Herta, UCSD, USA)21. PAULA VOGEL(Joanna Mansbridge, Nova Scotia, Canada)22. NAOMI WALLACE(Pia Wiegmink, Mainz, Germany)23. WENDY WASSERSTEIN(Frazer Lively, Weseleyan, USA)24. AUGUST WILSON(Sandra G. Shannon, Howard, USA)25. WILLIAM S. YELLOW ROBE(Birgit Daewes, Mainz, Germany)NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORSINDEX