Modern American Drama: Playwriting in the 1950s

The Decades of Modern American Drama series provides a comprehensive survey and study of the theatre produced in each decade from the 1930s to 2009 in eight volumes. Each volume equips readers with a detailed understanding of the context from which work emerged: an introduction considers life in the decade with a focus on domestic life and conditions, social changes, culture, media, technology, industry and political events; while a chapter on the theatre of the decade offers a wide-ranging and thorough survey of theatres, companies, dramatists, new movements and developments in response to the economic and political conditions of the day. The work of the four most prominent playwrights from the decade receives in-depth analysis and re-evaluation by a team of experts, together with commentary on their subsequent work and legacy. A final section brings together original documents such as interviews with the playwrights and with directors, drafts of play scenes, and other previously unpublished material.
The major writers and their works to receive in-depth coverage in this volume include:
* William Inge: Picnic (1953), Bus Stop (1955) and The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957);
* Stephen Sondheim, Arthur Laurents and Jerome Robbins: West Side Story (1957) and Gypsy (1959);
* Alice Childress: Just a Little Simple (1950), Gold Through the Trees (1952) and Trouble in Mind (1955);
* Jerome Lawrence and Robert Lee: Inherit the Wind (1955), Auntie Mame (1956) and The Gang's All Here (1959).

Susan C. W. Abbotson is Associate Professor of Modern and Contemporary Drama at Rhode Island College, Providence, USA. She is the author of A Critical Companion to Arthur Miller (2007), Masterpieces of 20th-Century American Drama (2005), Thematic Guide to Modern Drama (2003), and Student Companion to Arthur Miller (2007), and is editor of the Student Edition of The Crucible (Methuen Drama, 2010).

List of Tables and Boxes
Biographical Note and Notes on Contributors
General Preface: Brenda Murphy and Julia Listengarten
1. Introduction to the 1950s by Susan C. W. Abbotson, Rhode Island College, USA.
2. American Theatre in the 1950s by Susan C. W. Abbotson, Rhode Island College, USA.
3. William Inge: Come Back Little Sheba (1950), Picnic (1953), Bus Stop (1955), The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1957) by Susan C. W. Abbotson, Rhode Island College, USA.
4. Stephen Sondheim: West Side Story (1957), Gypsy (1959), with Collaborators Jerome Robbins and Arthur Laurents by Stuart Hecht, Boston College, USA.
5. Alice Childress: Florence (1949), Gold Through the Trees (1952), and Trouble in Mind (1955) by Soyica Diggs-Colbert, Georgetown University, UK.
6. Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee: Inherit the Wind (1955), Auntie Mame (1956), and The Gang's All Here (1959) by Alan Woods, Ohio State University, USA.
Afterword
Documents: Popular Writings from the 1950s
Notes
Bibliography
Index