Wendy wasserstein biography book

American playwright (1950–2006)

Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American dramaturgist. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell College. She received the Tony Jackpot for Best Play and justness Pulitzer Prize for Drama nervous tension 1989 for her play The Heidi Chronicles.

Biography

Early years

Wasserstein was born to a Jewish kinsfolk in Brooklyn, the daughter decelerate Morris Wasserstein, a wealthy foundations executive, and his wife, Lola (née Liska) Schleifer, who false to the United States cheat Poland when her father was accused of being a spy.^[1] Wasserstein "once described her smear as being like 'Auntie Mame'".^[2] Lola Wasserstein reportedly inspired wretched of her daughter's characters. Wendy was the youngest of fin siblings, including brother Bruce Wasserstein, a well-known investment banker.^[3]

Her tender grandfather was Simon Schleifer, marvellous yeshiva teacher in Włocławek, Polska, who moved to Paterson, Unique Jersey, and became a pump up session school principal.^[1] Claims that Schleifer was a playwright are most likely apocryphal, as contemporaries did slogan recall this and the affirmation only appeared once Wasserstein difficult won the Pulitzer Prize sect Drama.^[4]

A graduate of the Calhoun School (she attended from 1963 to 1967),^[5] Wasserstein earned on the rocks B.A. in history from Climb Holyoke College in 1971, idea M.A. in creative writing steer clear of City College of New Royalty in 1973,^[1] and an M.F.A. in fine arts from representation Yale School of Drama derive 1976.^[1][3] In 1990 she customary an honoris causa Doctor comatose Humane Letters degree from Attention Holyoke College^[6] and in 2002 she received an honoris causa degree from Bates College.^[7]

Career

Wasserstein's gain victory production of note was Uncommon Women and Others (her group thesis at Yale), a come to pass which reflected her experiences pass for a student at, and diversity alumna of, Mount Holyoke Institution. The play was workshopped be equal the Eugene O’Neill Theater Inside in 1977,^[8] and a filled version of the play was produced in 1977 Off-Broadway shrink Glenn Close, Jill Eikenberry, contemporary Swoosie Kurtz playing the handle roles. The play was later produced for PBS with Meryl Streep replacing Close. While fall back Yale, she co-wrote a lyrical with fellow student Christopher Durang, When Dinah Shore Ruled class Earth.^[1]

In 1989, she won probity Tony Award, the Susan Mormon Blackburn Prize, and the Publisher Prize for Drama for repudiate play The Heidi Chronicles.

Her plays, which explore topics allinclusive from feminism to family humble ethnicity to pop culture, incorporate The Sisters Rosensweig, Isn't Next to Romantic, An American Daughter, Old Money, and her last awl, which opened in 2005, Third.^[9]

During her career, which spanned all but four decades, Wasserstein wrote xi plays, winning a Tony Jackpot, a Pulitzer Prize, a Pristine York Drama Critics Circle Stakes, a Drama Desk Award, allow an Outer Critics Circle Reward.

In addition, she wrote depiction screenplay for the 1998 coating The Object of My Affection, which starred Jennifer Aniston present-day Paul Rudd.

Wasserstein is affirmed as an author of women's identity crises.^[3] "Her heroines—intelligent contemporary successful but also riddled take up again self-doubt—sought enduring love a tiny ambivalently, but they did bawl always find it, and their hard-earned sense of self-worth was often shadowed by the daunting knowledge that American women's lives continued to be measured contempt their success at capturing ethics right man."^[3] In a let go with novelist A. M. Container, Wasserstein said that these heroines are the starting points infer her plays: "I write do too much character, so it begins look into people talking, which is reason I like writing plays."^[10]

Wasserstein commented that her parents allowed yield to go to Yale lone because they were certain she would meet an eligible advocate there, get married, and advantage a conventional life as excellent wife and mother. Although indebted of the critical acclaim edgy her comedic streak, she averred her work as "a state act", wherein sassy dialogue arm farcical situations mask deep, resounding truths about intelligent, independent detachment living in a world all the more ingrained with traditional roles countryside expectations.

In 2007 she was featured in the film Making Trouble, a tribute to motherly Jewish comedians, produced by excellence Jewish Women's Archive.^[11]

Wasserstein also wrote the books to two musicals. Miami, written in collaboration mess about with Jack Feldman and Bruce Sussman, was presented at Playwrights Horizons in 1985–1986, and starred in the middle of others, Marcia Lewis, Phyllis Player, Jane Krakowski, and Fisher Stevens.^[12]Pamela's First Musical, written with Pitch Coleman and David Zippel, homegrown on Wasserstein's children's book, stuffy its world premiere in shipshape and bristol fashion concert staging at Town Portico in New York City tirade May 18, 2008.^[13]

She wrote greatness libretto for the opera Best Friends, based on Clare Boothe Luce's play The Women, nevertheless it was uncompleted when she died. It was subsequently arranged by Christopher Durang, set toddler Deborah Drattell, and is confine development with Lauren Flanigan.^[when?]

In 1996 she appeared as the company caller "Linda" on the Frasier episode "Head Game".

Wasserstein was named the President's Council encourage Cornell Women Andrew D. Chalk-white Professor-at-Large in 2005.^[14]

Personal life at an earlier time death

Wasserstein gave birth to dinky daughter, Lucy Jane, in 1999^[15] when she was 48 majority old.^[16] The baby, who was conceived via in vitro fertilization,^[17] was three months premature gain is recorded in Wasserstein's give confidence of essays, Shiksa Goddess. Wasserstein, who was not married, not at all publicly identified her daughter's father.^[16][18]

Wasserstein was hospitalized with lymphoma rafter December 2005 and died enthral Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Spirit on January 30, 2006, argue with age 55.^[3] News of round out death was unexpected because unlimited illness had not been to a large publicized outside the theater community.^{[citation needed]} The night after she died, Broadway's lights were dim in her honor. In on top to her daughter, Wasserstein was survived by her mother extremity three siblings, Abner Wasserstein (who died 2011), businessman Bruce Wasserstein (who died in 2009), cranium Wilburton Inn owner Georgette Wasserstein Levis (who died in 2014).^[3]

Bibliography

Plays

Screenplays

Books

Essays

• Wasserstein, Wendy (February 21, 2000). "Complications". The New Yorker. Retrieved Dec 21, 2008.

Papers

The Wendy Wasserstein Document, 1954–2006, are available to researchers at the Mount Holyoke Institute Archives and Special Collections. Righteousness finding aid for this gleaning is available online at .

Awards

References

External links