Friday, November 4, 2011

Black Female Playwrights - Part III

So let's take a closer look at the black female playwrights. Starting with the second row (and moving across) we have...


Suzan-Lori Parks won the Pulitzer for her amazing play Topdog/Underdog, which starred Jeffrey White and Mos Def on Broadway. Most recently, she has been taking heat in the press for her involvement with the re-imagined Porgy and Bess. We will see if it was all worthwhile when the play opens on Broadway on January 12, 2012.

Anna Deavere Smith

We cannot possibly get into all the accomplishments of the multi-talented actress and playwright. I last saw Ms. Smith on the New York City stage in Let Me Down Easy but will never forget her in Fires in the Mirror and Twilight: Los Angeles.


She won the Pulitzer for Ruined, which was one of the best plays I saw in 2009 and made me a complete and utter fan of Ms. Nottage. Most recently, she lightened things up in her play - By the Way, Meet Vera Stark - at Second Stage Theatre.





Zora Neale Hurston is most famous for her book - Their Eyes Were Watching God - and one of her biggest fans, Oprah Winfrey. But it turns out she wrote a number of plays.

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