From Aphra Behn to Fun Home

A Cultural History of Feminist Theater

Carey Purcell

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.

In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre, Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades. This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future.

Purcell explores the very nature of feminist theater—does it qualify if a play is written by a woman or does it just need to feature strong female characters?—as well as how notable activist work for feminism has played a pivotal role in theatre. An engaging survey of female artists on stage and behind the scenes, From Aphra Behn to Fun Home will be of interest to theatregoers and anyone interested in the invaluable contributions of women in the performing arts.

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 312 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-5381-1525-1 • Hardback • December 2019 • $48.00 • (£37.00)

978-1-5381-9885-8 • Paperback • June 2024 • $24.00 • (£17.99)

978-1-5381-1526-8 • eBook • December 2019 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism, Literary Criticism / Feminist, Performing Arts / Theater / General, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Social Science / Gender Studies

From Aphra Behn to Fun Home

A Cultural History of Feminist Theater

Hardback

Paperback

eBook

Summary

Theatre has long been considered a feminine interest for which women consistently purchase the majority of tickets, while the shows they are seeing typically are written and brought to the stage by men. Furthermore, the stories these productions tell are often about men, and the complex leading roles in these shows are written for and performed by male actors. Despite this imbalance, the feminist voice presses to be heard and has done so with more success than ever before.

In From Aphra Behn to Fun Home: A Cultural History of Feminist Theatre, Carey Purcell traces the evolution of these important artists and productions over several centuries. After examining the roots of feminist theatre in early Greek plays and looking at occasional works produced before the twentieth century, Purcell then identifies the key players and productions that have emerged over the last several decades. This book covers the heyday of the second wave feminist movement—which saw the growth of female-centric theatre groups—and highlights the work of playwrights such as Caryl Churchill, Pam Gems, and Wendy Wasserstein. Other prominent artists discussed here include playwrights Paula Vogel Lynn and Tony-award winning directors Garry Hynes and Julie Taymor. The volume also examines diversity in contemporary feminist theatre—with discussions of such playwrights as Young Jean Lee and Lynn Nottage—and a look toward the future.

Purcell explores the very nature of feminist theater—does it qualify if a play is written by a woman or does it just need to feature strong female characters?—as well as how notable activist work for feminism has played a pivotal role in theatre. An engaging survey of female artists on stage and behind the scenes, From Aphra Behn to Fun Home will be of interest to theatregoers and anyone interested in the invaluable contributions of women in the performing arts.

Details

Rowman & Littlefield Publishers

Pages: 312 • Trim: 6½ x 9½

978-1-5381-1525-1 • Hardback • December 2019 • $48.00 • (£37.00)

978-1-5381-9885-8 • Paperback • June 2024 • $24.00 • (£17.99)

978-1-5381-1526-8 • eBook • December 2019 • $45.50 • (£35.00)

Subjects: Performing Arts / Theater / History & Criticism, Literary Criticism / Feminist, Performing Arts / Theater / General, Social Science / Feminism & Feminist Theory, Social Science / Gender Studies

Author

Carey Purcell is a member of the American Theatre Critics Association and League of Professional Theatre Women. A writer, reporter and theatre critic, Purcell has written for many publications including The New York Times, The New Yorker, The Nation, Politico, The Village Voice, and Playbill.

Reviews

Women buy the majority of theater tickets even though plays are written and directed overwhelmingly by men. In this earnest survey of feminist theater, Purcell discusses that conundrum and explores how and why feminism has or has not been presented on the stage, noting that despite the success of female playwrights in recent years, women are still “grossly” underrepresented on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Among the female playwrights she discusses is the largely unknown Aphra Behn, a prolific seventeenth century English playwright as well as such groundbreakers as Lillian Hellman and Lorraine Hansberry. While Purcell excels in telling the untold stories of feminist theater, she also includes the work of such well-known playwrights as Eve Ensler, Susan Stroman, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, and Mary Zimmerman, and such important women directors as Julie Taymor and Garry Hynes (cofounder of the Druid Theatre Company). Purcell's overview culminates in an exploration of the unlikely success of the benchmark lesbian-themed musical Fun Home, an adaptation of Alison Bechdel’s graphic memoir. An invaluable addition to theater collections.
— Booklist

"Fast paced and conversational, this title [is] a solid, accessible overview of feminist theater."
— Library Journal

Purcell is a respected theater critic, and here she is at her best in the terrific, chapter-long treatment of Fun Home, the groundbreaking Broadway musical adapted from Alison Bechtel's graphic novel (2006), which boasts the first-ever lesbian protagonist in a Broadway musical. [Other] noteworthy gems: a fascinating portrait of Antoinette Perry, for whom Broadway’s Tony Awards are named; a feminist critique of Lin-Manuel Miranda’s male-dominant Hamilton; and a telling exposé of the destructive preponderance of white, male theater critics. Endnotes are extensive and valuable.

— Choice Reviews