This study reclaims a lost body of theatrical work by focusing on four labor plays of the 1930s. These works dramatize union organizing efforts in American industry, using documentary detail in the dialogue and plot. To date, little attention has been given to the use of documentary detail in American scripts. Placing the labor plays in a social and historical context, Duffy raises interesting questions about the depiction of women as labor leaders and the overlooked role of women playwrights in the 1920s and 30s. The discussion focuses on the function of the plays and the question of whether they were merely didactic or if they served greater propagandistic ends. This work will be of interest to scholars in theatre history, American studies, southern history, and American labor history.
- ISBN10 0313298610
- ISBN13 9780313298615
- Publish Date 13 September 1996
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Publisher ABC-CLIO
- Imprint Praeger Publishers Inc
- Format Hardcover
- Pages 176
- Language English