The Pulitzer Prize plays (2008)

"The first fifty years of the Pulitzer Prize, 1917 to 1967, were among the most momentous in American history; it was a time full of radical change and growth. The forty-two winning plays of this period frame these shifts and society's complex responses to them. Though varied in style from satirical to tragic, from realistic to fantastic, they possess a common power and accomplish the same feat - they masterfully reflect universal themes and explore the most important, ongoing, colossal human questions." "With this book, Paul Firestone, lifelong educator and theater aficionado, delivers one of the most comprehensive compendiums of essays on these vital works. Firestone's understanding of each play's substance is rich and impressive. His vast and ambitious examination takes into account many different elements-characters, plots, and symbolism, as well as the lives and psychology of the playwrights, the historical context in which the plays emerged, and their relevance on sociological, political, familial, psychological, and spiritual levels." "The Pulitzer Prize Plays is divided into five parts - "Family Life;" "Social Protest;" "Political Heroes;" "Morality and Survival in a Materialistic Society;" and "The Spiritual Condition of Humankind" and features discussion of such classic plays as Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Harvey, The Diary of Anne Frank, South Pacific, and Death of a Salesman. Additional highlights include a concise biography of Joseph Pulitzer along with a history of the development of the prize, original cast listings for each play, and a complete chronology of the plays and jurors."--Jacket.