Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American

playwright A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

. She was an

Andrew Dickson White Andrew Dickson White (November 7, 1832 – November 4, 1918) was an American historian and educator who cofounded Cornell University and served as its first president for nearly two decades. He was known for expanding the scope of college curricu ...

Professor-at-Large at

Cornell University Cornell University is a private statutory land-grant research university based in Ithaca, New York. It is a member of the Ivy League. Founded in 1865 by Ezra Cornell and Andrew Dickson White, Cornell was founded with the intention to teach an ...

. She received the

Tony Award for Best Play The Tony Award for Best Play (formally, the Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre) is an annual award given to the best new (non- musical) play on Broadway, as determined by Tony Award voters. There was no award in the Tonys' first year ...

and the

Pulitzer Prize for Drama The Pulitzer Prize for Drama is one of the seven American Pulitzer Prizes that are annually awarded for Letters, Drama, and Music. It is one of the original Pulitzers, for the program was inaugurated in 1917 with seven prizes, four of which were a ...

in 1989 for her play ''

The Heidi Chronicles ''The Heidi Chronicles'' is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Production history A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, starrin ...

''.

Biography

Early years

Wasserstein was born to a Jewish family in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, the daughter of Morris Wasserstein, a wealthy textile executive, and his wife, Lola (née Liska) Schleifer, who moved to the United States from

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It is divided into 16 administrative provinces called voivodeships, covering an area of . Poland has a population of over 38 million and is the fifth-most populous ...

when her father was accused of being a spy."Wendy Wasserstein"
jwa.org, accessed June 29, 2014 Wasserstein "once described her mother as being like '

Auntie Mame ''Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade'' is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of his Aunt Mame Dennis, the sister of his dead father. The book is often desc ...

'". Lola Wasserstein reportedly inspired some of her daughter's characters. Wendy was the youngest of five siblings, including brother

Bruce Wasserstein Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and ...

, a well-known investment banker. Her maternal grandfather was Simon Schleifer, a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; he, ישיבה, , sitting; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are s ...

teacher in

Włocławek Włocławek (Polish pronunciation: ; german: Leslau) is a city located in central Poland along the Vistula (Wisła) River and is bordered by the Gostynin-Włocławek Landscape Park. As of December 2021, the population of the city is 106,928. Loc ...

, Poland, who moved to

Paterson, New Jersey Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A graduate of the

Calhoun School The Calhoun School is a progressive, co-educational, independent school on New York City's Upper West Side, serving students from Pre-K through 12th grade. Founded in 1896, the school currently has approximately 600 students, housed in two sepa ...

(she attended from 1963 to 1967), Wasserstein earned a B.A. in history from

Mount Holyoke College Mount Holyoke College is a private liberal arts women's college in South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is the oldest member of the historic Seven Sisters colleges, a group of elite historically women's colleges in the Northeastern United States. ...

in 1971, an M.A. in creative writing from

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

in 1973, and an M.F.A. in fine arts from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

in 1976. In 1990 she received an ''honoris causa'' Doctor of Humane Letters degree from

and in 2002 she received an ''honoris causa'' degree from

Bates College Bates College () is a private liberal arts college in Lewiston, Maine. Anchored by the Historic Quad, the campus of Bates totals with a small urban campus which includes 33 Victorian Houses as some of the dormitories. It maintains of nature p ...

Career

Wasserstein's first production of note was ''

Uncommon Women and Others ''Uncommon Women and Others'' (1977), is the first play by noted 20th-century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Production history The play was initially produced at Yale University in 1975, as Wasserstein's master's thesis. The play pre ...

'' (her graduate thesis at

Yale Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wor ...

), a play which reflected her experiences as a student at, and an alumna of,

. The play was workshopped at the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center in 1977, and a full version of the play was produced in 1977 Off-Broadway with

Glenn Close Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress. Throughout her career spanning over four decades, Close has garnered numerous accolades, including two Screen Actors Guild Awards, three Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards ...

Jill Eikenberry Jill Susan Eikenberry (born January 21, 1947) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey on the NBC drama '' L.A. Law'' (1986–94), for which she is a five-time Emmy Award and four-time Go ...

, and

Swoosie Kurtz Swoosie Kurtz ( ; born September 6, 1944) is an American actress. She is the recipient of an Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. Kurtz made her Broadway theatre, Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of ''Ah, Wilderness''. She has received five Tony ...

playing the lead roles. The play was subsequently produced for

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...

with

Meryl Streep Mary Louise Meryl Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Often described as "the best actress of her generation", Streep is particularly known for her versatility and accent adaptability. She has received numerous accolades throu ...

replacing Close. While at Yale, she co-wrote a musical with fellow student

Christopher Durang Christopher Ferdinand Durang (born January 2, 1949) is an American playwright known for works of outrageous and often absurd comedy. His work was especially popular in the 1980s, though his career seemed to get a second wind in the late 1990s. ...

, ''When

Dinah Shore Dinah Shore (born Frances Rose Shore; February 29, 1916 – February 24, 1994) was an American singer, actress, and television personality, and the top-charting female vocalist of the 1940s. She rose to prominence as a recording artist during ...

Ruled the Earth''. In 1989, she won the

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

, the

Susan Smith Blackburn Prize The Susan Smith Blackburn Prize established in 1978, is the largest and oldest playwriting prize for women+ writing for English-speaking theatre. Named for Susan Smith Blackburn (1935–1977), alumna of Smith College, who died of breast cancer. W ...

, and the

for her play ''

''. Her plays, which explore topics ranging from feminism to family to ethnicity to pop culture, include ''

The Sisters Rosensweig ''The Sisters Rosensweig'' is a play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play focuses on three Jewish-American sisters and their lives. It "broke theatrical ground by concentrating on a non-traditional cast of three middle-aged women." Wasserstein receive ...

'', '' Isn't It Romantic'', ''

An American Daughter ''An American Daughter'' is a play written by Wendy Wasserstein. The play takes place in a living room in Georgetown, Washington, D.C. Production history ''An American Daughter'' opened under the New Play Workshop Series at Seattle Repertory Theat ...

'', '' Old Money'', and her last work, which opened in 2005, ''

Third Third or 3rd may refer to: Numbers * 3rd, the ordinal form of the cardinal number 3 * , a fraction of one third * Second#Sexagesimal divisions of calendar time and day, 1⁄60 of a ''second'', or 1⁄3600 of a ''minute'' Places * 3rd Street (d ...

''. During her career, which spanned nearly four decades, Wasserstein wrote eleven plays, winning a Tony Award, a Pulitzer Prize, a New York Drama Critics Circle Award, a Drama Desk Award, and an Outer Critics Circle Award. In addition, she wrote the screenplay for the 1998 film ''

The Object of My Affection ''The Object of My Affection'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nicholas Hytner and starring Jennifer Aniston and Paul Rudd. The film was adapted from the novel of the same name by Stephen McCauley and the screenplay wa ...

'', which starred

Jennifer Aniston Jennifer Joanna Aniston (born February 11, 1969) is an American actress and film producer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Since her career ...

and

Paul Rudd Paul Stephen Rudd (born April 6, 1969) is an American actor. He studied theater at the University of Kansas and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, before making his acting debut in 1991. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame i ...

. Wasserstein is described as an author of women's identity crises. "Her heroines—intelligent and successful but also riddled with self-doubt—sought enduring love a little ambivalently, but they did not always find it, and their hard-earned sense of self-worth was often shadowed by the frustrating knowledge that American women's lives continued to be measured by their success at capturing the right man." In a conversation with novelist A. M. Homes, Wasserstein said that these heroines are the starting points for her plays: "I write from character, so it begins with people talking, which is why I like writing plays." Wasserstein commented that her parents allowed her to go to Yale only because they were certain she would meet an eligible lawyer there, get married, and lead a conventional life as a wife and mother. Although appreciative of the critical acclaim for her comedic streak, she described her work as "a political act", wherein sassy dialogue and farcical situations mask deep, resonant truths about intelligent, independent women living in a world still ingrained with traditional roles and expectations. In 2007 she was featured in the film ''Making Trouble'', a tribute to female Jewish comedians, produced by the Jewish Women's Archive. Wasserstein also wrote the books to two musicals. ''Miami'', written in collaboration with Jack Feldman and

Bruce Sussman Bruce Howard Sussman (born July 12, 1949) is an American lyricist, and librettist. Though he has collaborated with numerous composers, he is probably best known for his work with his long-time collaborator, Barry Manilow. Together they have wri ...

, was presented at Playwrights Horizons in 1985–1986, and starred among others,

Marcia Lewis Marcia Lewis (August 18, 1938 – December 21, 2010) was an American character actor, character actress and singer. She was nominated twice for the Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Musical (''Chicago (musical), Chicago'' and ''Grease (mu ...

Phyllis Newman Phyllis Newman (March 19, 1933 – September 15, 2019) was an American actress and singer. She won the 1962 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Martha Vail in the musical ''Subways Are for Sleeping'' on Broadway, ...

Jane Krakowski Jane Krakowski (; ; born October 11, 1968) is an American actress, comedienne, and singer. She is best known for her starring role as Jenna Maroney in the NBC satirical comedy series ''30 Rock'' (2006–2013, 2020), for which she received four ...

, and

Fisher Stevens Fisher Stevens (born Steven Fisher; November 27, 1963) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. As an actor, he is best known for his portrayals of Ben in ''Short Circuit'' and ''Short Circuit 2'', Chuck Fishman on the 1990s televis ...

.''Playbill: Playwrights Horizons: Miami'', Playbill Inc. New York, December 1985 ''Pamela's First Musical'', written with

Cy Coleman Cy Coleman (born Seymour Kaufman; June 14, 1929 – November 18, 2004) was an American composer, songwriter, and jazz pianist. Life and career Coleman was born Seymour Kaufman in New York City, United States, to Eastern European Jewish parents ...

and

David Zippel David Joel Zippel (born May 17, 1954) is an American musical theatre lyricist, director, and producer. Early life and education Zippel was born and raised in Easton, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. Falling in lo ...

, based on Wasserstein's children's book, received its world premiere in a concert staging at Town Hall in New York City on May 18, 2008. She wrote the libretto for the opera ''Best Friends'', based on

Clare Boothe Luce Clare Boothe Luce ( Ann Clare Boothe; March 10, 1903 – October 9, 1987) was an American writer, politician, U.S. ambassador, and public conservative figure. A versatile author, she is best known for her 1936 hit play '' The Women'', which h ...

's play '' The Women'', but it was uncompleted when she died. It was subsequently completed by Christopher Durang, set by Deborah Drattell, and is in development with

Lauren Flanigan Lauren Flanigan (born May 18, 1958) is an American operatic soprano who has had an active international career since the 1980s. She enjoyed a particularly fruitful partnership with the New York City Opera, appearing with the company almost every y ...

. In 1996 she appeared as the guest caller "Linda" on the ''Frasier'' episode "Head Game". Wasserstein was named the President's Council of Cornell Women Andrew D. White Professor-at-Large in 2005.

Personal life and death

Wasserstein gave birth to a daughter in 1999 when she was 48 years old.Smith, Dinita
"The Newest Wasserstein Creation Comes Home"
''The New York Times'', December 23, 1999 The baby was three months premature and is recorded in Wasserstein's collection of essays, ''

Shiksa ''Shiksa'' ( yi, שיקסע, translit=shikse) is an often disparaging, although not always, term for a Gentile woman or girl. The word, which is of Yiddish origin, has moved into English usage and some Hebrew usage (as well as Polish and Germ ...

Goddess''. Wasserstein, who was not married, never publicly identified her daughter's father. Wasserstein was hospitalized with

lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

in December 2005 and died at

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK or MSKCC) is a cancer treatment and research institution in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, founded in 1884 as the New York Cancer Hospital. MSKCC is one of 52 National Cancer Institute– ...

on January 30, 2006 at age 55. News of her death was unexpected because her illness had not been widely publicized outside the theater community. The night after she died,

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

's lights were dimmed in her honor. In addition to her daughter, Wasserstein was survived by her mother and three siblings, Abner Wasserstein, businessman

(who died in 2009), and

Wilburton Inn The Wilburton Inn is a historic hotel, restaurant, and estate located in Manchester Village, Vermont. Built in 1902 by Albert Gilbert, a wealthy Chicago industrialist, the Wilburton was at the time the largest privately held estate in the region. ...

owner Georgette Wasserstein Levis (who died in 2014).

Bibliography

Plays

* ''

'' (2004, Washington, DC; 2005 Off-Broadway) * ''Welcome to My Rash'' (2004)Jones, Kenneth
"Wasserstein World Premieres, 'Welcome to My Rash' and 'Third', Play DC Through Feb. 15"
playbill.com, February 3, 2004 * ''Psyche In Love'' (2004) - Tribeca Theater FestivalIsherwood, Charles

''The New York Times'', October 26, 2004 * '' Old Money'' (2000) * ''

'' (1997) * ''

'' (1992) * ''

'' (1988) * The Man in a Case (1985) * ''

Tender Offer In corporate finance, a tender offer is a type of public takeover bid. The tender offer is a public, open offer or invitation (usually announced in a newspaper advertisement) by a prospective acquirer to all stockholders of a publicly traded corpo ...

'' (1983) * ''Isn't It Romantic'' (1981) * ''

'' (1977) * '' Any Woman Can't (1973)

Screenplays

* ''

'' (1998) * ''Tender Offer'' (1977)

Books

* * * * *

Essays

Papers

The Wendy Wasserstein Papers, 1954–2006, are available to researchers at th
Mount Holyoke College Archives and Special Collections
The finding aid for this collection is available online at http://asteria.fivecolleges.edu/findaids/mountholyoke/mshm325_main.html .

Awards

* 1983: John Simon

Guggenheim Fellowship Guggenheim Fellowships are grants that have been awarded annually since by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the ar ...

* 1989:

– ''

'' * 1989:

– ''

'' * 1989:

Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

– ''

'' * 1989:

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fo ...

– ''

'' * 1989:

– ''

'' * 1993:

– ''

'' * 1993:

William Inge William Motter Inge (; May 3, 1913 – June 10, 1973) was an American playwright and novelist, whose works typically feature solitary protagonists encumbered with strained sexual relations. In the early 1950s he had a string of memorable Broad ...

Award for Distinguished Achievement in American Theatre * 2006:

American Theater Hall of Fame The American Theater Hall of Fame in New York City was founded in 1972. Earl Blackwell was the first head of the organization's Executive Committee. In an announcement in 1972, he said that the new ''Theater Hall of Fame'' would be located in the ...

References

External links

The Year of Wendy Wasserstein
2011–2012, a year-long retrospective celebration at Mount Holyoke College
Audio: Wendy Wasserstein at the Key West Literary Seminar, 2005
* * * * Jan Balakian
Wasserstein biography at Jewish Women Encyclopedia
*
2001 ''BOMB Magazine'' interview of Wendy Wasserstein by A.M. Homes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wasserstein, Wendy 1950 births 2006 deaths 20th-century American dramatists and playwrights 20th-century American women writers 21st-century American dramatists and playwrights 21st-century American women writers American feminists American people of Polish-Jewish descent American women dramatists and playwrights City College of New York alumni Cornell University faculty Deaths from cancer in New York (state) Deaths from lymphoma Jewish American dramatists and playwrights Jewish feminists Jewish women writers Mount Holyoke College alumni Pulitzer Prize for Drama winners Tony Award winners Writers from Brooklyn Yale School of Drama alumni American women academics 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews