Dorothy Heyward
Dorothy Hartzell Heyward (born June 6, 1890 in Wooster (Ohio), † November 19, 1961 in New York City ; born Dorothy Hartzell Kuhns ) was an American playwright.
Heyward studied at Radcliffe College after attending National Cathedral School (Washington DC) before continuing her studies at Harvard University and taking part in George Pierce Baker's writing workshop, Workshop 47 . Since 1923 she was married to the author DuBose Heyward , whom she had met in 1922 in the MacDowell Colony . She wrote several dramas, including Nancy Ann (1924), Love in a Cupboard (1926) and Set My People Free (1948), and also adapted some of her husband's lyrics for the stage. So she convinced him that his novella Porgy (1924) was suitable for a stage version, and worked it into a play that was successfully performed on Broadway in 1927 . The libretto of the Gershwin opera is based on this , so that she is also one of the authors of Porgy and Bess , although she is never officially named as such. She also set up her husband 's Mamba's Daughters for the stage (1939). This stage version had an important function for the Folk Theater Movement . With Howard Rigsby she wrote the Broadway play South Pacific (1943), which has nothing to do with the play of the same name by Rodgers and Hammerstein (1948).
The marriage resulted in a daughter, Jennifer.
literature
- Yvonne Shafer American Women Playwrights, 1900-1950 . New York, 1997, pp. 395-402
Web links
- Dorothy Heyward in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- Dorothy Heyward in the Internet Broadway Database
- Heyward in the Library of Congress
- Mentioned on answers.com
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Heyward, Dorothy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Kuhns, Dorothy Hartzell (maiden name); Kuhns Heyward, Dorothy |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American playwright |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 6, 1890 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Wooster , Ohio |
| DATE OF DEATH | November 19, 1961 |
| Place of death | New York City |