Includes bibliographical references and index.

Introduction: Living in the 1940s Prelude to World War II Leaders of the decade World War II The war's impact on civilian life Post-war domestic life and consumerism Children Teen-agers Communications, media, and transportation Women and fashion The culture Cold War anxieties 1. The American theatre in the 1940s The late 1930s: forebodings of war Idiot's delight Influential organizations It can't happen here Broadway plays and musicals Radio drama The 1940-41 and 1941-42 seasons African American theatre Broadway plays and musicals Lady in the dark The American Theatre Wing and other war service organizations Radio drama The war years, 1942-1943 Broadway plays and musicals This is the army Oklahoma! The Paul Robeson Othello Post-war theatre, 1946-1950 African-American theatre Broadway plays and musicals Modern dance and theatrical dance Tributary theatres Directors and producers 2. Introducing the playwrights Introduction Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) Thornton Wilder (1897-1975) Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) Arthur Miller (1915-2005) 3. Eugene O'Neill: love and loss of the soul by Zander Brietzske A touch of the poet The iceman cometh Long day's journey into night A moon for the misbegotten 4. Thornton Wilder: seeing beyond dark times by Felicia Hardison Londre Our town The skin of our teeth Shadow of a doubt The alcestiad 5. Tennessee Williams: experimentation and "The great American play" by Thomas Keith Battle of angels Stairs to the roof The glass menagerie Summer and smoke A streetcar named desire 6. Arthur Miller: the individual and social responsibility by Valleri J. Robinson All my sons Death of a salesman The crucible 7. Documents: A high-school perspective on theatre in 1947 by Ann Crisp; Collecting O'Neill by Lamar Lentz; Acting in The skin of our teeth with Helen Hayes by Hank Whittemore; Tennessee Williams in Provincetown by David Kaplan; Mapping Arthur Miller's Brooklyn by Steven Marino; Retrospective by Thomas D. Pawley III Afterword.

"The Decades of Modern American Drama series provides a comprehensive survey and study of the theatre produced in each decade from the 1930s to 2009 in eight volumes. Each volume equips readers with a detailed understanding of the context from which work emerged: an introduction considers life in the decade with a focus on domestic life and conditions, social changes, culture, media, technology, industry and political events; while a chapter on the theatre of the decade offers a wide-ranging and thorough survey of theatres, companies, dramatists, new movements and developments in response to the economic and political conditions of the day. The work of the four most prominent playwrights from the decade receives in-depth analysis and re-evaluation by a team of experts, together with commentary on their subsequent work and legacy. A final section brings together original documents such as interviews with the playwrights and with directors, drafts of play scenes, and other previously unpublished material. The major playwrights and their works to receive in-depth coverage in this volume include: * Eugene O'Neill: The Iceman Cometh (1946), A Moon for the Misbegotten (1947), Long Day's Journey Into Night (written 1941, produced 1956), and A Touch of the Poet (written 1942, produced 1958); * Tennessee Williams: The Glass Menagerie (1944), A Streetcar Named Desire (1947), Summer and Smoke (1948); * Arthur Miller: All My Sons (1947), Death of a Salesman (1949), and The Crucible (1953); * Thornton Wilder: Our Town (1938), The Skin of Our Teeth (1942), and The Merchant of Yonkers, later rewritten as The Matchmaker and as the musical Hello Dolly!") -- Provided by publisher.