This Companion provides an original and authoritative survey of twentieth-century American drama studies, written by some of the best scholars and critics in the field.

• Balances consideration of canonical material with discussion of works by previously marginalized playwrights


• Includes studies of leading dramatists, such as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Eugene O'Neill and Gertrude Stein
  
• Allows readers to make new links between particular plays and playwrights
  
• Examines the movements that framed the century, such as the Harlem Renaissance, lesbian and gay drama, and the solo performances of the 1980s and 1990s
  
• Situates American drama within larger discussions about American ideas and culture