About the Book:

Real Life Drama is the classic history of the remarkable group that revitalized American theater in the 1930s by engaging urgent social and moral issues that still resonate today.

Born in the turbulent decade of the Depression, the Group Theatre revolutionized American arts. This dramatic narrative by Wendy Smith brings the influential troupe and its founders to life once again, capturing their joys and pains, their triumphs and defeats. Filled with fresh insights into the towering personalities of Harold Clurman, Lee Strasberg, Cheryl Crawford, Elia Kazan, Clifford Odets, Stella and Luther Adler, Karl Malden, and Lee J. Cobb, among many others, Real Life Drama chronicles a passionate community of idealists as they opened a new frontier in theatre.

What people say:

"This is the coolest, most objective, most valuable book on the Group Theatre we will ever get." — Alfred Kazin, writer and literary critic

"The Group Theatre was unique.... It was literally the voice of Depression America. Anyone interested in the Group has to know what is in this fine book." — Arthur Miller

"Required reading on the development of modern American theatre. Dense with character, incident, ideas." — Library Journal

"Author John Kaluta could add ‘Broadway’ to the title of this book. It is an excellent resource for novices and professionals in both commercial and not-for-profit theater." — Suzanne Golden, producer, original Broadway production Prelude to a Kiss

About the Author:

Wendy Smith is a contributing editor of The American Scholar and the author of Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940. Her book reviews and author profiles appear frequently in The Washington Post, The Daily Beast, Newsday, Publishers Weekly, and other publications. She has contributed articles to American Theatre magazine and is a member of the League of Professional Theatre Women and the Board of Advisers of the ReGroup Theatre.