Best American Playwrights
Like my list of Best British Playwrights, this is highly subjective and leaves out many gifted writers, but these are the ones I've read and have some knowledge of. [playwright--representative play (year)]The Top Ten
1 Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American playwright. Along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama.
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American playwright. Along with Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three foremost playwrights of 20th-century American drama. I agree. This one was quite good. The characters were stupendous.
2 Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist, and figure in 20th-century American theater. He was often in the public eye, particularly between the late 1940s and early 1960s. During this time, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified... read more
Arthur Asher Miller (October 17, 1915 – February 10, 2005) was an American playwright, essayist, and figure in 20th-century American theater. He was often in the public eye, particularly between the late 1940s and early 1960s. During this time, he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, testified... read more
3 Eugene O'Neill
4 Edward Albee
The Pulitzer Prize committee for drama voted to give this Albee the award for this work, but the advisory board overruled them and decided no one would get an award. The play was too controversial as it had a lot of profanity and dealt with sexual themes like infidelity and abortion.
5 Thornton Wilder
6 Lillian Hellman
7 David Mamet
8 Neil Simon
9 Sam Shepard
10 Tony Kushner
The Contenders
11 Dorothy Parker
12 Trey Parker and Matt Stone
13 Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri... read more
James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1902 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri... read more
14 Clare Boothe Luce
15 George M. Cohan
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