Immerse yourself in the stories of trailblazing women

Throughout history, women playwrights have made an everlasting impact on the literary and cultural landscape. This Women’s History Month, dive into the diverse stories of trailblazing women with plays written by today’s most influential women playwrights.

English / Wish You Were Here by Sanaz Toossi

Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright Sanaz Toossi explores the emotional toll of migration with two plays. English — currently playing on Broadway — tells the story of Iranian students taking an English class in hopes of becoming fluent enough to migrate abroad. Wish You Were Here focusses on a close-knit group of women in Iran after the 1979 Islamic Revolution.

Suffs by Shaina Taub

The 2024 Tony Award Winner for Best Book of a Musical, Suffs brings to life the battle for a woman’s right to vote. In addition to being an exciting new voice in theatre, playwright Shaina Tubb is an Emmy-nominated songwriter and performer.

Ironbound / Sanctuary City by Martyna Majok

Two compelling plays about the immigrant experience by the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony Award-winning playwright Martyna Majok. In Ironbound, a Polish immigrant negotiates the terms for her future at New Jersey bus stop. In Sanctuary City, two undocumented teenagers seek refuge in each other and stake their claim in the American dream.

The Long Revolution by Zelda Fichandler

While not technically a play, this volume gathers sixty years of essays and speeches from Zelda Fichandler, the woman celebrated as the founding mother of the professional theatre movement.

Trouble in Mind by Alice Childress

Originally written in 1955 yet still relevant, Trouble in Mind follows the rehearsal process of an anti-lynching play and an actress who challenges the racial stereotypes Black actors often portray. Childress was the first Black woman to have a play professionally produced in New York City.

Is God Is / What to Send Up When It Goes Down by Aleshea Harris

Obie award-winning playwright Aleshea Harris delivers two socially critical plays. Is God Is follows twin sisters seeking revenge against their father at the behest of their dying mother; What to Send Up… is a cathartic exploration of anti-Blackness in America.

Plays for the Plague Year by Suzan-Lori Parks

On March 13th, 2020, Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Suzan-Lori Parks set out to write a play every day. What emerged is a breathtaking chronicle of our collective pandemic experience.

Gloria: A Life by Emily Mann, with a foreword by Gloria Steinem

Icon Gloria Steinam remains a leader of the global feminist movement. Gloria: A Life traces her career from the iconic Playboy Bunny exposé to the founding of Ms. Magazine to her continued work today. Playwright Emily Mann is praised for her hopeful and inspirational portrayal of the icon.

My Broken Language by Quiara Alegría Hudes

Pulitzer Prize-winner Quiara Alegría Hudes’ stage adaptation of her much-lauded memoir is a celebration of Puerto Rican womanhood in 1990s West Philadelphia. Interlaid between these vignettes are moments of song, dance, and ritual that evoke her boisterous girlhood.

Conversations with Meredith Monk by Bonnie Marranca

This collection of conversations offers a portrait of the internationally renowned composer, performer, director, and filmmaker, from her early years to the present. Monk is often lauded as one of the most influential composers and artists of the 20th century.

Women’s History Month is a time to celebrate trailblazing women; let these influential plays written by women take you on their journeys.