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Elizabethan Era
Women were not allowed to be in plays. During this time, some of the strongest women characters were portrayed by men. When a woman trans-gendered herself to be onstage, it poised a threat to the social stigma of woman actors and performers. -
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Women in Theatre
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First woman to act on stage
Margerate Hughs became an actress during a period of change in English Drama. Her performance was on December 8, 1660. She played the role of Desdemona in Shakespeare's Othello. She was famous for her charms as an actress and was said to be very beautiful and talented. There was a one act play dedicated to Hughs entitled "The First Actress" and was performed in London in 1911 -
First main lead
After Hughes came Sarah Siddons. Sarah was most famous for her role in Shakespeare. She nabbed the first female lead in the play Lady Macbeth. The Sarah Siddons Society was formed and named after her in 1952. It continues to present the Sarah Siddons award to well known actresses. -
Zona Gale
was the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play Miss Lulu Bett in 1921. The drama depicts like in the Midwestern United States and was an adaptation of her book Miss Lulu Bett. She was a large member of the Woman's Rights campaign and rallied intensively for Wisconsin Equal Rights Law also in 1921. She became a pacifist during WWI -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression hits the United States and the Federal Theater Project was born, where director Hallie Flanagan led the project that funded regional theaters and created 15,000 jobs. Hallie Flanagan was a theatrical producer, director, play write and author. She wrote the book "Shifting Scenes of the European Theater" in 1928. -
The Tony Awards
Mary Antoinette Perry was nicknamed Tony. She was an American actress, director and co founder of the American Theater Wing. She produced several successful plays and one in particular was "Harvey". It went on to win the Pulitzer prize. The American Theater Wing created a series of awards and they gave them in honor of her. The Tony awards were born! -
Dallas Texas
Margo Jones was from Dallas Texas. She was nicknamed the Texas Tornado. She was known for her work as an American stage producer and director. She is best known for launching American regional theater movement and introducing the round theater concept. She opened theater '47 in Dallas and played an important role in the early careers and success of other women in theater. -
Lorraine Hansbury
She was the first Black woman to have a play produced on Broadway. That play, of course, was A Raisin in the Sun. The play tackled the lives of black Americans living under segregation in Chicago. She was a playwright and writer. -
Vinnette Carol
Vinnette Carol made history in 1971 when she directed Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, becoming the first black woman to direct on Broadway. She was nominated for a Tony. She was an american actress, playwright and theater director. Her first acting performance was in 1948. -
Kinky Boots
Cindy Lauper became the first female composer to win the Tony for Best Score for Kinky Boots. It is based on the 2005 british film under the same title. That one was written by Geoff Deane and Tim Firth. The play introduces us to a drag queen role named Lola that helps saved the business. -
Fun Home
while Jeanine Tesori and Lisa Kron became the first all-female writing team to win for Best Score for Fun Home in 2015, a musical that featured the first lesbian protagonist. -
Waitress
having an all-female creative team, led by Sara Bareilles, and Eclipsed having an all female cast and creative team, including Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira. It was based on a book by Jessie Nelson. It premiered at Brooks Atkinson Theatre on broadway in April 2016.
