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472 BCE
The birth of theatre
Theatre started in Greece. This was the beginning of entertainment on stage. The problem was, no women allowed to perform. -
935
The first woman playwright
Hrotswitha of Gandersheim was the first womam playwright from Germany. She wrote dramas mainly in Latin about women and Christianity. She was born in 935 AD and was a relative of the holy emperor Otto. -
English theatre said yes
King Charles II allows women to perform on stage. He grants a charter to Drury Lane and made it a requirement that all female parts should be played by women. -
The first actress
Margaret Hughes plays Desdemona in 1660. She was followed by many other great women in theatre. The lineup included Nell Gwynne, Anne Bracegirdle and Elizabeth Barry. -
Females in Opera
Rosa Ponselle was brought to Broadway by Enrico Caruso discovered her and persuaded her to join the Metropolitan Opera. She opens her career in Verdi's "La Forza del Destino" as Leonora Rosa had no formal Opera training at the time. She had natural talent within her. -
The Children's hour
The Children’s Hour premiered on Broadway and ran for over two years on the circuit. Lillian Hellman embroiled in the same political controversy that would carry through the rest of her career. She was considered ahead of her time and a fighter for women's rights. -
Alice Childress
Alice becomes the first African-American to have emale playwrights in history to have written, produced, and published works She continues to do this for over forty years. Alice was seen performing on Broadway in the longest-running all-Black play Anna Lucasta in 1944. -
Getting Out
Wendy Wasserstein play "Getting Out" voted the best play by American Theatre Critics Association in 1977. Marsha is also known for "The Secret Garden" that also won many Tony awards. -
Marry Shelley
Frankenstein by female novelist Marry Shelley goes to Broadway. It is brought to the Palace theatre in the cold winter month of January. The story has gone on to be recreated in Young Frankenstein, Frankenstein the Musical. The novel first wrote in 1816 makes its mark in theatre. -
Winner
Wendy Wasserstein writer of "The Heidi Chronicles". The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize and was the first play written by a woman to win a Tony Award