Cheryl L. West has written and directed several nationally produced plays, adapted two of her plays into screenplays, and received several prestigious theater awards and honors; yet, she is virtually unknown by those outside of the theater community. The difficulty in obtaining the scripts and screenplays of West's productions is just one reason for the limited critical reception of her work by those in the literary and academic arenas. Most of West's plays have been staged in lesser-known theater houses, thus limiting her exposure to the general public. But West is one of the few contemporary African American female playwrights who is relentless in her presentation of controversial plays that force audiences to confront taboo issues such as incest, molestation, homosexuality, bisexuality, transvestitism, interracial relationships, AIDS, and drug addiction. Like her predecessors James Baldwin, August Wilson, Alice Walker, and Maya Angelou--individuals West holds as literary influences--West is consistent...