Although Dorothy and DuBose Heyward separately published works of poetry, fiction, and drama dealing with a variety of subjects, perhaps their most significant legacy remains the advancement in the depiction of blacks in dramatic literature, an advancement propelled by the Heywards' first collaborative dramatic effort, Porgy (produced 1927; published 1928), and continued by their only other collaboration, Mamba's Daughters (1939). Throughout their careers, each writer's most effective dramatic works dealt with racial issues, and though the Heywards consistently created black characters marked by a more full and complex humanity than previously encountered in much of American drama, especially drama by whites, other works by the pair remain less momentous and memorable than their play Porgy. The source of the play is DuBose Heyward's well-received 1925 novel of the same title, and the play later served as the basis of the celebrated 1935 folk opera Porgy and Bess, on which DuBose Heyward collaborated with...