The plays of Robert Anderson typically portray human beings finding, if not communion, then companionship; if not understanding, compassion; if not answers to life's problems, some comfort. His plays are carefully crafted and deeply felt. If the need for companionship, compassion, and comfort is often resolved in sex, the reason is perhaps less in Anderson's abilities than in his choice of characters. He is not a simple-minded playwright. His characters are firmly fixed in mid-century American life: they have a basis in reality, including problems and anxieties that may seem petty. At his best, though, Anderson is the dramatist of loneliness, of one person reaching out to another (sometimes, any other) for warmth and reassurance. He has followed this need as it affects people in youth, the middle years, and old age. His favorite theme is marriage.

Robert Woodruff Anderson was born in New York City to James...