American Theater

Mamet is ranked among the greatest American playwrights of the twentieth century. Before World War II, the only American playwright of note was Eugene O'Neill, whose most celebrated works include the autobiographical Long Lay's Journey into Night (1941). In the post-World War II era, several notable American playwrights began to emerge. Arthur Miller is best known for Death of a Salesman (1949), about an aging salesman and his relationship with his sons. Miller is also known for The Crucible (1953), which uses the historical setting of the Salem witch trials as a vehicle for social and political commentary on America in the 1950s. Tennessee Williams was another great American playwright during this era, known for his stories of sensitive personalities in the context of a Southern aristocratic society in decay. His most celebrated works include The Glass Menagerie (1944) and A Streetcar Named Desire (1947).

In the 1960s, Edward Albee emerged...