Wendy Smith

Wendy Smith is a contributing editor of the Scholar and the author of Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931–1940.

If You Can’t See the Stage, Turn to the Page

With theaters shut during the pandemic, reading plays has shed surprising light on works both familiar and strange

by Wendy Smith | Thursday, December 02, 2021

Good Thing Going

Stephen Sondheim only looks better with time

by Wendy Smith | Saturday, September 01, 2007

The Sondheim Way

Ambition, freedom, and the importance of innovation

by Wendy Smith | Tuesday, November 30, 2021

A Century at the Muny

The open-air St. Louis theater, set to undergo a renovation this fall, is a beloved summertime institution

by Wendy Smith | Monday, June 04, 2018

The Price Isn’t Right

Premium ticket costs mean that Broadway shows are increasingly the province of tourists with deep pockets

by Wendy Smith | Tuesday, September 05, 2017

Encounters Of f the Page

After conducting 250 author interviews over four decades, I’m still engaged but a lot less awestruck

by Wendy Smith | Monday, December 02, 2019

All in the Family

Gazing into the soul of a lauded play and seeing glimpses of one’s past

by Wendy Smith | Tuesday, September 06, 2016

Cold Truths

The Iceman Cometh and the destructiveness of dreams

by Wendy Smith | Monday, June 08, 2015

As the Bard Turns

The international appeal of the man from Stratford-upon-Avon

by Wendy Smith | Monday, February 29, 2016

The Naples Quartet

The novels of Elena Ferrante

by Wendy Smith | Wednesday, September 02, 2015

Cut, Cut, Cut

by Wendy Smith | Monday, August 11, 2014

Shakespeare in Bloom

by Wendy Smith | Thursday, August 25, 2011

Happily Ever After

The folk tales gathered by the Brothers Grimm not only enchant us; they record the hardships European families endured for centuries

by Wendy Smith | Friday, December 07, 2012

The Novels Don’t Change, But We Do 

Rereading those works that matter to us proves that books read us even as we read them

by Wendy Smith | Friday, December 06, 2013

The Director Who Named Names

Reconsidering the legacy of Elia Kazan

by Wendy Smith | Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Rock of Ages

Forty years after their deaths, Jimi Hendrix and Janis Joplin now seem part of the mainstream culture they rebelled against

by Wendy Smith | Wednesday, September 01, 2010

From Oppressed to Oppressors

The Battle of Algiers took a pitiless look at the war for Algerian independence, but the filmmakers could not foresee the failures that would result

by Wendy Smith | Monday, September 01, 2008

Offbeat at the Apollo

Elvis Costello’s cable TV show, Spectacle, ranges across musical genres and centuries

by Wendy Smith | Tuesday, December 01, 2009

The Meaning Behind the Lines

How Ibsen's toughness and Chekhov's tenderness transformed American playwriting and acting

by Wendy Smith | Friday, June 05, 2009

The Man Who Got His Way

John Hammond, scion of white privilege, helped integrate popular music

by Wendy Smith | Thursday, June 01, 2006

War Weary

If Iraq is not another Vietnam, why do I find myself rereading Dispatches?

by Wendy Smith | Thursday, March 01, 2007