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