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 2, 2021

The Sondheim Way

Ambition, freedom, and the importance of innovation

By Wendy Smith | Tuesday November 30, 2021

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 2, 2019

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 4, 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 5, 2017

All in the Family

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

By Wendy Smith | Tuesday September 6, 2016

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 2, 2015

Cold Truths

The Iceman Cometh and the destructiveness of dreams

By Wendy Smith | Monday June 8, 2015

The Director Who Named Names

Reconsidering the legacy of Elia Kazan

By Wendy Smith | Wednesday December 10, 2014

Cut, Cut, Cut

By Wendy Smith | Monday August 11, 2014

The Novels Don’t Change, But We Do

By Wendy Smith | Friday December 6, 2013

Happily Ever After

By Wendy Smith | Friday December 7, 2012

Shakespeare in Bloom

By Wendy Smith | Thursday August 25, 2011

Rock of Ages

By Wendy Smith | Wednesday September 1, 2010

Offbeat at the Apollo

By Wendy Smith | Tuesday December 1, 2009

The Meaning Behind the Lines

By Wendy Smith | Friday June 5, 2009

From Oppressed to Oppressors

By Wendy Smith | Monday September 1, 2008

Good Thing Going

By Wendy Smith | Saturday September 1, 2007

War Weary

By Wendy Smith | Thursday March 1, 2007

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