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Beth Henley

 
Works: Works by Beth Henley
(b. 1952)

1981Crimes of the Heart. First performed in Louisville, Kentucky, in 1979, the Mississippi-born dramatist's Chekhovian play about a day in the life of three unsettled Mississippi sisters premieres on Broadway. It would be adapted for the screen five years later. Henley's style, sometimes called "Southern gothic," combines dark humor with a decidedly regional idiom. The combination proves popular with audiences and critics, prompting Frank Rich to write in the New York Times: "Be grateful that we have a new writer from hurricane country who gives her characters room to spin and spin and spin."
1984The Miss Firecracker Contest. Henley explores Southern manners and the mother-daughter relationship in this play. A young woman named Carnelle is determined to win the Miss Firecracker Contest as a way of getting back at provincial townspeople and her rival. But fame turns out not to be so desirable when it means engaging in rather fierce competition. Henley's comic characters are juxtaposed against the rituals of Southern life.

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Writer: Beth Henley
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  • Born: May 08, 1952 in Jackson, Mississippi
  • Occupation: Writer, Actor
  • Active: '80s
  • Major Genres: Comedy Drama, Romance
  • Career Highlights: True Stories, Miss Firecracker, Crimes of the Heart
  • First Major Screen Credit: Crimes of the Heart (1986)

Biography

In 1978, while still a sophomore in college, playwright/screenwriter Beth Henley, born Elizabeth Becker Henley was awarded a Pulitzer prize for her very first play Crimes of the Heart. In 1986, her adaptation of the play earned her an Oscar nomination and she has gone on to write several screenplays for Hollywood features including David Byrne's True Stories (1986) and Miss Firecracker. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
Wikipedia: Beth Henley
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Beth Henley
Born Elizabeth Becker Henley
May 8, 1952
Jackson, Mississippi, USA
Nationality United States
Alma mater Southern Methodist University
University of Illinois
Information
Awards Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1981)

Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley (born May 8, 1952, Jackson, Mississippi) is an American dramatist and actress. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1981 for her play, Crimes of the Heart (1978).

Her most famous play, Crimes of the Heart, was her first produced professionally. It opened at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and then moved to New York produced by Manhattan Theatre Club. Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle. The play also earned Henley a Tony Award nomination, and her screenplay for the film version of Crimes of the Heart was nominated for an Oscar as Best Adapted Screenplay.

Henley adapted her play, The Miss Firecracker Contest, into a 1989 film starring Holly Hunter entitled Miss Firecracker.

Henley continues to write plays and screenplays from her adopted home in California. She is an alumna of Southern Methodist University. Her latest play, Ridiculous Fraud, was produced at the McCarter Theatre in 2006.

In Spring 2010, her play Family Week will be performed at MCC Theater. The production will feature Rosemarie DeWitt and Sarah Jones. It will be directed by Jonathan Demme.

Contents

Bibliography

  • Am I Blue (1972)
  • Crimes of the Heart (1978)
  • The Miss Firecracker Contest (1979)
  • The Wake of Jamey Foster (1981)
  • The Debutante Ball (1985)
  • The Lucky Spot (1986)
  • Abundance (1990)
  • Control Freaks (1992)
  • Signature (1995)
  • L-Play (1996)
  • Impossible Marriage (1998)
  • Family Week (2000)
  • Ridiculous Fraud (2006)

Filmography

References

External links



 
 

 

Copyrights:

Works. The Chronology of American Literature, edited by Daniel S. Burt. Copyright © 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Writer. Copyright © 2009 All Media Guide, LLC. All rights reserved.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Beth Henley" Read more