Gather any group of actresses, from students to stars, and someone will inevitably ask, "Where are all the great roles for women?" The roles are right here, in this magnificently diverse collection of plays–full-lenghts, one-acts, and monologues--with mainly female casts, which represent the answer to any actress's prayer. The editors of the groundbreaking anthology Plays for Actresses have once again gathered an abundance of strong female roles in a selection of works by award-winning authors and cutting-edge newer voices, from Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang to Claudia Shear, Eve Ensler, and Margaret Edson. The characters who populate these seven full-length plays, four ten-minute plays, and eleven monologues include a vivid cross-section of female experience: girl gang members, Southern debutantes, pilots, teachers, traffic reporters, and rebel teenagers. From a hilarious take on Medea to a taboo-breaking excerpt from The Vagina Monologues to a moving scene from the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit, the plays in Leading Women are complex, funny, tragic, and always original--and a boon for talented actresses everywhere. Edited by award-winning playwrights Shengold and Lane, this volume includes 22 theatrical works that premiered from 1990 through 2001. Comprising full-length plays, one-acts, and monologs, these works give actresses the opportunity to play characters ranging in age from the teens through the 70s. The array of pieces, by playwrights whose impressive track records have garnered most of the awards throughout the nation, is rich in female attitudes, nuance, and diversity conjured by a variety of situations. Alan Ball (American Beauty) writes a humorously revealing story about five bridesmaids coming in and out of a hotel room before, during, and after the wedding. In a different tone, Julia Jordan's "Smoking Lesson" centers on the angst of three teenage girlfriends after they discover a body in the Mississippi River. Produced at venues such as Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, South Coast Repertory, and the Humana Festival, to name only a few, these pieces are an excellent representation of the poignant writing available for actresses. The writers' bios at the back of the book are filled with information on other works, theaters, writing venues, and awards available in the United States. Recommended for all libraries. Elizabeth Stifter, Brooklyn, NY Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc. The introduction to this anthology begins with a bitter quip from Christopher Durang and Wendy Wasserstein's parodic Medea , decrying the fact that there are many more roles for men than for women in theater. Editors Lane and Shengold quickly explain that this book is dedicated to rectifying that situation. The anthology gathers some of the strongest roles for women in contemporary American theater. Jane Martin's hilarious send-up of Hollywood, Anton in Show Business ; Donald Margulies' moving portrait of literary mentorship, Collected Sto ries; and Alan Ball's killer skewering of weddings, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress , are plays in which most or all of the characters are women, as are lesser-known plays by Julia Jordon, Ellen McLaughlin, Kia Corhron, and many others. Four one-acts, including Durang and Wasserstein's Medea , and a handful of monologues also appear. Some may carp about Lane and Shengold's American, pro-New York scope, but maybe they plan a future survey of British playwrights, such as Caryl Churchill, who have built careers writing strong roles for women. Here's hoping. Jack Helbig Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Gather any group of actresses, from students to stars, and someone will inevitably ask, "Where are all the great roles for women?" The roles are right here, in this magnificently diverse collection of plays-full-lenghts, one-acts, and monologues--with mainly female casts, which represent the answer to any actress's prayer. The editors of the groundbreaking anthology "Plays for Actresses have once again gathered an abundance of strong female roles in a selection of works by award-winning authors and cutting-edge newer voices, from Wendy Wasserstein and Christopher Durang to Claudia Shear, Eve Ensler, and Margaret Edson. The characters who populate these seven full-length plays, four ten-minute plays, and eleven monologues include a vivid cross-section of female experience: girl gang members, Southern debutantes, pilots, teachers, traffic reporters, and rebel teenagers. From a hilarious take on Medea to a taboo-breaking excerpt from "The Vagina Monologues to a moving scene from the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Wit, the plays in Leading Women are complex, funny, tragic, and always original--and a boon for talented actresses everywhere. Eric Lane and Nina Shengold have been editing contemporary theater anthologies for more than twenty years. Eric Lane's award-winning plays have been published and performed in the U