Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater

Cover photo by Merri Cyr

—Review by Cathy Ritchie

Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater

By Alexis Greene (Applause Theater & Cinema Books, 2021)

I begin with a true tale from long, long ago….

In the mid-1970s, I found myself in a Shakespeare class at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, amassing credits towards a Master’s degree in English.  I didn’t make a point of communing with my classmates, but I did learn the full name of a woman resembling Sigourney Weaver, though we never formally met or conversed. But instinct told me to always remember Emily Mann.

Decades later, after having followed her stellar theater career as both playwright and director, I was delighted to experience Alexis Greene’s superb biography Emily Mann: Rebel Artist of the American Theater. Call our non-relationship a watered-down version of Six Degrees of Separation: I am proud to have shared a classroom with her, however briefly and anonymously.

Greene’s approach to her subject is chronological, but beautifully intermixed. Among the what-and-when details are copious quotations from Mann herself via extensive interviews, along with the author’s deep research—and all of it masterfully presented. This book is thus a treat for both theater aficionados and biography mavens alike.

Emily Mann was born in 1952 and grew up in Chicago. By the time our paths crossed, she was completing a Master of Fine Arts degree in directing. At that juncture, via a fellowship, she was also working at the legendary Tyrone Guthrie Theater, which she would later describe as a highly patriarchal “toxic environment.” Nonetheless, Mann became the first woman to direct a production—The Glass Menagerie—on the Guthrie’s main stage. As she tackled Broadway and America’s regional theaters, Mann’s personal commitment to feminism and multiculturalism infused all facets of her work. She would explore themes of violence, horror and “the other” throughout her career.

Inarguably, many of Mann’s finest years were spent as Artistic Director and Resident Playwright of the McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, New Jersey (1990-2020). There she oversaw productions of her own work, of classics by Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams and others—and of a multitude of new scripts from previously unheard theatrical voices. Her vision help lead the McCarter to the 1994 Regional Theater Tony Award.  Greene superbly details this chapter of Mann’s career and the challenges she faced as a performing arts chief administrator. She also analyzes selected McCarter productions from multiple angles, but never creates reader overload.

Mann’s output as a playwright has also been significant. Several of her best-known works have been categorized as “documentary” plays, as they required extensive background research, plus prominent use of film footage and other audio-visual effects. Examples of these have been 1985’s Execution of Justice, dramatizing the trial of Dan White for the murders of Mayor George Moscone and Supervisor Harvey Milk in 1978 San Francisco; 1998’s Still Life, about a war veteran and the women in his life; and her 2018 work Gloria: A Life, a salute to Gloria Steinem.

But Mann’s plays have also included more intimate works, such as the one-woman Annulla: An Autobiography (1986) and the two-character Having Our Say (1998). Author Greene’s skillful analyses of Mann’s titles will likely inspire readers to experience the scripts themselves. (Several are available in the 1996 collection Testimonies: Plays by Emily Mann published by Theatre Communications Group.)

Greene does not ignore the challenges within Mann’s personal life. As her work achievements multiplied, she also dealt with divorce and remarriage, raising an only son, and in 1994 a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis. While the latter condition impeded Mann’s physical mobility as a director for a time, she never became inactive, and she is currently in remission.

Greene summarizes: “Mann is devoted to the theater as a source of understanding, enlightenment, and healing….At the McCarter Theatre Center, her tenacity…transformed a respected but insular theater into a venue recognized nationally for challenging, diverse, meticulously produced work….She succeeded at heading a theater and expanding her careers of director and dramatist, a triple play that few have made in the American theater.”

Mann’s official recognitions have included the Margo Jones Award, the Peabody, eight Obies for her Off-Broadway productions, various prizes from the NAACP, and her 2019 induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame. She retired from the McCarter in 2020, and at age 70 is currently working on new projects and enjoying life in Princeton as a wife and grandmother.

Alexis Greene deserves her own round of applause for this fine contribution to both the biography and performing arts canons. As for my classmate Emily Mann and myself all those years ago, to paraphrase: I’m so glad we had that time together.