Back in the .16th century, political
plays were all about men. Not now. For some time, American female playwrights
have followed the{{U}} (1) {{/U}}of Wendy Wasserstein, a 50-year-old
Brooklyn-born dramatist, whose work has focused{{U}} (2) {{/U}}family
drama and personal{{U}} (3) {{/U}}. Overtly political plays were
considered{{U}} (4) {{/U}}and unfashionable. But this is no longer so
often the{{U}} (5) {{/U}}. A new generation of female
playwrights{{U}} (6) {{/U}}tackling such subjects{{U}} (7)
{{/U}}racism, rape and apartheid. The quality of these plays has varied{{U}}
(8) {{/U}}. The best{{U}} (9) {{/U}}their subjects with nuance
and subtlety, while it is the more controversial pr6ductions{{U}} (10)
{{/U}}fall flat. With topical issues now the stuff 0fshallow,
made-for-television movies, audiences are looking to the theatre for something
more{{U}} (11) {{/U}}. Rebecca Gilman's previous play,
"Spinning into Butter", dealt with white racism in academia; her current drama,
"Boy Gets Girl", gives a feminist take on male searching and objeetificati6n of
women. Kia Corthron has three plays, including "Force Continuum",{{U}} (12)
{{/U}}with racial issues{{U}} (13) {{/U}}or coming to the New York
stage this year. But perhaps the most{{U}} (14) {{/U}}recent play on
political themes to{{U}} (15) {{/U}}is "The Syringa Tree", a one-woman
show about segregation in South Africa in the 1960s, written and{{U}} (16)
{{/U}}by Pamela Glen.{{U}} (17) {{/U}}the play had trouble{{U}}
(18) {{/U}}an audience when it{{U}} (19) {{/U}}in September
last year, critical acclaim and persistent word-of-mouth followed, gradually{{U}}
(20) {{/U}}to make "The Syringa Tree" one of the city's most popular
offerings.