Uncommon Women and Others (1977), is the first play by noted 20th century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein.

1977 Off-Broadway debut

The play premiered Off-Broadway in a Phoenix Theatre production on November 21, 1977 and closed on December 4, 1977 after 22 performances. It was directed by Steven Robman and performed at the Marymount Manhattan Theatre, New York.

Characters and stage cast

• Glenn Close - Leilah
• Swoosie Kurtz - Rita Altabel
• Jill Eikenberry - Kate Quin
• Ellen Parker - Muffet DiNicola
• Ann McDonough - Samantha Stewart
• Alma Cuervo - Holly Kaplan
• Josephine Nicholas - Mrs. Plumm
• Cynthia Herman - Susie Friend
• Anna Levine - Carter
• Alexander Scourby - Narrator (voice)

Plot summary

Alumnae of Mount Holyoke College (Wasserstein's alma mater) meet for lunch one day in 1978 and talk about their time together in college. The play is thus a series of flashbacks to the 1972-1973 school year as seven seniors and one freshman try to "discover themselves" in the wake of second-wave feminism.

Film

See: Uncommon Women and Others (1978 Television).

A made-for-television film was broadcast in 1978, with all of the stage cast reprising their roles, except that Meryl Streep played Leilah.

References

• Wasserstein, Wendy. The Heidi Chronicles, Uncommon Women and Others, & Isn't It Romantic. New York: Vintage, 1990.
• Wasserstein, Wendy. Uncommon Women and Others - google books

External links

• 1977 Theater review - New York Times
• Lortel listing, 1977
• College Honors Wendy Wasserstein '71 with Staged Reading