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Women inTurmoil Six Plays by Mercedes deAcosta Edited and with an introduction by Robert A.Schanke de Acosta Women in Turmoil Six Plays by Mercedes de Acosta Southern Illinois University Press Theater / Gay and Lesbian Studies “Robert A. Schanke has rustled up a treasure trove of wonderfully hotheaded plays by Mercedes de Acosta. I hope that the discovery of these neglected and forgotten dramas will lead to rambunctious new productions and a celebration of this fantastic woman who haunted our theatrical landscape during the first half of the last century.”—Anne Bogart, author of A Director Prepares: Seven Essays on Art and Theatre With the publication of six plays by the uninhibited author, poet, and playwright Mercedes de Acosta (1893–1968), theater historian Robert A. Schanke has rescued these lost theatrical writings from the dusty margins of obscurity. Often autobiographical, always rife with gender struggle, and still decidedly stageworthy, Women in Turmoil: Six Plays by Mercedes de Acosta constitutes a significant find for the canon of gay and lesbian drama. Mercedes de Acosta’s current notoriety has less to do with her writing than with her infamous romances with the likes of Greta Garbo, Marlene Dietrich, Isadora Duncan, Alla Nazimova, Eva Le Gallienne, Tamara Karsavina, Pola Negri, and Ona Munson. Through this collection of six powerfully poignant dramas, editor Robert A. Schanke strives to correct myths about Mercedes de Acosta and to restore both her name and her literary achievements to their proper place in history. Robert A. Schanke is a professor emeritus of theater at Central College, Iowa. His nine other books include “That Furious Lesbian”: The Story of Mercedes de Acosta; Angels in the American Theater: Patrons, Patronage, and Philanthropy; and Shattered Applause: The Lives of Eva Le Gallienne. He is the editor of the Southern Illinois University Press series Theater in the Americas. Southern Illinois University Press 1915 University Press Drive Mail Code 6806 Carbondale, IL 62901 www.siu.edu/~siupress Cover illustration: Eva Le Gallienne as Jehanne d’Arc. Courtesy of the Rosenbach Museum and Library, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Printed in the United States of America ISBN 0-8093-2510-1 ISBN 978-0-8093-2510-8 Schanke NIP-Women in Turmoil.ind1 1 9/15/08 1:41:54 PM ...

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