Uncommon woman comes to town

Suzie Harrison

She was the first woman in history to win the Pulitzer Prize as

the author of an original play. She’s an accomplished playwright who

has won many awards, and she will be making a rare Orange County

appearance.

Tony Award-winning author Wendy Wasserstein, seen by many as the

voice of a generation, will present her lecture “A Life in the

Theater” to a sold-out crowd of 200 at the Newport Beach Public

Library on Wednesday from 7 to 9 p.m.

“I’ll be talking about my book ‘Shiksa Goddess’ -- essays I wrote

in my 40s, my career in theater being a woman writer and a play I

recently published, ‘Old Money,’” Wasserstein said.

Perhaps best known for her Tony Award-winning play “The Heidi

Chronicles” -- the work that also won her a Pulitzer -- her other

credits include “Isn’t It Romantic,” Uncommon Women and Others” and

“The Sisters Rosensweig.”

When asked how she felt about winning a Pulitzer Prize for “The

Heidi Chronicles” in the 1988-89 season, she said she had been

excited.

“It’s not something I expected to do,” Wasserstein said. “I was

thrilled, very, very happy.”

The playwright has been lauded for her work, which often explores

women’s rights, the women’s movement and feminist issues.

She has said that her writing is very character driven and she

believes that, in many ways, one’s cultural background, how one was

raised and what one has been exposed to shapes the way a person

thinks.

Some of her characters are based on college women, such as in

“Uncommon Women and Others.” The play is written from the perspective

of four young girls attending an elite women’s college.

“I went to a women’s college,” she said. “Living in the country,

living in a woman’s environment meant a lot.”

It is part of what shaped who she is.

“My work is sometimes based on life experiences,” Wasserstein

said. “A lot is about women and choices, about having a child and how

to balance working.”

She said she doesn’t have a favorite project per se or favorite

character.

“I have so many different feelings about all of them,” Wasserstein

said. “I loved working with Dan Sullivan. I loved all of them.”

But her greatest accomplishment she said was the birth of her

daughter, Lucy Jane.

Wasserstein, well known for her quick wit and humor, said she knew

since high school that she enjoyed writing.

“I always knew I was funny,” Wasserstein said. “It came together,

I guess, when I was in high school. I took a class in playwriting.”

Manhattan-raised Wasserstein enjoys the culture the city affords.

“I love the ballet, going to the theater, shopping, friends and

spending time with my daughter,” she said.

The event is being underwritten by Fletcher Jones Motorcars and is

being brought to the library by the Newport Library Foundation. For

more information, call 718-3000.