Dorothy Heyward
Dorothy Heyward, born Dorothy Kuhns on June 6, 1890, in Wooster, Ohio, was an American playwright and significant figure in early 20th-century theater. She pursued her passion for writing at Columbia University in New York City and briefly worked in musical theater before shifting her focus to playwriting due to health issues. Her marriage to DuBose Heyward in 1923 marked a pivotal moment in her career, as she supported him in his literary pursuits, ultimately helping to adapt his novel "Porgy" into a play in 1927. This work later evolved into the famous opera "Porgy and Bess," co-created with composer George Gershwin, which garnered attention for its portrayal of African American culture, though it has faced criticism for stereotypical elements. Following her husband's death in 1940, Heyward continued to write, producing plays such as "South Pacific" in 1943, which explored cultural conflicts in the South Pacific during WWII. Despite her contributions, Heyward's work often remained overshadowed by her husband's legacy, and she did not achieve significant acclaim as a playwright during her lifetime. She passed away on November 19, 1961.
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Dorothy Heyward
Playwright
- Born: June 6, 1890
- Birthplace: Wooster, Ohio
- Died: November 19, 1961
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Dorothy Kuhns was born on June 6, 1890, in Wooster, Ohio. Her father was a local businessman and her mother an amateur musician. When she was very young, the family moved to Canton, Ohio, where she grew up. As a young adult, she moved to New York City, to attend Columbia University, hoping to become a playwright. She worked briefly as a member of a chorus in a musical production, but quit due to arthritis.
In 1921, a play she submitted won Kuhns a fellowship to spend the summer working at McDowell’s Writing Colony in Peterborough, New Hampshire. While there, she met the aspiring novelist and poet DuBose Heyward from Charleston, South Carolina. Kuhns convinced Heyward, an insurance salesman, to give up his insurance business and spend his full efforts on writing, which he did over the next two years.
In 1923, both Kuhns and Heyward were invited back to McDowell’s Colony. Heyward proposed marriage to Kuhns there, and they married on September 22 of that year. In the same month, Kuhns was awarded the Harvard Prize for Drama for Nancy Ann, a play she had written in a workshop conducted by George Pierce Baker. It opened on Broadway in March, 1924, but closed after only a few performances.
In June, the Heywards returned to McDowell’s Colony. During that summer, Dorothy attempted to write a novel, but also began planning to adapt the novel Porgy, which DuBose was then writing, as a play or perhaps a screenplay. She developed it as a play in 1927. Aat the time, Porgy was viewed as a sympathetic portrayal of southern African American culture, although since then it has often been viewed as stereotypic rather than as accurate. The play was adapted as an opera in 1937 by the Heywards along with Ira Gershwin’s contributions to the book and George Gershwin’s music. Some writers suggest that George also helped with the book, although accounts differ.) George Gershwin had actually contacted DuBose Heyward in 1926 to adapt the novel as a musical, but at the time, DuBose wanted to allow Dorothy to continue with her adaptation. Heyward later collaborated with her husband in adapting his novel Mamba’s Daughters as a play with songs by Jerome Kern.
After DuBose died in 1940, she continued to write. For instance, in 1943, her play South Pacific (coauthored with Howard Rigsby) went into production. Although some writers confuse it with the later James Michener novel and the Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein musical based upon the novel, Heyward’s play was not a musical (although it did involve some incidental music), but rather at treatment of culture clashes which World War II had brought to the south Pacific islands. It only lasted for five performances.
Heyward died on November 19, 1961, generally having met little acclaim as a playwright outside of her contributions to Porgy and Bess.