WENDY WASSERSTEIN: Chronicler Of Frayed Feminism

WENDY WASSERSTEIN, in her play The Heidi Chronicles, asks hard questions about her generation, but her mother would prefer a grandchild

The anger came first, but it is not an easy emotion for playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Her natural instinct is to charm, to disarm, to retreat from harm. The nervous giggles, the wispy, high-pitched voice, the ingratiating brown eyes and perhaps even the plump figure all seem protective camouflage. For Wasserstein, self-mocking humor has always been the first line of defense against both the judgment of others and her enveloping Jewish family, which cannot understand why a nice girl like Wendy is not married with children at 38. Even her closest friends sometimes find her hard to take entirely seriously. "With that...

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