Beth Henley
Encyclopedia
Elizabeth Becker "Beth" Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American dramatist and actress. She writes primarily about women's issues and family in the Southern United States
. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays. She is known for her intertwining comic and serious moments in her pieces.
Her most famous play, Crimes of the Heart
(1978), was her first produced professionally. It opened at the Actors Theatre of Louisville
and then to the Manhattan Theatre Club
in New York City. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
(1981), as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle
. The play also earned Henley a nomination for a Tony Award
, and her screenplay adaptation for the 1986 film of the same name
was nominated for an Oscar
as Best Adapted Screenplay.
Henley adapted her 1984 play, The Miss Firecracker Contest, into a 1989 film
starring Holly Hunter
entitled Miss Firecracker
. Henley's play Ridiculous Fraud was produced at the McCarter Theatre in 2006, and her play Family Week was produced at MCC Theater
in 2010, directed by Jonathan Demme
.
. She was one of four sisters born to Charles Boyce, an attorney, and Elizabeth Josephine Henley, an actress. Henley attended Murrah High School
in Mississippi, followed by Southern Methodist University
, where she was a member of the acting ensemble. While at college, Henley completed her first play, a one-act piece entitled Am I Blue?
She graduated from Southern Methodist in 1974 with a BFA. From 1975 to 1976, she taught playwriting at the University of Illinois (Urbana) and the Dallas Minority Repertory Theater.
In 1976 Henley moved to Los Angeles and began work on her play Crimes of the Heart
.
in 1978, where it was declared co-winner of a new American play contest. The play then moved to New York and was produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club
. Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
in 1981, as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle
. The play also earned Henley a nomination for a Tony Award
, and her screenplay for the film version of Crimes of the Heart
was nominated for an Oscar as Best Adapted Screenplay. Henley has stated that growing up with 3 sisters was a major inspiration for her play Crimes of the Heart.
Henley's first six plays are set in the Deep South: two in Louisiana and four in Mississippi, where she grew up. Themes of her dramas are tied to small town values and the importance of love. Henley particularly focuses on her female characters in terms of identity and expression. Dominant themes include:
Henley views her characters as examples of the repercussions of modern society and representative of the alientation, pain, and suffering that reflect the human condition. Her plays explore the dichotomy within individuals that seek happiness but are betrayed by modern civilization. Henley's notion that neurotic behavior is endemic to modern civilization stems from Freud's psychoanalytic theory
. Her Southern sense of the grotesque and absurd experienced in daily existence have caused some critics to compare Henley to other Southern Writers such as Eudora Welty
and Flannery O'Connor
. This attitude has caused Henley to be classified in the Southern Gothic
genre.
Henley's writing style has evolved throughout her career. Her plays of the 1980's are characterized as naturalistic and dramatize the relationship between the interior self and the exterior world. The characters are outsiders, and by virtue of their nonconformity they risk being unable to share their feelings, insights, and experiences with others because they are alone, punished for their difference. They risk being institutionally isolated in a prison or asylum because they are so alone, so outside behavioral norms, that their actions warrant their removal from society. Hope exists in the search for a kindred soul. Her plays of the 1990's are considered experimental in moving beyond the traditional settings and themes of her earlier work. These plays explore structure and the concepts of time with action occurring in a fragmentary way, spanning amounts of time, and/or occurring in episodic succession. This is clearly seen in Abundance, the first play not set in the South. Henley applies a new technique in these plays: structuring action around a gap and subsequent references which cast doubt on the action of the absent scene. Henley begins to mix genres, such as play noir and integrates repeated verbal and visual images across genres with the theme of love dominating as well as exploring the theme of denial. Henley later attempts to reconcile themes of love and imagination in Revelers and employs ancient theatre techniques, such as a prologue, in the title and structure of the play. A recurring feature in all of her plays, Henley brings together a collection of individuals who cling to the self-images and experiences that give them their identity.
.
[ Alexander Street Press]
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. She is also a screenwriter who has written many film adaptations of her plays. She is known for her intertwining comic and serious moments in her pieces.
Her most famous play, Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart is a play by Beth Henley.-Synopsis:At the core of the tragic comedy are the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The trio was raised in a dysfunctional family with a...
(1978), was her first produced professionally. It opened at the Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville is a performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1964 by Louisville native Ewel Cornett, local producer Richard Block and actor Ken Jenkins of Scrubs fame, and was designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It is run as a...
and then to the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
in New York City. The play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
(1981), as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
. The play also earned Henley a nomination for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, and her screenplay adaptation for the 1986 film of the same name
Crimes of the Heart (film)
Crimes of the Heart is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Beth Henley is adapted from her Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.-Plot:...
was nominated for an Oscar
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
as Best Adapted Screenplay.
Henley adapted her 1984 play, The Miss Firecracker Contest, into a 1989 film
1989 in film
-Events:* Batman is released on June 23, and goes on to gross over $410 million worldwide.* Actress Kim Basinger and her brother Mick purchase Braselton, Georgia, for $20 million...
starring Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
entitled Miss Firecracker
Miss Firecracker
Miss Firecracker is a 1989 comedy film directed by Thomas Schlamme. It stars Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, and Scott Glenn...
. Henley's play Ridiculous Fraud was produced at the McCarter Theatre in 2006, and her play Family Week was produced at MCC Theater
MCC Theater
MCC Theater is an Off-Broadway theater company located in New York City, founded in 1986 by artistic directors Robert LuPone and Bernard Telsey along with six graduates of the New York University drama department, including Jana Herzen...
in 2010, directed by Jonathan Demme
Jonathan Demme
Robert Jonathan Demme is an American filmmaker, producer and screenwriter. Best known for directing The Silence of the Lambs, which won him the Academy Award for Best Director, he has also directed the acclaimed movies Philadelphia, Rachel Getting Married, the Talking Heads concert movie Stop...
.
Early Life
Henley was born in in 1952 in Jackson, MississippiJackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. She was one of four sisters born to Charles Boyce, an attorney, and Elizabeth Josephine Henley, an actress. Henley attended Murrah High School
Murrah High School
Murrah High School is a public high school in Jackson, Mississippi . It is part of the Jackson Public School District.-Demographics:There were a total of about 1,600 students enrolled in Murrah High during the 2008-2009 school year. The gender makeup of the district was 56% female and 44% male...
in Mississippi, followed by Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University
Southern Methodist University is a private university in Dallas, Texas, United States. Founded in 1911 by the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, SMU operates campuses in Dallas, Plano, and Taos, New Mexico. SMU is owned by the South Central Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church...
, where she was a member of the acting ensemble. While at college, Henley completed her first play, a one-act piece entitled Am I Blue?
Am I Blue (play)
Am I Blue is a play by Beth Henley and was written in 1972 and first performed in 1974 at Southern Methodist University. It would have its Off-Broadway premiere on January 10, 1982 at the Circle Repertory Company,in a night of plays called Conflunece.-Productions:The original production in...
She graduated from Southern Methodist in 1974 with a BFA. From 1975 to 1976, she taught playwriting at the University of Illinois (Urbana) and the Dallas Minority Repertory Theater.
In 1976 Henley moved to Los Angeles and began work on her play Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart is a play by Beth Henley.-Synopsis:At the core of the tragic comedy are the three Magrath sisters, Meg, Babe, and Lenny, who reunite at Old Granddaddy's home in Hazlehurst, Mississippi after Babe shoots her abusive husband. The trio was raised in a dysfunctional family with a...
.
Career
Crimes of the Heart was Henley's first professionally produced play. It opened at the Actors Theatre of LouisvilleActors Theatre of Louisville
Actors Theatre of Louisville is a performing arts theater located in downtown Louisville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1964 by Louisville native Ewel Cornett, local producer Richard Block and actor Ken Jenkins of Scrubs fame, and was designated the "State Theater of Kentucky" in 1974. It is run as a...
in 1978, where it was declared co-winner of a new American play contest. The play then moved to New York and was produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club
Manhattan Theatre Club is a theater company located in New York City. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, Manhattan Theatre Club has grown since its founding in 1970 from an Off-Off Broadway showcase into one of the country’s most acclaimed...
. Crimes of the Heart won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama
Pulitzer Prize for Drama
The Pulitzer Prize for Drama was first awarded in 1918.From 1918 to 2006, the Drama Prize was unlike the majority of the other Pulitzer Prizes: during these years, the eligibility period for the drama prize ran from March 2 to March 1, to reflect the Broadway 'season' rather than the calendar year...
in 1981, as well as the award for Best American Play of 1981 from the New York Drama Critics' Circle
New York Drama Critics' Circle
The New York Drama Critics' Circle is made up of 24 drama critics from daily newspapers, magazines and wire services based in the New York City metropolitan area. The organization was founded in 1935 at the Algonquin Hotel by a group that included Brooks Atkinson, Walter Winchell, and Robert Benchley...
. The play also earned Henley a nomination for a Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, and her screenplay for the film version of Crimes of the Heart
Crimes of the Heart (film)
Crimes of the Heart is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Beth Henley is adapted from her Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.-Plot:...
was nominated for an Oscar as Best Adapted Screenplay. Henley has stated that growing up with 3 sisters was a major inspiration for her play Crimes of the Heart.
Henley's first six plays are set in the Deep South: two in Louisiana and four in Mississippi, where she grew up. Themes of her dramas are tied to small town values and the importance of love. Henley particularly focuses on her female characters in terms of identity and expression. Dominant themes include:
- The value of love with family love providing support more often than romantic love;
- Family ties in the domestic realm and how both this and society values define and confine female characters; and
- Socially constructed desires and their impact on gender identity.
Henley views her characters as examples of the repercussions of modern society and representative of the alientation, pain, and suffering that reflect the human condition. Her plays explore the dichotomy within individuals that seek happiness but are betrayed by modern civilization. Henley's notion that neurotic behavior is endemic to modern civilization stems from Freud's psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory
Psychoanalytic theory refers to the definition and dynamics of personality development which underlie and guide psychoanalytic and psychodynamic psychotherapy. First laid out by Sigmund Freud, psychoanalytic theory has undergone many refinements since his work...
. Her Southern sense of the grotesque and absurd experienced in daily existence have caused some critics to compare Henley to other Southern Writers such as Eudora Welty
Eudora Welty
Eudora Alice Welty was an American author of short stories and novels about the American South. Her novel The Optimist's Daughter won the Pulitzer Prize in 1973. Welty was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among numerous awards. She was the first living author to have her works published...
and Flannery O'Connor
Flannery O'Connor
Mary Flannery O'Connor was an American novelist, short-story writer and essayist. An important voice in American literature, O'Connor wrote two novels and 32 short stories, as well as a number of reviews and commentaries...
. This attitude has caused Henley to be classified in the Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic
Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction unique to American literature that takes place exclusively in the American South. It resembles its parent genre in that it relies on supernatural, ironic, or unusual events to guide the plot...
genre.
Henley's writing style has evolved throughout her career. Her plays of the 1980's are characterized as naturalistic and dramatize the relationship between the interior self and the exterior world. The characters are outsiders, and by virtue of their nonconformity they risk being unable to share their feelings, insights, and experiences with others because they are alone, punished for their difference. They risk being institutionally isolated in a prison or asylum because they are so alone, so outside behavioral norms, that their actions warrant their removal from society. Hope exists in the search for a kindred soul. Her plays of the 1990's are considered experimental in moving beyond the traditional settings and themes of her earlier work. These plays explore structure and the concepts of time with action occurring in a fragmentary way, spanning amounts of time, and/or occurring in episodic succession. This is clearly seen in Abundance, the first play not set in the South. Henley applies a new technique in these plays: structuring action around a gap and subsequent references which cast doubt on the action of the absent scene. Henley begins to mix genres, such as play noir and integrates repeated verbal and visual images across genres with the theme of love dominating as well as exploring the theme of denial. Henley later attempts to reconcile themes of love and imagination in Revelers and employs ancient theatre techniques, such as a prologue, in the title and structure of the play. A recurring feature in all of her plays, Henley brings together a collection of individuals who cling to the self-images and experiences that give them their identity.
Criticism
Some critics have faulted Henley for locating her women characters within the home, arguing that this is a place that has both defined and confined them in negative ways, without offering avenues for either re-visioning or escape.Personal life
For many years Henley dated actor, writer and director Stephen TobolowskyStephen Tobolowsky
Stephen Harold Tobolowsky is an American actor. He is well known for his role as Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day, as well as portraying Commissioner Hugo Jarry in Deadwood for nine episodes and Bob Bishop in Heroes for eleven episodes over the second and third seasons...
.
Awards
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| Nominated for Oscar | 1987 |
| Pulitzer Prize for Drama | 1981 |
| Co-winner of the New American Play Contest | 1978 |
| Tony Nomination | 1982 |
Filmography
- Swing ShiftSwing Shift (film)Swing Shift is a 1984 feature film directed by Jonathan Demme and produced by and starring Goldie Hawn with Kurt Russell. It also starred Christine Lahti, Fred Ward and Ed Harris...
(1984), as actress - True StoriesTrue Stories (film)True Stories is an American film that spans the genres of musical, art, and comedy, directed by and starring David Byrne of the band Talking Heads. It co-stars John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Byrne has described the film as, "A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid...
(1986), as co-screenwriter - Nobody's FoolNobody's Fool (1986 film)Nobody's Fool is a 1986 comedy film written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley. It stars Rosanna Arquette, Eric Roberts and Mare Winningham. The film is a romantic drama/comedy involving the lead character Cassie who seeks love, and escape from her mundane ordinary life...
(1986), as screenwriter - Crimes of the HeartCrimes of the Heart (film)Crimes of the Heart is a 1986 American black comedy film directed by Bruce Beresford. The screenplay by Beth Henley is adapted from her Pulitzer Prize-winning play of the same name.-Plot:...
(1986), as screenwriter - Miss FirecrackerMiss FirecrackerMiss Firecracker is a 1989 comedy film directed by Thomas Schlamme. It stars Holly Hunter, Mary Steenburgen, Tim Robbins, Alfre Woodard, and Scott Glenn...
(1989), as screenwriter
Further reading
- McTague, Sylvia Skaggs. Ed. The Muse upon My Shoulder: Discussions of the Creative Process. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 2004. Print.
- Beth Henley: A Casebook
- The Plays of Beth Henley: A Critical Study
External links
- Beth Henley topic at The New York Times
- Beth Henley list of works and biography
[ Alexander Street Press]