ABSTRACT
This chapter explores how contemporary conditions in a given era influenced playwrights’ choices as to how to present material from a previous historical period. Examples include Shakespeare’s alluding to the dangers of political instability in so many of his plays. One can see the many plots against Elizabeth I as an influence, most prominently in the history plays but also in other plays where the usurpation of the throne or power is the main plot. In Roe by Lisa Loomer, the main issue of abortion is certainly as timely today as it was in the 1970s when the play is set. But more contemporary issues of sexual orientation are also raised by Norma McCorvey’s identity as a gay woman and her relationship to Connie Gonzalez. The issue of how abortion disproportionately affects women of color is also explored in the play. Similarly, All the Way by Robert Schenkkan focuses on the issue of civil rights in 1964 mainly in terms of race but a more contemporary view of civil rights in terms of sexual orientation is also raised in the play.
