how the WPA and a cast of thousands made high art out of desperate times Quinn, Susan. creator text bibliography nyu New York Walker & Co. Distributed to the trade by Macmillan 2008 1st U.S. ed. monographic eng

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325 p. : ill. ; 25 cm. "In Furious Improvisation, Susan Quinn brings to life the challenges of a desperate era when FDR, Eleanor Roosevelt, and the tough-talking idealist Harry Hopkins furiously improvised programs to get millions of hungry, unemployed people back to work. Quinn's compelling story of politics and creativity reaches a dramatic climax with the rise of Martin Dies and his newly formed House Un-American Activities Committee, which turned the Federal Theatre Project into the first victim of a red scare that would roil the nation for the next twenty years." "Furious Improvisation is a portrait of the turbulent 1930s, rich in humor and anecdotes that combine to tell not only the story of the theatre project but also the Great Depression and government intervention in a time of national peril, a time when the still-pressing issues of discrimination, injustice, and the meaning of liberty commanded center stage."--BOOK JACKET. Ch. 1. On the Train -- Ch. 2. Harry -- Ch. 3. Hallie -- Ch. 4. Great Plans for Millions -- Ch. 5. Ethiopia -- Ch. 6. Triple-A Plowed Under -- Entr'acte 1. The CCC Murder Mystery -- Ch. 7. The Simple and the Difficult -- Ch. 8. Do You Voodoo? -- Ch. 9. It Can't Happen Here -- Entr'acte 2. After the Flood -- Ch. 10. Under a Powerful Star -- Ch. 11. The Cradle Will Rock -- Entr'acte 3. I'd Rather Be Right -- Ch. 12. Chants of the Prairies -- Ch. 13. The West -- Ch. 14. Past Is Present -- Ch. 15. Enter HUAC -- Ch. 16. Marlowe's Ghost -- Ch. 17. An Act of Congress -- Epilogue: Four Febrile Years. Susan Quinn. Includes bibliographical references (p. [287]-292) and index. n-us--- Federal Theatre Project (U.S.) United States. Work Projects Administration. PN2270.F43 Q56 2008 792.0973 9780802716989 (alk. paper) 0802716989 (alk. paper) 2008001274 DLC 080110 20151202130710.0 6855591