Furious Improvisation: How the WPA and a Cast of Thousands Made High Art out of Desperate Times

“Spotlight[s] one of the most compelling periods of American theater…Quinn’s well-written narrative is both fascinating and frightening.”—Library Journal (starred review)

In a desperate era, FDR and his advisers had to furiously improvise to get millions of unemployed people back to work. For writers, actors, and artists, they created the Federal Theater Project. A platform for cutting-edge drama, the program defied segregation, spotlighting social injustice and ultimately leading to a political struggle that would shape American arts for decades to come.