Elaine May

item.page.datecreated
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Jewish Women's Archive
Goldstein, Eric

Date
2009-02-27
URI
https://jwa.org/encyclopedia/article/may-elaine

Abstract
This article is about Elaine May, the daughter of an actor in Yiddish theater, who was part of the popular and successful comedy duo in the 1950s and 60s, Mike Nichols and Elaine May. She later became one of the most important female directors in the 1970s and 1980s. The author says that May's work is characterized by sophisticated satire and artistic independence and integrity. He also notes that May's Judaism exerted a significant influence over her work, noting that her Jewishness "often provided the material for her comedy, as well as being a source for some of the identity conflicts of her characters." Click on the link above to read the article. Click on the links below for a review of a book about May's comedy partner, Mike Nichols, and for an example of a comedy routine by Nichols and May.
Description
Keywords
May, Elaine, Theater, Movies and Television, Nichols, Mike, United States, Entertainers
Citation
See Also
https://www.najculture.org/handle/20.500.11976/676
 https://www.najculture.org/handle/20.500.11976/677
DOI
Collections
Theater, Movies and Television
Entertainers