ELIZABETH A. OSBORNE is an Assistant Professor in Theatre Studies at Florida State University, USA.

"Osborne's research into the life - and unfortunately, the death - of the Federal Theatre Project (FTP) goes well beyond the project itself. She reveals the full scope of the cultural environment in which the grand experiment existed and shows the ways in which that environment contributed to the theater's successes and failures...It is difficult to avoid being swept along by her obvious enthusiasm for her subject." - New York Journal of Books"In this fresh and objective study of the Federal Theatre Project, the messy, complex realities are every bit as compelling as the popular myths we grew up with. Osborne s allusion to that four-year chapter of American theatre history as turbulent and exhilarating applies also to the discoveries she makes and to the picture that emerges from her focus on the regional as the matrix for understanding what the project truly contributed toward the ideal of a national theatre." - Felicia Hardison Londre, Curators Professor of Theatre, University of Missouri-Kansas City"Osborne s research is meticulous and her writing is clear and graceful. But what makes this book so compelling is the way she reverses the core and periphery of Federal Theatre production. In foregrounding the lesser known repertoire, she broadens the landscape of our research and pays homage to Hallie Flanagan s desire for a truly national theatre." - Barry B. Witham, Professor Emeritus of Theatre History, University of Washington"Osborne s argument is persuasive and her subject is heretofore largely unexplored. Throughout she draws heavily on the archive, and as such pulls into consideration a plethora of primary sources that for too long have been (to borrow her words) hidden in plain sight. I believe this book can be considered a significant contribution to the study of American theatre history." - Jonathan Chambers, Associate Professor of Theatre, Bowling Green State University

• Introduction: The 'People's Theatre': Creating an Audience of Millions Danger, Disease and Despotism: Balancing on the Tightrope of Chicago Demythologizing American Ideology: Collisions of Past and Present in Boston 'The Great American Theatrical Desert': Federal Theatre in the South The Fading Frontier: Excavating the Portland Federal Theatre Project Theatre 'In the Wilderness': The Federal Theatre Project Tours America Epilogue: An American Audience for the 'People's Theatre'