TINA HOWE (1937-2023)

The Hunter College Theatre Department deeply mourns the loss of our beloved friend, colleague, and fellow artist, the extraordinary playwright Tina Howe. Without Tina’s vision, drive and persistence our thriving MFA Playwriting Program would not exist today. For nearly three decades, she welcomed, nurtured, cajoled, galvanized, and inspired younger playwrights in our community with her inimitable mix of warm generosity, playful intelligence, and profuse exclamation. Her famous curtain line, “The whole thing is absolutely extraordinary!” sprang straight from her extravagant soul.

"Sure, we’re praised for our plays about women as victims  --  plays that show us at the mercy of disease, abuse, and self-doubt. But how much of our work is produced that celebrates strong women? Sexy and canny women? Daughters, sisters, wives and mothers who move mountains, not just dust rags?” (Tina Howe, 2004)