Audrey Wood

Audrey Violet Wood (February 28, 1905 December 27, 1985) was an American literary and theatrical agent. Wood was influential in the careers of several of the most recognized dramatic playwrights of the mid-20th century, including Tennessee Williams, Carson McCullers, Robert Anderson, Mary Chase, William Inge, and Arthur Kopit.

Career Wood's agency, Liebling-Wood, Inc. opened its doors at 30 Rockefeller Plaza on April 23, 1937, in partnership with her husband, William Liebling.

Works promoted by Wood A partial listing of plays, movies and other properties Wood was associated with:

Year Title Author 1944 The Glass Menagerie Tennessee Williams 1947 A Streetcar Named Desire Tennessee Williams 1948 Summer and Smoke Tennessee Williams 1953 Picnic William Inge 1953 Tea and Sympathy Robert Anderson 1949 Come Back, Little Sheba William Inge 1967 Indians Arthur Kopit 1977 A Texas Trilogy Preston Jones

Death Wood suffered a stroke on April 30, 1981, outside the Royalton Hotel in Manhattan, where she had lived since the 1930s. She remained in a coma until her death on December 27, 1985.

Legacy The Audrey Wood Scholarship was established in 1983 by friends of Wood, and is awarded to students in the Playwriting department of Yale University. In 1984, a 199-seat section of the Jack Lawrence Theater was renamed the Audrey Wood Theater in her honor. Management had apparently wanted to name the space for Tennessee Williams, an attempt that was disputed by the Williams estate. Jack Lawrence sold the entire theater to a developer in 1987, after struggling to compete with other Off-Broadway venues.

In 1990 Max Wilk released Mr. Williams and Miss Wood: A Two Character Play, as a tribute to the thirty-year relationship between the playwright and his agent. The two-act play was adapted from Represented by Audrey Wood, a memoir which Wilk co-wrote with Wood. Wilk's play has been staged several times over the years, most recently by the Ashland Contemporary Theatre of Ashland, Oregon, in 2014.

Audrey Wood's papers are held at the Harry Ransom Center of the University of Texas at Austin, along with the papers of Tennessee Williams. Wood's collection includes playbills, scripts, musical scores, photographs, correspondence and the business records of the Liebling-Wood Agency.