Dorothy Heyward
Musician · 1890–1961 · Wooster, Ohio
Best known for
Songwriter
Dorothy Heyward was an Ohio-born playwright who, with her husband DuBose Heyward, adapted his 1925 novel Porgy into the 1927 Broadway play that became the basis for George and Ira Gershwin’s 1935 American folk opera Porgy and Bess. She is co-credited on its libretto, including the lyric to “Summertime.”
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- Born Dorothy Hartzell Kuhns in 1890 in Wooster, Ohio.
- Studied at Radcliffe and at George Pierce Baker’s 47 Workshop at Harvard.
- Married Charleston novelist DuBose Heyward in 1923.
- Adapted DuBose’s 1925 novel Porgy into the 1927 Theatre Guild Broadway play, co-credited with him as playwright.
- Worked on the libretto for George and Ira Gershwin’s 1935 opera Porgy and Bess; co-credited with DuBose on lyrics, including “Summertime.”
- Adapted the 1929 DuBose Heyward novel Mamba’s Daughters into a Broadway play that opened in 1939 with Ethel Waters in the lead role.
- Died of a pulmonary embolism in New York City on November 19, 1961.
