The murder mystery On Trial, written in 1914, introduced reverse-chronology to American drama and earned its creator 100,000 dollars. This success launched the career of Elmer Rice, a New York City native who transitioned from the legal profession to become a dominant force in twentieth-century theatre, known for his relentless social critique and innovative stage techniques.
Early Life and Legal Transition
Born Elmer Leopold Reizenstein in 1892, he grew up in Manhattan as the son of a family struggling with his father's epilepsy. Following an abbreviated high school education, he passed state examinations and enrolled at New York Law School. He graduated in 1912 and practiced law for two years. This period fostered a lifelong cynical perspective toward legal practice, which he later mined for material in courtroom plays such as the 1931 production Counsellor-at-Law.
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In 1923, Rice completed the expressionistic work The Adding Machine in seventeen days. The narrative follows Mr. Zero, a bookkeeper replaced by technology who commits murder and faces an absurd afterlife. The play received high critical acclaim for its original approach to the machine age, though it failed to generate significant financial returns for the author.
Pulitzer Success and Later Career
The 1929 drama Street Scene, which chronicled the lives of inhabitants in a New York tenement, earned Rice the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Based on a facade at 25 West 65th Street, the play featured a cast of fifty characters and reflected his interest in realistic social documentation. His subsequent career included collaborations with authors like Dorothy Parker and Philip Barry, as well as ventures into producing and directing at the Belasco Theatre.
Fast facts
- Born: 1892, New York City
- Died: 1967, Southampton
- Education: New York Law School, 1912
- Notable Play: The Adding Machine (1923)
- Notable Play: Street Scene (1929)
- Award: Pulitzer Prize for Drama (1929)
- Professional roles: Playwright, screenwriter, director
- Membership: American Academy of Arts and Letters
Questions readers ask
What was the technique used in On Trial?
It was the first American drama to use reverse-chronology, presenting the story from the conclusion to the beginning.
Did Rice ever return to the legal field?
He left the profession in 1914 to pursue writing full-time, though his legal experience provided source material for his later plays.
Achievements
- Pulitzer Prize for Drama — 1929
