Third (play)
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Third was the last professional effort by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein. Following a premier at Washington D.C.'s Theater J, Third ran from September 29, 2005 to December 18, 2005 as an Off-Broadway production at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, USA. It was directed by Daniel Sullivan, a frequent artistic collaborator with Wasserstein.
The plot of the play focuses on the life of a female college professor at a prestigious liberal arts college, Laurie Jameson, and how her life and fundamental assumptions are challenged by an encounter with a student. The professor and student have strongly divergent personal and political characteristics. Because of these differences, the professor accuses the student of plagiarism when he turns in an assignment that seems beyond his ability to produce. The play grapples with the issues of stereotyping and identity politics, as well as generational and family issues.
The cast of Third included Academy Award-winning actress Dianne Wiest, and Charles Durning. Jason Ritter, actor-son of John Ritter, played the part of Woodson Bull, III (“Third”), the student accused of plagiarism. Ritter won the Clarence Derwent Award and the Martin E. Segal Award for his performance of the title character in this play.
