{{italic title}} {{Use mdy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Infobox play | name = Third | image = Third_(play).jpg | image_size = | caption = | writer = Wendy Wasserstein | characters = Nancy Gordon<br>Jack Jameson<br>Emily Imbrie<br>Woodson Bull, III<br>Laurie Jameson | setting = New York City, Chicago, Manchester, New Hampshire, Ann Arbor, 1965–1989 | premiere = September 29, 2005 | place = Lincoln Center Theater<br>New York City | orig_lang = English | subject = | genre = Drama }} '''''Third''''' is the final play written by Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Wendy Wasserstein, which premiered Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater in 2005. Directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, the cast featured Amy Aquino, Charles Durning, Gaby Hoffmann, Jason Ritter, and Dianne Wiest. The play involves a female professor and her interactions with a student.<ref>{{cite web |title=Third |url=https://www.concordtheatricals.com/p/14877/third |website=Concord Theatricals |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref>
==Characters== *Nancy Gordon *Jack Jameson *Emily Imbrie *Woodson Bull, III *Laurie Jameson
==Plot== The play takes place at a small New England college during one academic year. It 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, Woodson Bull, III. 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, to her, to be beyond his ability to produce. The play grapples with the issues of stereotyping and identity politics, as well as generational and family issues.
==Production history== ===Lincoln Center Theater (New York)=== ''Third'' had its World Premiere at Lincoln Center Theater, running Off-Broadway in the Mitzi Newhouse Theater from September 29 through December 18, 2005. Directed by Daniel J. Sullivan, the cast featured Amy Aquino, Charles Durning, Gaby Hoffmann, Jason Ritter, and Dianne Wiest. The creative ream included Thomas Lynch (sets), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costumes), Pat Collins (lighting), Scott Stauffer (sound) and Robert Waldman (original music).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.lct.org/shows/third/whos-who/|title=Third|website=Lincoln Center Theatre Shows Archive|accessdate=19 December 2015}}</ref>
===The Geffen Playhouse (Los Angeles)=== ''Third'' had its Regional Premiere at the Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles, CA, running from September 19 through October 28, 2007. Directed by Maria Mileaf, the cast featured Christine Lahti, Matt Czuchry, Jayne Brook, Sarah Drew, and M. Emmet Walsh. The creative ream included Vince Mountain (sets), Alex Jaeger (costumes), David Lander (lighting), and Michael Roth (original music & sound).<ref>{{cite web |title=Third |url=https://www.geffenplayhouse.org/shows/third/ |website=Geffen Playhouse |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref>
==Development== ===Theater J (Washington D.C.)=== A version of ''Third'' was originally produced as a one-act play at Theater J in Washington D.C., running from January 14 – February 15, 2004. Directed by Michael Barakiva, the cast featured Kathryn Grody, Bill Grimmette, Edward Boroevich, and Janine Barris. This version of third ran in repertory with Wassertein's other one-act play, ''Welcome To My Rash''. <ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/2004/01/19/rash-38/96e49611-e552-4ed7-ae7e-c874948d1c43/ washingtonpost.com], retrieved June 15, 2022</ref>
==Critical response== Third received mostly positive reviews from critics, specifically for Wasserstein's script, Sullivan's direction, and the ensemble of actors. Ben Brantley, in a review for ''The New York Times'', wrote "Like Heidi, Laurie is a strong and vulnerable, independent and emotionally needy woman. She is, in other words, a feminine feminist of the stripe that has endeared Ms. Wasserstein to many theatergoers over the years... It's the certainty of uncertainty in life that makes "Third," ... so affecting despite itself. Using the hot button of academic plagiarism to trigger the plot, "Third" suffers from problems common to Ms. Wasserstein's plays: an overly schematic structure, a sometimes artificial-feeling topicality... Yet "Third" exhales a gentle breath of autumn, a rueful awareness of death and of seasons past, that makes it impossible to dismiss."<ref>Brantley, Ben. [http://theater2.nytimes.com/2005/10/25/theater/reviews/25thir.html "Review. ''Third''. As Feminism Ages, Uncertainty Still Wins"] ''The New York Times'', October 25, 2005</ref>
David Rooney, in a review for ''Variety'', was also complimentary, noting "Wendy Wasserstein’s new play — her best in years — is thematically richer and more emotionally satisfying than any mere political screed. While the writing strays at times into didacticism, director Daniel Sullivan and his flawless cast extract heartening depths of humor, wisdom and poignancy from this story of a woman’s self-reassessment as she heads into the third part of her life."<ref>{{cite news |title=Third |url=https://variety.com/2005/legit/reviews/third-1200520751/ |website=Variety |year=2005 |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref>
==Awards and nominations== {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Association !Category !Recipient !Result !class=unsortable| Ref. |-
| rowspan=5| 2005 | rowspan=2| Lucille Lortel Award | Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play | Dianne Wiest | {{nom}} |<ref name=Lortel.2006>{{cite web |title=Bountiful Tops 2006 Lucille Lortel Awards With Four Wins |url=https://playbill.com/article/bountiful-tops-2006-lucille-lortel-awards-with-four-wins-com-132327 |website=Playbill |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> |- | Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actor in a Play | Charles Durning | {{nominated}} | <ref name=Lortel.2006 /> |- | Artios Award | Theatre Casting – Plays | Daniel Swee | {{won}} | <ref>{{cite news |title=CSA Nods ‘Brokeback,’ ‘Crashers’ |url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/business/business-news/csa-nods-brokeback-crashers-141610/ |website=The Hollywood Reporter |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> |- | Actors' Equity Association | Clarence Derwent Award | Jason Ritter | {{won}} |<ref>{{cite web |title=Felicia P. Fields and Jason Ritter Win Clarence Derwent Awards |url=https://www.broadway.com/buzz/95633/felicia-p-fields-and-jason-ritter-win-clarence-derwent-awards/ |website=Broadway.com |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> |- | Lincoln Center | Martin E. Segal Award | Jason Ritter | {{won}} |<ref>{{cite web |title=Conductor Xian Zhang Wins Lincoln Center's Segal Award |url=https://playbill.com/article/conductor-xian-zhang-wins-lincoln-centers-segal-award |website=Playbill |access-date=April 6, 2026}}</ref> |- |}
==References== {{reflist}}
== External links == *[http://www.lortel.org/LLA_archive/index.cfm?search_by=show&id=4448 Internet Off-Broadway Database listing] * [http://www.lct.org/calendar/event_detail.cfm?ID_event=68766873 Lincoln Center Announcement for ''Third''. Accessed October 14, 2007] *[http://www.theatermania.com/washington-dc/reviews/01-2004/welcome-to-my-rash-third_4290.html TheaterMania review, Third/Welcome to My Rash, Jan. 2004]
Category:2005 plays Category:Plays by Wendy Wasserstein Category:One-act plays