“Emily Mann is one of our most urgently engaging, provocative and significant American playwrights.”—Joyce Carol Oates

“Elizabeth Packard emerges as a vibrant, passionate force of nature.”—The New York Times

Illinois, 1861: Without proof of insanity, Elizabeth Packard is committed by her husband to an asylum. Based on historical events, Emily Mann’s play tells of one woman’s struggle to right a system gone wrong in this winner of the Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award.

Emily Mann is a playwright and director, now in her nineteenth season as artistic director of McCarter Theatre. Her award-winning plays have been produced throughout the world.