About the Play
Janet Cooke was the Washington Post journalist whose meteoric career nose-dived to infamy, when she was exposed for concocting her Pulitzer Prize winning story about an 8 year-old heroin addict. Her story is the inspiration for this gripping stage play. It combines drama and mystery with humor and irony, to create a glimpse of today’s headlines and compelling questions of truth and integrity. The play, which won crit-ical acclaim last year in New York, portrays an ambitious reporter who plays the race card to advance her story and her career. The Story was originally presented as a co-production of the Public Theatre in New York and Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut.

About the Playwright
Tracey Scott Wilson is the recipient of numerous awards including, most recently the 2004 Kesselring Prize for Playwrighting for "The Story," and also the 2002 Helen Merrill Award for Emerging Artists. "The Story" was also a finalist for the 2002 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize. The writer was a 1998 Van Lier Fellow at New York Theatre Workshop; her previously produced works include, "A Small World" (2001, Guthrie Theatre); "Exhibit #9" (2000,Theatre Outrageous); and her first musical, "Order My Steps" (2003, Cornerstone Theatre). Her plays have received readings at The Public Theatre in New York, the New Theatre Workshop, and Alchemy Theatre, among others. In addition, she is currently working on numerous projects including works for TV and stage. The artist received her B.A. from Rutgers University and M.A. from Temple University. The inspiration for "The Story" was the Janet Cook scandal; however Ms. Scott-Wilson confesses, “My secret identity is that of a crusading, muck raking journalist. I idolize Sinclair Lewis and "The Jungle." I think it’s a noble profession. It’s my fantasy job.” Similarly, “political plays have (always) interested me ... interactions of class and race and sex.” The passions for journalism and politics combine to create the fascinating drama of "The Story."

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