Bertolt Brecht (1898-1956) is acknowledged as one of the great dramatists whose plays, work with the Berliner Ensemble and critical writings have had a considerable influence on the theatre. His landmark plays include The Threepenny Opera, Fear and Misery of the Third Reich, The Life of Galileo, Mother Courage and Her Children and The Caucasian Chalk Circle.

Tony Kushner was born in New York City in 1956 and raised in Lake Charles, Louisiana. He is best known for his two-part epic, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes. His other plays include: A Bright Room Called Day, Slavs!, Hydrotaphia, Homebody/Kabul and the musical Caroline or Change for which he wrote book and lyrics, with music by composer Jeanine Tesori. In addition to his translation of Brecht's Mother Courage and her Children, Kushner has translated The Good Person of Sezuan, Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk and the English-language libretto for the children's opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels in America, and Steven Spielberg's Munich. Tony Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize for Drama, an Emmy Award, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, an Oscar nomination and an Arts Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, among many others. Most recently, Caroline or Change received the Evening Standard Award, the London Drama Critics' Circle Award and the Olivier Award for Best Musical.