Long before “women’s lib” became a familiar concept, playwrights dealt with the notion of women who broke with social expectations and lived independently. In America in 1932, S.N. Behrman wrote a thoughtful, entertaining piece called “Biography,” currently being given an outstanding production at the American Century Theater.

“Biography” tells the story of a painter, Marion Froude (Jennifer Hopkins), who is known for the portraits of famous men she has painted. The scene is 1931 in Marion’s New York City apartment, where she is visited by an old friend, Melchior Feydak (Craig Miller) and Richard Kurt (Daniel Corey), a young man with a proposition.

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