Renowned playwright Wendy Wasserstein critically ill

NEW YORK - Wendy Wasserstein , a Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright with close artistic ties to Seattle, is battling leukemia at a New York hospital, a source close to her said today.

The Brooklyn-born writer's condition was especially grave because an unspecified infection has prevented doctors from administering chemotherapy, the source said.

"There's a percentage chance of survival," the source said, "and our hope is that she can fight this off. But it's very serious."

Wasserstein, 55, won a 1989 Pulitzer Prize for her bittersweet drama "The Heidi Chronicles," which she developed and workshopped at the Seattle Repertory Theatre. The work also won the 1989 Tony Award for best play, under the direction of former Seattle Rep artistic director Daniel Sullivan.

Eight of Wasserstein's plays have been staged in New York, including two other scripts developed in staged readings by Sullivan at Seattle Rep during the 1990s: "The Sisters Rosensweig" and "An American Daughter." The Rep also mounted full productions of the latter works, and "The Heidi Chronicles," after their Broadway premieres.

Wasserstein's most recent work, "Third," starring Dianne Wiest, opened under Sullivan's direction in New York this fall, and sold out its current limited run at Lincoln Center.

Wasserstein, the single mother of a young daughter, was said to have taken a visible turn for the worse during rehearsals for "Third," which opened Oct. 18.

"Wendy had been sick for a long time," the source said, "but she's a private person and kept it quiet. But during rehearsals she needed a cane some days."

Wasserstein's brother, Bruce, is a well-known investor and owner of New York magazine.

Seattle Times theater critic Misha Berson contributed to this article.