Publication date:
01 June 2011Length of book:
1002 pagesPublisher
Scarecrow PressISBN-13: 9780810855328
From legends like Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, and Arthur Miller to successful present-day playwrights like Neil LaBute, Tony Kushner, and David Mamet, some of the most important names in the history of theater are from the past 80 years. Contemporary American theater has produced some of the most memorable, beloved, and important plays in history, including Death of a Salesman, A Streetcar Named Desire, Barefoot in the Park, Our Town, The Crucible, A Raisin in the Sun, and The Odd Couple.
Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater presents the plays and personages, movements and institutions, and cultural developments of the American stage from 1930 to 2010, a period of vast and almost continuous change. It covers the ever-changing history of the American theater with emphasis on major movements, persons, plays, and events. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 1,500 cross-referenced dictionary entries. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of American theater.
Historical Dictionary of Contemporary American Theater presents the plays and personages, movements and institutions, and cultural developments of the American stage from 1930 to 2010, a period of vast and almost continuous change. It covers the ever-changing history of the American theater with emphasis on major movements, persons, plays, and events. This is done through a chronology, an introductory essay, an extensive bibliography, and over 1,500 cross-referenced dictionary entries. This book is an excellent access point for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of American theater.
Fisher (theater, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro) here presents a broad survey of plays, playwrights, institutions, and cultural changes that have had an impact on the remarkable 80-year theatrical history covered in these two volumes. As usual with such texts, decisions had to be made as to what to include and, just as important, what to exclude. The “Reader’s Note” that opens Volume I discusses the guidelines used to make such decisions. Of great value to students and general readers is the 20-page chronology, highlighting theatrical events and historical contexts. It is followed by an informative and readable 17-page introduction. Since this is a dictionary, not an encyclopedia, entries are relatively short and to the point, ranging from one-third of a page (“Bishop, Andre”) to one page (“Chekov on the U.S. Stage”). BOTTOM LINE This set serves as an excellent companion to Fisher and Felicia Hardison Londré’s Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism (Scarecrow, 2007). An excellent resource for those needing definitions, clarifications, and a starting point for further research.