American Playwrights Since 1945: A Guide to Scholarship, Criticism, and Performance [Hardcover]

Philip Kolin (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0313255431 | ISBN-13: 978-0313255434 | Publication Date: January 23, 1989

This guide to the state of research on forty major American playwrights and the history of their productions is among the first of its kind. It is actually many books: a bibliography, a stage history, an assessment of scholarly works about each playwright, and an invaluable guide to the types of research studies--biographical, bibliographical and critical--that remain to be done on each playwright. The essays were written by leading experts in American drama and theatre and focus on playwrights whose works have in some way shaped and influenced the American stage. Each essay follows a standard format and provides information on the playwright's reputation and achievements; primary bibliography; production history of where, when, how often, and how well his or her works were performed; a rigorous identification and evaluation of secondary materials on bibliographies, biographies, influence studies, general works, and analyses of plays; and, most significantly, a detailed analysis of future research opportunities.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This unique contribution to scholarship in American drama surveys 40 major mainstream, ethnic, and regional playwrights after Eugene O'Neill. Each author is given several analytic bibliographic essays: reputation assessment, primary source bibliography, performance history, survey of secondary sources, and, what is most unique about this work, an assessment of scholarly opportunities for future work. The critical commentary is not as extensive as in C.W.E. Bigsby's three-volume survey, A Critical Introduction to Twentieth-Century American Drama ( Vol. 1, LJ 8/82; Cambridge, 1982-85). Yet because it lays out the scholarly groundwork that has been done on all major aspects of these writers and provides a largely complete bibliography through 1987, American Playwrights will be the starting point for work on these figures for many years to come. Thomas E. Luddy, Salem State Coll., Mass.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

“This outstanding scholarly overview of contemporary American playwrights has long been needed. Its 40 analytical bibliographic essays `assess the playwrights' reputations, offer a production history of their works, and classify, survey, and evaluate scholarly and critical opinion' (pref.). The expert contributors follow a structured six-part format; Kolin's editing achieves a seamless style. For each playwright there is an assessment of reputation and achievement as perceived through reviews and critical commentary; a primary bibliography that shows the extent and variety of the dramatist's canon; a history of where, how often, and how successfully the works have been performed, a survey of secondary sources including bibliographies, biographies, influences, general studies of the dramatist, and analyses of individual plays; a section in which `contributors alert readers to particular scholarly and critical problems that need to be solved or issues that need further investigation'; and a checklist of all sources cited parenthetically throughout the essays. A few popular, well-known playwrights, e.g., Tennessee Williams, Edward Albee, Arthur Miller, receive highly selective and focused commentaries, but most entries treat younger playwrights whose works generally appeared after 1960 and who unquestionably are shaping American theater now. Bullens, Gelber, Guare, Henley, Kopit, Mamet, McNally, Rabe, change, Terry, Wasserstein, A. Wilson, and L. Wilson are among those included. Highly recommended for all academic collections.”–Choice

“Though geared towards researchers, the essays can be appreciated by anyone with an interest in contemporary American theater. The production histories are especially informative. Reading these, one can glean the names of critics, actors, directors, and theater companies, both regional and New York-based, that have contributed as much to theater as the playwrights themselves. The production histories discuss screen adaptations of plays as well as stage versions. They also discuss original screenplays, so that mention is made of two recent David Mamet films, House of Games and Things Change. The 40 dramatists were chosen because they are `representative, influential playwrights whose works have unquestionably shaped the course of American theatre since World War II.' Coverage is wide enough to include writers ranging from the well-known Sam Shepard to the more obscure Jack Gelber and Romulus Linney, from acknowledged masters like Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams to emerging authors like Marsha Norman, from the Brooklyn Jewish perspective of Neil Simon to the black feminist aesthetic of Ntozake Shange. There is always room for argument about who should be in a work of this sort, but on the whole the editor's choices seem sound. . . . Its greatest value lies in identifying writing on younger playwrights on whom research has just begun. Recommended for academic libraries and for large public libraries serving serious theater-goers. Reference Books Bulletin "This unique contribution to scholarship in American drama surveys 40 major mainstream, ethnic, and regional playwrights after Eugene O'Neill. Each author is given several analytic bibliographic essays: reputation assessment, primary source bibliography, performance history, survey of secondary sources, and, what is most unique about this work, an assessment of scholarly opportunities for future work. . . . It lays out the scholarly groundwork that has been done on all major aspects of these writers and provides a largely complete bibliography through 1987, American Playwrights will be the starting point for work on these figures for many years to come.”–Library Journal

“This collection of essays describes the state of research on 40 American playwrights who have shaped and influenced the American Stage. Written by experts in American theatre, the essays follow a structure format that contains information on such matters as achievements and reputation, production history, future research opportunities and secondary sources of information. Informative and economically written, this book is a useful tool for theatre and literary practitioners.”–American Theatre

“Since scholars have long needed a comprehensive analytical-bibliographic study of American drama and theatre since the Second World War, it is a delight to announce that that need has at last been largely satisfied. Philip Kolin has succeeded, with the assistance of thirty-nine other experts, in providing us with 'the first scholary, in-depth study of the state of research on and history of performance of forty American playwrights whose work has won acclaim at home and (in many cases) abroad' American Playwrights Since 1945 comprises 'forty analytical bibliographic essays that assess the playwrights' reputrations, offer a production history of their works, and classify, survey, and evaluate scholarly and critical opinion' ...It is fortunate that Greenwood Press has given it not only attractive but sturdy packaging, for the volume will get much use and will long remain one of the handful of essential reference guides to American drama in the post-World War II era.”–Resources for American Literary Study

“In his preface to American Playwrights since 1945 Philip Kolin argues that some of the greatest triumphs and innovations of the American stage have occurred since 1945. In his reference guide to reputations, stage histories, critical and scholarly studies, and the state of research on forty American dramatists, Kolin has amassed a compendium of information on such luminaries as Tennessee Williams, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard; women playwrights such as Wendy Wasserstein, Beth Henley, and Marsha Norman; black playwrights such as Imamu Amiri Baraka, Ed Bullins, and Ntozake Shange; the ethnic writers Maria Irene Fornes and Israel Horowitz; and such socially conscious playwrights as Arthur Kopit, Lanford Wilson, and David Rabe. . . . Scholars, academics, librarians, and theater professionals will wonder how they have survived without it. The scope of the guide--specifically the inclusion of lesser-known writers--its inclusion of interviews in bibliographies, its evaluation of major criticism, and its suggestions for research opportunities will surely stimulate us for years to come.”–World Literature Today

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 610 pages
• Publisher: Greenwood Press (January 23, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0313255431
• ISBN-13: 978-0313255434
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,632,617 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)