The Cambridge Guide to American Theatre [Paperback]

Don B. Wilmeth (Editor), Tice L. Miller (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 13, 1996 | Series: Cambridge Guide

This comprehensive guide provides coverage on American theater from its earliest history to the present, with special attention given to contemporary theater throughout the United States. The entries are arranged alphabetically and provide information on mainstream topics, marginalized and alternative theater, popular forms of theater (including the circus, vaudeville, burlesque, etc.) and key plays in the annals of American theater. Over eighty experts on American theater contributed entries to the guide. In addition to some 2,300 brief entries on people, venues, plays, and other theatrical phenomena, almost 100 topical entries are provided, covering theater in major US cities, essays on such disparate subjects as Asian-American theater, theater architecture, female and male impersonation, magic, costume, Shakespeare on the American stage, unions, Hispanic theater, lighting, dramatic theory, and much more. For further reading, approximately 1,000 additional sources are suggested in the text and in a supplemental bibliography. A special feature is a biographical index of more than 3,000 names mentioned in entries, providing dates and major occupations, and cross-listings are indicated throughout the guide.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

An updated, corrected and expanded edition of the 1993 hardback, containing more than 2,300 listings for actors, writers, directors, plays, musicals, theatres, theatrical organizations and other must-know stage entries. The book also features some 100 topical features, covering theatre in major U.S. cities and other subjects (such as African American theatre, Hispanic theatre, criticism, costumes, puppets, circus, etc.). A highlight of this indispensable guide is a biographical index of more than 3,000 names.

Review

"Wonderfully compact, well written, and generously illustrated, this is recommended for most libraries."
-Library Journal

"A balanced, well written source on the history of American theatre, the Cambridge Guide to American Theatre belongs on the shelf of every fine arts reference collection."
-Reference Book Review

"...a far more inclusive, contemporary and just plain useful book."
-Robert Hurwitt, San Francisco Examiner

"Recommended for all literary reference collections."
-R.R. Centing, Choice

"...an impressive repository of information that every student of American drama--and, more broadly, American culture--will want to own....In the past few months, I have reached for this book scores of times, and have always found its information extremely helpful, its lucid prose a pleasure to read. It is an invaluable reference tool of which eighty-three fine scholars and Cambridge University Press can justifiably be very proud."
-Stephen Watt, The Journal of the American Society for Theatre Research

"...an impressive, comprehensive encyclopedia of the people, plays, performances, and events of theatre and theatre-related activity...extremely valuable resource for anyone interested in the performing arts in this country... one of the major standard reference books in the field."
-Sam Abel, New England Theatre Journal

"...should rapidly become a standard reference work... a major achievement whose myriad uses are as easy to imagine as they are impossible to enumerate."
-Jackson R. Bryer, Times Higher Education Supplement

"...refreshingly unusual in its coverage of the theatrical past of a country that generally does not care much about it. The entries cover a wide range of subjects...an extremely good browse, with so many intriguing cross-references."
-The Economist

"Informative and entertaining...serves admirably for occasional theatergoer to drama expert, covering earliest to contemporary periods....Clearly written, it features cross references, a bibliographical listings and biographical index."
-Lil Medas, The Reading Lamp

"...essentiaL to any library from secondary schools upward....This guide represents an essential source for students and scholars of U.S. theater."
-American Reference Books Annual

"The Cambridge Guide offers broader, more balanced, and more accurate coverage of American theatre."
-MLA: Literary Research Guide

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 477 pages
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press; Upd Sub edition (June 13, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0521564441
• ISBN-13: 978-0521564441
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,578,384 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)