Theatre

African American theater buildings were theaters owned or managed by blacks or whites for an African American audience. Such theaters were nickelodeons, vaudeville houses, musical houses and neighborhood movie theaters. Although nearly 2000 African American theater buildings existed in the 20th century, very little has been written about them. The 1,850 theater buildings owned or managed from 1900 to 1960, are arranged by state, then by city, and then alphabetically under the name by which they were known to African American audiences. The street address, dates of operation, number of seats, architect, whether it was a member of TOBA (Theater Owners Booking Association), type of theater (nickelodeon, vaudeville, musical, drama or picture), alternate name(s), race and name of manager or owner, whether the audience was mixed, and the fate of the theater are the details given for each. Commentary by theater historians is also provided.

Published in 1997, this comprehensive directory of more than 600 entries features professional, semi-professional, and academic stage organizations and theatres. Included are the earliest organizations that existed before the Civil War, Black minstrel troupes, pioneer musical show companies, selected vaudeville and road show troupes, professional theatrical associations, booking agencies, stock companies, significant amateur and little theatre groups, Black units of the WPA Federal Theatre, and semi-professional groups in Harlem after the Federal Theatre. The A-Z entries are supplemented with a classified appendix that also includes additional organizations not listed in the main directory, a bibliography, and three indexes for shows, showpeople, and general subjects.

Provides group biographies of most resident acting companies in the U.S. Thirty-three scholars authored eighty-one entries of information from hundreds of published and unpublished sources for dates and locations of the company's operations, names of managers with information about their artistic and business practices, as well as facts about key performers, designers, technicians, and other support personnel. Companies are arranged alphabetically. Each entry concludes with a bibliography along with a chronology of theatre companies, list of companies by state and index of personal names and play titles.

Provides group biographies of most resident acting companies in the U.S. Thirty-three scholars authored eighty-one entries of information from hundreds of published and unpublished sources for dates and locations of the company's operations, names of managers with information about their artistic and business practices, as well as facts about key performers, designers, technicians, and other support personnel. Companies are arranged alphabetically. Each entry concludes with a bibliography along with a chronology of theatre companies, list of companies by state and index of personal names and play titles.

Provides group biographies of most resident acting companies in the U.S. The work consists of seventy-eight entries that profile a wide range of types of theatre companies including art theatres, units of the Federal Theatre project, workers' theatre, experimental theatre groups, ethnic theatre groups, children's theatre companies, and regional repertory companies, large and small. The Profiles section contains information-packed narratives from both published and unpublished sources that describe, analyze, and evaluate management policies, facilities, personnel, and repertories of these organizations. Each entry contains an extensive list of key personnel, including managers, designers, actors, and actresses, as well as plays that company produced. Companies are arranged alphabetically. Each entry concludes with a bibliography along with a chronology of theatre companies, list of companies by state and index of personal names and play titles.

Provides detailed histories of many of the largest and most influential companies worldwide. Intended for reference use by students, business persons, librarians, historians, economists, investors, job candidates, and others who want to learn more about the historical development of the world's most important companies

Considered the most comprehensive study of its time. Covering all the professions involved in staging a play, including theatre scholars. The 110 authors cover 55 countries and over 300 theatre companies, from the well known to more obscure. More than just a directory, it offers essays about companies. See the multi volume set, "American Theatre Companies" for a fuller treatment of U.S. companies.

Documentation for approximately three hundred shows, from 1898 to 1981, is provided in Part I. The title of each show is followed by its theatre, opening date, number of performances, complete list of creative personnel, cast credits, and, where appropriate, a list of the show's songs. Each entry also contains a plot summary, a survey of critical comment, and, where significant, an analysis of the show's historical context. Part II includes biographical entries for major performers, writers, and directors, and notes on those organizations which encouraged the growth and development of black theatre in New York City. The Dictionary concludes with a chronology of all shows included in the text, a discography of black shows, and a selected bibliography of studies related to black theatre history and criticism.

Covers the history of theater as well as the literature of America from 1538 to 1880 with over 1000 cross-referenced entries on actors and actresses, directors, playwrights, producers, genres, notable plays and theatres. The years covered by this volume features the rise of the popular stage during the colonial era and the first century of the United States of America, with an emphasis on its practitioners. Offers a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography.

This book covers the history of theater as well as the literature of America from 1880-1930 with over 2,000 cross-referenced entries on actors and actresses, directors, playwrights, producers, genres, notable plays and theatres. The years covered by this volume features the rise of the popular stage in America from the years following the end of the Civil War to the Golden Age of Broadway, with an emphasis on its practitioners. Entries abound on plays of all kinds, from melodrama to the newly-embraced realistic style, ethnic works (Irish, Yiddish, etc.), and such diverse forms as vaudeville, circus, minstrel shows, temperance plays, etc. Offers a chronology, an introductory essay, and an extensive bibliography.

Provides information on 1000 of the most important plays of world theatre. Each entry contains information including title, author, dates of composition and first performance, genre, composition of the cast, a synopsis of the plot, and a brief commentary.

Offers entries on styles, dramatists, performers, companies, and organizations related to the performing arts.

Offers more than two thousand brief entries about musicals, performers, composers, lyricists, producers, choreographers, and more. Many musicals written specifically for television are included, and many entries follow a work as it moves across genres, from stage, to film, to television.The Companion also includes cross references, a comprehensive listing of recommended recordings, and a useful chronological listing of all the musicals described in the book.

Compiled by one of the best-known authorities on Shakespeare's works, this dictionary offers entries about all aspects of Shakespeare in his own time and on his impact and influence on later ages. Includes entries on the plays and the major characters, on Shakespeare's life and his contemporaries, on actors from Richard Burbage to Judi Dench, on theatres and directors, plus comments on Shakespeare by later authors such as Jane Austen, Dr. Johnson, and Bernard Levin.

Provides entries on playwrights, plays, actors, directors, producers, songwriters, famous playhouses, dramatic movements, and more. Also covers foreign figures that have influenced American dramatic development and other developments and issues in American theatre.

Charts the emergence, development, and diversity of African American Theatre and Performance--from the nineteenth-century African Grove Theatre to Afrofuturism.

Provides an introduction to important people and companies, events, concepts and practices that have defined the complementary fields of theatre and performance studies. Each entry includes important historical and contextual information, extensive cross-referencing, detailed analysis and an annotated bibliography.