Theater in America: 250 Years of Plays, Players, and Productions

Rating:
Summary: There are theatre history books and then...there is THIS!
Review: There are all kinds of theatre history books out there, and then...there is Theater In America: 250 Years of Plays, Players, and Productions, by Dr. Mary C. Henderson. This book is awesome. And definitely a must for ANYone dedicated to or in love with theatre...especially the history of American Theatre. Our theatre expresses everything we are. Just in the short amount of time we have been a country, we have generated a wealth of theatre history, to be found within the pages of this lavish book. It is HUGE...352 pages of wonderful photographs and very interesting text. Dr. Henderson doesn't just take us from the early days of our country's theatre history to the present in one swoop...no, the wealth of material is divided up into sections, each focusing on an important aspect of theatre history. The first section is devoted to Producers, followed by Playwrights, Directors and Choreographers, Actors, Designers-a section devoted to Scenery, Costumes, and Lighting, then Architects, and Beyond Broadway-which looks at Off-Broadway and theatre companies across America. The final section is a concise Chronology that takes us from 1750 to 1990, listing well-known producers, playwrights, designers, actors, and architects. The amount of research that had to go into this is incredible. What I have enjoyed most are all the amusing anecdotes about the colorful people who make up our theatre history...and do we ever have some colorful people in American Theatre history! I strongly recommend this fine book, not only for theatre lovers or history lovers, but for lovers of lavish coffee table books too...Theater In America delivers.

Rating:
Summary: There are theatre history books and then...there is THIS!
Review: There are all kinds of theatre history books out there, and then...there is Theater In America: 250 Years of Plays, Players, and Productions, by Dr. Mary C. Henderson. This book is awesome. And definitely a must for ANYone dedicated to or in love with theatre...especially the history of American Theatre. Our theatre expresses everything we are. Just in the short amount of time we have been a country, we have generated a wealth of theatre history, to be found within the pages of this lavish book. It is HUGE...352 pages of wonderful photographs and very interesting text. Dr. Henderson doesn't just take us from the early days of our country's theatre history to the present in one swoop...no, the wealth of material is divided up into sections, each focusing on an important aspect of theatre history. The first section is devoted to Producers, followed by Playwrights, Directors and Choreographers, Actors, Designers-a section devoted to Scenery, Costumes, and Lighting, then Architects, and Beyond Broadway-which looks at Off-Broadway and theatre companies across America. The final section is a concise Chronology that takes us from 1750 to 1990, listing well-known producers, playwrights, designers, actors, and architects. The amount of research that had to go into this is incredible. What I have enjoyed most are all the amusing anecdotes about the colorful people who make up our theatre history...and do we ever have some colorful people in American Theatre history! I strongly recommend this fine book, not only for theatre lovers or history lovers, but for lovers of lavish coffee table books too...Theater In America delivers.