Theater: A Crash Course (Crash Course (Watson-Guptill))

Rating:
Summary: A very funny book
Review: I did not think the history of theater could be so funny. The author never condescends, but the information here is presented in a great format that will make you laugh out loud. Highly recommended, especially for all of those theater majors out there.

Rating:
Summary: A very funny book
Review: I did not think the history of theater could be so funny. The author never condescends, but the information here is presented in a great format that will make you laugh out loud. Highly recommended, especially for all of those theater majors out there.

Rating:
Summary: A difficult read
Review: I must confess that I mistook this book for a crash course in modern theatre, hoping it would prove instructive on the inner workings of both professional troupes on Broadway and national tours through the avid community theatre scene in almost every city. I sought explanation of the myriad of colorful theatre terms and their origins. Not here...My bad.
Graham's book is a compendium of theatre history (from pre-history, actually) through today. His convention of using a single two-page spread for each "era" about which he speaks is clever, but neccessarily leaves very few pages for what is commonly considered "theatre" today. In addition, the book uses unusually small, thin type for body text and shrinks most of his colorful illustrations, artwork and photos to near disappearance.
I found none of the humor "laugh-out-loud" funny, though most was witty and wry observation on the foibles of actors, theatre owners, politicians and churchmen over the dramatic arts' long history. (In fact, Graham's biting comments about the church's long repression of theatre arts form a continual underlying, and uncomfortable theme in the book. Seems as if Professor Graham is getting back a bit of his own for the admittedly cruel and non-sensical restrictions of the Christian Church.)
The glossary of theatre terms in the appendix was instructive and could have been substantially longer. I'm simply not a member of the audience to whom this work was prepared. That audience, though, is warned to bring a magnifying glass to the reading room.