Download or read book A History of the American Theatre from Its Origins to 1832 written by William Dunlap and published by University of Illinois Press. This book was released on 2010-10-01 with total page 473 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: As America passed from a mere venue for English plays into a country with its own nationally regarded playwrights, William Dunlap lived the life of a pioneer on the frontier of the fledgling American theatre, full of adventures, mishaps, and close calls. He adapted and translated plays for the American audience and wrote plays of his own as well, learning how theatres and theatre companies operated from the inside out. Dunlap's masterpiece, A History of American Theatre was the first of its kind, drawing on the author's own experiences. In it, he describes the development of theatre in New York, Philadelphia, and South Carolina as well as Congress's first attempts at theatrical censorship. Never before previously indexed, this edition also includes a new introduction by Tice L. Miller.
Download or read book American Theatre written by Theresa Saxon and published by Edinburgh University Press. This book was released on 2011-10-11 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book provides a brief yet informative evaluation of the variety and complexity of theatrical endeavours in the United States, embracing all epochs of theatre history and situating American theatre as a lively, dynamic and diverse arena.
Download or read book A History of African American Theatre written by Errol G. Hill and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-07-17 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents
Download or read book A History of the American Musical Theatre written by Nathan Hurwitz and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2014-06-27 with total page 269 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: From the diverse proto-theatres of the mid-1800s, though the revues of the ‘20s, the ‘true musicals’ of the ‘40s, the politicisation of the ‘60s and the ‘mega-musicals’ of the ‘80s, every era in American musical theatre reflected a unique set of socio-cultural factors. Nathan Hurwitz uses these factors to explain the output of each decade in turn, showing how the most popular productions spoke directly to the audiences of the time. He explores the function of musical theatre as commerce, tying each big success to the social and economic realities in which it flourished. This study spans from the earliest spectacles and minstrel shows to contemporary musicals such as Avenue Q and Spiderman. It traces the trends of this most commercial of art forms from the perspective of its audiences, explaining how staying in touch with writers and producers strove to stay in touch with these changing moods. Each chapter deals with a specific decade, introducing the main players, the key productions and the major developments in musical theatre during that period.
Download or read book America s Longest Run written by Andrew Davis and published by Penn State Press. This book was released on 2010-01-01 with total page 428 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: America&’s Longest Run: A History of the Walnut Street Theatre traces the history of America&’s oldest theater. The Philadelphia landmark has been at or near the center of theatrical activity since it opened, as a circus, on February 2, 1809. This book documents the players and productions that appeared at this venerable house and the challenges the Walnut has faced from economic crises, changing tastes, technological advances, and competition from new media. The Walnut&’s history is a classic American success story. Built in the early years of the nineteenth century, the Walnut responded to the ever-changing tastes and desires of the theatergoing public. Originally operated as a stock company, the Walnut has offered up every conceivable form of entertainment&—pageantry and spectacle, opera, melodrama, musical theater, and Shakespeare. It escaped the wrecking ball during the Depression by operating as a burlesque house, a combination film and vaudeville house, and a Yiddish theater, before becoming the Philadelphia headquarters for the Federal Theatre Project. Because Philadelphia is located so close to New York City, the Walnut has served as a tryout house for many Broadway-bound shows, including A Streetcar Named Desire, The Diary of Anne Frank, and A Raisin in the Sun. Today, the Walnut operates as a nonprofit performing arts center. It is one of the most successful producing theaters in the country, with more than 350,000 attending performances each year.
Download or read book A History of Asian American Theatre written by Esther Kim Lee and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2006-10-12 with total page 219 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book surveys the history of Asian American theatre from 1965 to 2005.
Download or read book History of the Theatre written by Oscar Gross Brockett and published by . This book was released on 1974 with total page 706 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book The American Theatre Wing an Oral History written by Patrick Pacheco and published by Applause Theatre & Cinema. This book was released on 2017-09-12 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: (Applause Books). In 1943, a wounded soldier aided by a cane limped into the Stage Door Canteen, the American Theatre Wing's fabled New York club created to entertain the Allied forces. Two hours later, he was said to have left with a spring in his step and without the cane. This "miracle" is recounted in the lavish new book, The American Theatre Wing, an Oral History: 100 Years, 100 Voices, 100 Million Miracles . The other 999,999 miracles are more commonplace, if no less remarkable, told by the impassioned artists and theater advocates who created and sustained this preeminent theatrical organization founded in 1917. While the American Theatre Wing is best known as the founder of the Tony Awards, its mission is also dedicated to preserving the past, celebrating the present, and fostering the future of American theater by developing educational programs and distributing national grants and awards each year to performers and theater companies. The organization also recently took under its wing the irreverent OBIE awards, the top honors for off-Broadway that has become a dynamic pipeline for Broadway. This coffee-table book, celebrating the 100th Anniversary of the American Theatre Wing, is a fascinating cornucopia of untold lore and never-before-seen photos as prismatic and unexpected as the theater itself. The oral history traces the American Theatre Wing as a defender of the country's most romantic ideals through two world wars, presciently establishing an interracial policy at the Stage Door Canteen despite being denounced from the well of the United States Senate. In succeeding decades the ATW has burnished those ideals through its unflagging support of artists from Broadway, Off Broadway, and regional theater many of whom vividly tell their own stories in the book, including Angela Lansbury, Patti LuPone, Audra McDonald, Harold Prince, Neil Patrick Harris, James Corden, and Lin-Manuel Miranda.
Download or read book The Making of Theatre History written by Paul Kuritz and published by PAUL KURITZ. This book was released on 1988 with total page 478 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book Historical Guide to Children s Theatre in America written by Nellie McCaslin and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 1987-08-04 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: [A] long overdue retrospective of the major playwrights, theatre companies, and professional organizations which have sustained the children's theatre movement in this country. . . . Part One of McCaslin's book is a historical overview of the significant trends and changes which have characterized children's theatre and influenced the art and craft of playwriting. . . . Part Two, the bulk of McCaslin's guide, contains an alphabetical listing of over 350 educational, community, and commercial theatre companies as wella s national and regional organizations--some no longer operating--which have made children's theatre the main thrust of their work. . . . Several appendixes augment the usefulness of this altogether practical and meticulously researched reference book. Children's Literature Association Quarterly An authoritative reference for children's theater professionals, educators, and enthusiasts, McCaslin's historical guide will be frequently used in public, college, and university libraries. ARBA Those who are associated with children's theater in any way will want to study this book thoroughly and keep it as a handy reference guide. . . . Thanks to Nellie McCaslin, the history of children's theater can take its rightful place beside all other theater history. Applause Professor McCaslin, a leading authority in the field, examines the history of the companies and organizations that struggled to bring live theatrical entertainment to children from 1903, beginning with a theater founded by a settlement house on New York's Lower East Side, to the present day. She begins with an overview of children's theatre history. The main text consists of alphabetically arranged profiles of both early and current producing companies and associations that have made a significant contribution to the field. Appendixes to the volume supply a Personalities Roster, a Geographical Index, and a Chronology of Events significant in the history of the children's theatre movement.
Download or read book London in a Box written by Odai Johnson and published by University of Iowa Press. This book was released on 2017-05-15 with total page 296 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2017 Theatre Library Association Freedley Award Finalist In this remarkable feat of historical research, Odai Johnson pieces together the surviving fragments of the story of the first professional theatre troupe based in the British North American colonies. In doing so, he tells the story of how colonial elites came to decide they would no longer style themselves British gentlemen, but instead American citizens. London in a Box chronicles the enterprise of David Douglass, founder and manager of the American Theatre, from the 1750s to the climactic 1770s. How he built this network of patrons and theatres and how it all went up in flames as the revolution began is the subject of this witty history. A treat for anyone interested in the world of the American Revolution and an important study for historians of the period.
Download or read book Dramaturgy in American Theater written by Susan Jonas and published by Cengage Learning. This book was released on 1997 with total page 622 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This comprehensive work is truly the first textbook in the field of dramaturgy. Most of the material-much of it by leaders in all areas of the theater-was commissioned for this collection, rather than being reprinted. Its currency and importance cannot be overestimated. A review of the history of dramaturgy as a profession, together with its European antecedents, gives students a sense of historical context. Selections from respected and recognized names in theater provoke student interest and communicate the benefits of those experts' experiences.
Download or read book A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States written by Nicolás Kanellos and published by University of Texas Press. This book was released on 1990-03-01 with total page 289 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Hispanic theatre flourished in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century until the beginning of the Second World War—a fact that few theatre historians know. A History of Hispanic Theatre in the United States: Origins to 1940 is the very first study of this rich tradition, filled with details about plays, authors, artists, companies, houses, directors, and theatrical circuits. Sixteen years of research in public and private archives in the United States, Mexico, Spain, and Puerto Rico inform this study. In addition, Kanellos located former performers and playwrights, forgotten scripts, and old photographs to bring the life and vitality of live theatre to his text. He organizes the book around the cities where Hispanic theatre was particularly active, including Los Angeles, San Antonio, New York, and Tampa, as well as cities on the touring circuit, such as Laredo, El Paso, Tucson, and San Francisco. Kanellos charts the major achievements of Hispanic theatre in each city—playwriting in Los Angeles, vaudeville and tent theatre in San Antonio, Cuban/Spanish theatre in Tampa, and pan-Hispanism in New York—as well as the individual careers of several actors, writers, and directors. And he uncovers many gaps in the record—reminders that despite its popularity, Hispanic theatre was often undervalued and unrecorded.
Download or read book American Musical Theatre written by Gerald Martin Bordman and published by Oxford University Press, USA. This book was released on 1992 with total page 840 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Gerald Bordman's American Musical Theatre has become a landmark book since its publication in 1978. It chronicles American musicals, show by show and season by season, and offers a running commentary and assessment as well as providing the basic facts about each production. This updated edition includes the new shows that have opened on Broadway since the original publication. Also included are over a hundred musicals that were turn-of-the-century, cheap-priced touring shows which never played Broadway, but were the training ground for many theatre greats.
Download or read book Century of Innovation written by Oscar Gross Brockett and published by Allyn & Bacon. This book was released on 1991 with total page 552 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:
Download or read book American Avant garde Theatre written by Arnold Aronson and published by Psychology Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 264 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book offers the first in-depth look at avant-garde theatre in the United States from the early 1950s to the 1990s looking at its origins and its theoretical foundations through an examination of literature, cinema and art.
Download or read book Our Musicals Ourselves written by John Bush Jones and published by Brandeis University Press. This book was released on 2011-04-17 with total page 650 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Our Musicals, Ourselves is the first full-scale social history of the American musical theater from the imported Gilbert and Sullivan comic operas of the late nineteenth century to such recent musicals as The Producers and Urinetown. While many aficionados of the Broadway musical associate it with wonderful, diversionary shows like The Music Man or My Fair Lady, John Bush Jones instead selects musicals for their social relevance and the extent to which they engage, directly or metaphorically, contemporary politics and culture. Organized chronologically, with some liberties taken to keep together similarly themed musicals, Jones examines dozens of Broadway shows from the beginning of the twentieth century to the present that demonstrate numerous links between what played on Broadway and what played on newspapersÕ front pages across our nation. He reviews the productions, lyrics, staging, and casts from the lesser-known early musicals (the ÒgunboatÓ musicals of the Teddy Roosevelt era and the ÒCinderella showsÓ and Òleisure time musicalsÓ of the 1920s) and continues his analysis with better-known shows including Showboat, Porgy and Bess, Oklahoma, South Pacific, West Side Story, Cabaret, Hair, Company, A Chorus Line, and many others. While most examinations of the American musical focus on specific shows or emphasize the development of the musical as an art form, JonesÕs book uses musicals as a way of illuminating broader social and cultural themes of the times. With six appendixes detailing the long-running diversionary musicals and a foreword by Sheldon Harnick, the lyricist of Fiddler on the Roof, JonesÕs comprehensive social history will appeal to both students and fans of Broadway.
