Fisher (theater, Univ. of North Carolina, Greensboro) here presents a broad survey of plays, playwrights, institutions, and cultural changes that have had an impact on the remarkable 80-year theatrical history covered in these two volumes. As usual with such texts, decisions had to be made as to what to include and, just as important, what to exclude. The “Reader’s Note” that opens Volume I discusses the guidelines used to make such decisions. Of great value to students and general readers is the 20-page chronology, highlighting theatrical events and historical contexts. It is followed by an informative and readable 17-page introduction. Since this is a dictionary, not an encyclopedia, entries are relatively short and to the point, ranging from one-third of a page (“Bishop, Andre”) to one page (“Chekov on the U.S. Stage”). BOTTOM LINE This set serves as an excellent companion to Fisher and Felicia Hardison Londré’s Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism (Scarecrow, 2007). An excellent resource for those needing definitions, clarifications, and a starting point for further research.

Library Journal

Part of the publisher’s Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts, these volumes complement
Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism (2007). This particular set is focused on live
American stage, not delving into musicals, television, and film. The dictionary provides information about the who, what, why, when, and how of American theater during the period 1930–2010. The author has more than 30 years of teaching theater and leading a theater department in higher education and has written two plays in addition to numerous articles, papers, and more. The dictionary is organized into three major sections: introductory information (acronyms and abbreviations and a chronology as well as an overview broken down by historical events or decades), the dictionary entries, and a bibliography. Entries are arranged alphabetically and include boldface words cross-referencing other entries in the dictionary. Ranging in length from a few paragraphs to several pages, the entries are written in a manner that does not assume a lot of prior knowledge about American theater. Major plays, playwrights, performers, theater companies and producing organizations, movements, and themes are among the topics that are covered. In the categorized bibliography, a table of contents assists the researcher in finding sources. Recommended for academic and public libraries.

Booklist

This two-volume set highlights the prominent people, movements, events, and organizations that shaped American theater from 1930 to 2010. Fisher offers a well-executed introductory essay that references the cultural changes that influenced the theatrical experiences of the period. Supplementing the essay is a chronology featuring detailed impacts of events on theater year by year. The 1,500-plus entries are well chosen and informative, though infused with a sometimes rather complicated cross-referencing convention. An extensive bibliography including comments from the author completes this work. This volume is part of the "Historical Dictionaries of Literature and the Arts" series, which consists of three works. According to the foreword, the first in the series, which is yet to be published, will deal with the beginnings of theater to 1880. The second volume in the series covers 1880 to 1930. This is an excellent resource for theater practitioners and for scholarly researchers. ... Recommended.

Choice Reviews

This book is a tool for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know more about the history of American theater.

Monmouth University Magazine

The dictionary has over 1,700 entries, including playwrights, actors, directors, producers, designers, critics, agents, technical developments, genres, companies, and unions. There are entries on all kinds of theatre, individual plays, and major themes. Play entries include brief plot summaries, critical responses, leading actors and noted revivals. ... For students of contemporary American drama, this book will be an excellent source of reference.

Reference Reviews