Theatre studies Books

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Book SynopsisUsing Euripides' play Helen as the main point of reference, C. W. Marshall expands our understanding of Athenian tragedy and Classical performance. The book focuses on structure to reveal how directorial decisions and the assumptions held by the ancient audience shape meaning in performance.Table of Contents1. Helen and the evidence for performance; 2. Structure; 3. Protean Helen; 4. Chorus and music; 5. Andromeda; 6. Stage directions; 7. Directorial decisions; 8. The mask of beauty.

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Book SynopsisThis unique and colourful history tells the story of Thomas Heywood's playing company, the Queen's Servants, and their playhouse, The Red Bull. Eva Griffith makes use of extensive research to set the playhouse in the context of Jacobean London, offering new insights into the development of drama during Shakespeare's age.Trade Review'The last book about The Red Bull's plays and their staging came out more than eighty years ago. At the time, it offered a wholly fresh approach to Shakespearean playing. Studiously written by George F. Reynolds, and working from a well-documented body of evidence, freshly assessed, it became the first in a long series of studies of specific acting companies and their repertoire of plays, most of them much more recent, and all attempting to identify how the plays were meant to be staged at their original venues. Eva Griffith has written an admirable replacement for Reynolds's great work, adding masses of fresh information about the families and their interests behind the company and their playhouse, as well as clarifying many features of the company's remarkable repertoire. Her book will rightly take its place among the works that have clarified and helped to explain the activities of that uniquely fertile period in English theatre.' Andrew Gurr, University of Reading'With its wealth of fresh information on repertoire, players, and locale, A Jacobean Company and its Playhouse is a richly documented, timely, and elegant volume which succeeds, admirably, in its bold vision to readdress the whole question of the Queen's Servants at the Red Bull Theatre.' Rebecca A. Bailey, The Seventeenth Century'It is a pleasure to record that this eagerly awaited volume amply fulfils expectations … Time and again, Griffith uncovers new evidence that makes us question prevailing orthodoxies in theatre history … [Her] monograph will become, rightly, the standard work on the Red Bull for many years to come, but it has much to teach anyone interested in this, the most vibrant and sophisticated period in English theatrical history.' Richard Rowland, Recusant History'Griffith's rich account of the Queen's Servants and the Red Bull transforms the company's archival presence into a clear and compelling narrative that adds significantly to an understanding not only of this particular company's history and repertoire, but also of how Jacobean theatrical companies operated more broadly. A Jacobean Company does indeed provide 'much-needed data'; but it also eloquently arranges that data into a story replete with 'the kinds of contexts that all histories of theatres deserve to have'.' Jonathan Koch, The Shakespeare NewsletterTable of ContentsIntroduction: The Red Bull Theatre, St John Street; 1. Elizabethan contexts for a Jacobean playhouse: Clerkenwell, East Anglia, the Strand and the Liberty of the Clink (1586–99); 2. The Earl of Worcester, the Essex Circle, the Queen's Servants and their playhouses (1586–1607); 3. Who were the Queen's Servants? What was the Red Bull like?; 4. The court and its women: Queen Anna, her circle, and some women-centred plays; 5. Entities and splinter groups: the Queen's Servants' companies at the courts, in England and in Europe; 6. The company: 1605–12; 7. The company: 1612–19; Conclusion: St John's Day at night.

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Book SynopsisMichael Y. Bennett's accessible Introduction explains the complex, multidimensional nature of the works and writers associated with the absurd - a label placed upon a number of writers who revolted against traditional theatre and literature in both similar and widely different ways. Setting the movement in its historical, intellectual and cultural contexts, Bennett provides an in-depth overview of absurdism and its key figures in theatre and literature, from Samuel Beckett and Harold Pinter to Tom Stoppard. Chapters reveal the movement's origins, development and present-day influence upon popular culture around the world, employing the latest research to this often challenging area of study in a balanced and authoritative approach. Essential reading for students of literature and theatre, this book provides the necessary tools to interpret and develop the study of a movement associated with some of the twentieth century's greatest and most influential cultural figures.Trade Review'In his latest book Michael Bennett sets out to provide a scholarly but reader-friendly appraisal of the literary and dramatic manifestations of the absurd. … this book manages to be both an accessible introduction to readers unfamiliar with the absurd and a thought-provoking addition to absurd criticism.' Pedro Querido, Modern Language ReviewTable of Contents1. Introduction: overview of the absurd; 2. Setting the stage; 3. The emergence of a 'movement': the historical and intellectual contexts; 4. Samuel Beckett; 5. Beckett's notable contemporaries; 6. The European and American wave of absurdism; 7. Post-absurdism?; 8. Absurd criticism.

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Book SynopsisIn this book Professor Mastronarde draws on the seventeen surviving tragedies of Euripides, as well as the fragmentary remains of his lost plays, to explore key topics in the interpretation of the plays. It investigates their relation to the Greek poetic tradition and to the social and political structures of their original setting, aiming both to be attentive to the great variety of the corpus and to identify commonalities across it. In examining such topics as genre, structural strategies, the chorus, the gods, rhetoric, and the portrayal of women and men, this study highlights the ways in which audience responses are manipulated through the use of plot structures and the multiplicity of viewpoints expressed. It argues that the dramas of Euripides, through their dramatic technique, pose a strong challenge to simple formulations of norms, to the reading of consistent human character, and to the quest for certainty and closure.Trade Review'… for a scholar of ancient drama, this is a valuable study. It aggregates different strands of research tradition and handles them as a whole, but the main attention remains focussed on Euripides' dramatic texts.' De novis libris iudiciaTable of ContentsPreface; 1. Approaching Euripides; 2. Problems of genre; 3. Dramatic structures: variety and unity; 4. The chorus; 5. The gods; 6. Rhetoric and character; 7. Women; 8. Euripidean males and the limits of autonomy; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisEuripides' Medea comes alive in this new translation that will be useful for both academic study and stage production. Diane J. Rayor's accurate yet accessible translation reflects the play's inherent theatricality and vibrant poetry. The book includes an analytical introduction and comprehensive notes, and an essay on directing Medea by stage director Karen Libman. The play begins after Medea, a princess in her own land, has sacrificed everything for Jason: she helped him in his quest for the Golden Fleece, eloped with him to Greece, and bore him sons. When Jason breaks his oath to her and betrays her by marrying the king's daughter - his ticket to the throne - Medea contemplates the ultimate retribution. What happens when words deceive and those you trust most do not mean what they say? Euripides' most enduring Greek tragedy is a fascinating and disturbing story of how far a woman will go to take revenge in a man's world.Trade Review'Diane Rayor's new translation of Medea is accurate and playable. Performers, directors, and students will find the help they need in the well-informed notes, and audiences and readers will enjoy the beauties of the poetry, which is lean, unpretentious, and powerfully direct.' John Gibert, University of Colorado'Diane Rayor's Medea, forged in and for live performance, energetically renders Euripides for a contemporary audience. Spare yet graceful, this close translation uses natural English idiom while preserving the cultural background of the original. With engaging notes to supplement the text, this is an excellent choice for the classroom or any reader who wants to see why Medea is a masterpiece.' Deborah Boedeker, Brown University'This Medea is the most accessible translation that I have ever come across. There is nothing intimidating here. The text is fresh, telling the story in a direct, clear language best appreciated when spoken aloud. The author provides copious notes on the verse and essays that help the reader contextualize the play. It is an ideal choice for students or actors.' Chris Hayes, Director, London Theatre ExchangeTable of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Scene list; 3. Cast of characters; 4. Medea; 5. On directing Medea by Karen Libman; 6. Notes.

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Book SynopsisFounded by Bertolt Brecht and his wife Helene Weigel in 1949, the Berliner Ensemble's productions and philosophy have been hugely influential on the work of theatre-makers around the world. David Barnett's book is the first study of the company in any language and is based upon extensive archival research.Trade Review'Barnett's history of the company is a major achievement and a fascinating read.' Laura Bradley, University of Edinburgh'Remarkably, Barnett's is the first history of the Berliner Ensemble to appear in any language. Written in English, this volume redressed that balance, reaching beyond Brecht scholars to theater practitioners and general audiences internationally.' Sam Williams, Das Brecht-JahrbuchTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. The Berliner Ensemble as an opportunity to establish a new type of theatre; 2. The founding and the first season of the Berliner Ensemble; 3. The Berliner Ensemble's years at the Deutsches Theater: 1949–53; 4. Brecht's last seasons at the Theater am Schiffbauerdamm: 1954–6; 5. Developing the Brechtian legacy: 1956–61; 6. Making theatre politically after the Berlin Wall: 1961–5; 7. Years of crisis: 1966–71; 8. A new beginning: 1971–4; 9. A new crisis: 1974–7; 10. A safe pair of hands: 1977–81; 11. Crisis and stagnation: 1981–9; 12. Wekwerth's last stand: 1989–91; 13. From gang of five to power of one: 1992–5; 14. The last hurrahs: 1996–9; Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisA comprehensive history of Roman drama from its beginnings until the end of the Republican period. Its clear structure and full bibliography also ensure that the book has value as a source of reference for all upper-level students and scholars of Latin literature and ancient drama.Table of ContentsIntroduction: previous scholarship and the present approach; Part I. The Cultural and Institutional Background: 1. The evolution of Roman drama; 2. Production and reception; Part II. Dramatic Poetry: 3. Dramatic genres; 4. Dramatic poets; 5. Dramatic themes and techniques; Overview and conclusions: Republican drama.

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Book SynopsisThe greatest actor of his day, Sir Henry Irving (1838â1905) thrilled audiences with his tragedy and melodrama, his Hamlet and Richard III, most famously at the Lyceum Theatre in London. Born John Henry Brodribb, he took the name Irving for his first professional stage appearance in 1856. A long and exhausting apprenticeship followed, during which he played some 700 roles in theatres up and down the country before establishing his reputation in 1871 in the psychological thriller The Bells. In 1878, he took over the Lyceum and here, with his business manager Bram Stoker (1847â1912) and actress Ellen Terry (rumoured to be his mistress), he became the theatrical icon of his age. This engaging two-volume tribute by Stoker, his closest friend, was first published in 1906. Volume 1 includes reminiscences of Irving's Shakespeare, performances of The Bells, Faust and Tennyson's plays, Ellen Terry's acting and his appearances in America.Table of ContentsPreface; 1. Earliest recollections of Henry Irving; 2. The old school and the new; 3. Friendship; 4. Honours from Dublin university; 5. Converging streams; 6. Joining forces; 7. The Lyceum productions; 8. Irving begins management; 9. Shakespeare plays - 1; 10. Shakespeare plays - 2; 11. Shakespeare plays - 3; 12. Shakespeare plays - 4; 13. Irving's method; 14. Art-sense; 15. Stage effects; 16. The value of experiment; 17. The pulse of the public; 18. Tennyson and his plays - 1; 19. Tennyson and his plays - 2; 20. Tennyson and his plays - 3; 21. Tennyson and his plays - 4; 22. Waterloo - King Arthur - Don Quixote; 23. Art and hazard; 24. Vandenhoff; 25. Charles Matthews; 26. Charles Dickens and Henry Irving; 27. Mr J. M. Levy; 28. Visits to America; 29. William Winter; 30. Performance at West Point; 31. American reporters; 32. Tours-de-force; 33. Christmas; 34. Irving as a social force; 35. Visits of foreign warships; 36. Irving's last reception at the Lyceum; 37. The voice of England; 38. Rival towns; 39. Two stories; 40. Sir Richard Burton; 41. Sir Henry Morton Stanley; 42. Arminius Vambéry.

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Book SynopsisInspired by 'gratitude to the actor and duty to the public, to perpetuate the character of excellence, and afford models for imitation to future artists', this two-volume 1827 biography of acclaimed tragedian Sarah Siddons (17551831) fed popular obsession with theatrical anecdote and criticism in an age of transformation for the English stage.Table of Contents12. Produce of the benefit; 13. The royal patronage of Mrs Siddons; 14. Consequences of such great popularity; 15. Preliminary observations; 16. Absolute attraction of Mrs Siddons; 17. Season of 1786–7; 18. Importance to Mrs Siddons of her brother's management; 19. Mrs Siddons quits London for a season; 20. Kotzebue adds two characters to the list of Mrs Siddons; 21. Illness of Mrs Siddons.

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Book SynopsisBritish theatre underwent a vast transformation and expansion in the decades after World War II. This Companion ranges beyond plays alone to guide students through the historical, social and political contexts that enabled and shaped such significant change.

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Book SynopsisOffers new perspectives on Synge's well-known plays by situating them in less familiar historical contexts. Exploring concepts of performance, modernity and progress, this book opens up Synge criticism to the insights of performance studies. It will be of interest to scholars and students of Irish studies, English drama, theatre and performance.Trade Review'Lecossois's fresh perspective is extremely relevant to performance studies and Irish studies … recommended.' W. S. Brockman, ChoiceTable of Contents1. Staging authenticity; 2. The spectacle of modernity; 3. Performing the repertoire; 4. 'Queer bodies': counter-modern modes of embodiment; 5. Unresolved temporalities; 6. Creative failures.

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Book SynopsisBetween 1895 and 1922 the Anglo-American actor and manager, Maurice E. Bandmann (18721922) created a theatrical circuit that extended from Gibraltar to Tokyo and included regular tours to the West Indies and South America. With headquarters in Calcutta and Cairo and companies listed on the Indian stock exchange, his operations represent a significant shift towards the globalization of theatre. This study focuses on seven key areas: family networks; the business of theatrical touring; the politics of locality; repertoire and publics; an ethnography of itinerant acting; legal disputes and the provision of theatrical infrastructure. It draws on global and transnational history, network theory and analysis as well as in-depth archival research to provide a new approach to studying theatre in the age of empire.Trade Review'The theatrical enterprises of Maurice E. Bandmann played, at the start of the twentieth century, a highly significant role in promoting Western plays, musical comedies and revues throughout Asia, but they have been hitherto overlooked by historians. Christopher B. Balme has, through ingenious and thorough research, reconstituted the manifold activities of this pioneering manager. More importantly, he has situated them as a hub from which to explore such matters as global networks, transnational commerce, intercultural relations, playhouse architecture, and the diffusion of taste. His enquiries open out into thought-provoking analyses that stretch far beyond theatre itself. The result is an engrossing and intellectually stimulating study which is bound to open up new directions in theatre scholarship, much as Bandmann blazed trails in India and the Far East.' Laurence Senelick, Fletcher Professor of Drama and Oratory, Tufts University'This ground-breaking study provides new insights into theatrical touring in an age of globalization, particularly across the Asian continent, and the networks that made it possible. Focussing on the circuit developed by Maurice E. Bandmann in the late-nineteenth and early-twentieth century, it charts the impact of economics and politics on touring theatre and its structures, while also investigating managerial practices, performer and spectator experience, and the types of repertoire presented. Balme's informative and carefully researched book is an important addition to our understanding of transnational theatre practices and networks in a period of significant change and increasing internationalisation.' Jim Davis, University of WarwickTable of ContentsIntroduction; 1. Family networks; 2. Mobile enterprises; 3. The micropolitics of locality; 4. Repertoires and publics; 5. Transported actors; 6. Contested contracts; 7. Infrastructure: from theatre to cinema; 8. Legacies.

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Book SynopsisA multi-disciplinary, contemporary analysis of one of the most important musicals of the twentieth century. Leading scholars in music, theatre, dance, literature, and performance introduce the history, creation, content, and legacy of West Side Story, and its cultural contexts and challenges, including class, colourism, and race.

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Book SynopsisThis volume of essays discusses the European and global expansion of Italian opera and the significance of this process for debates on opera at home in Italy. Covering different parts of Europe, the Americas, Southeast and East Asia, it investigates the impact of transnational musical exchanges on notions of national identity associated with the production and reception of Italian opera across the world. As a consequence of these exchanges between composers, impresarios, musicians and audiences, ideas of operatic Italianness (italianità) constantly changed and had to be reconfigured, reflecting the radically transformative experience of time and space that throughout the nineteenth century turned opera into a global aesthetic commodity. The book opens with a substantial introduction discussing key concepts in cross-disciplinary perspective and concludes with an epilogue relating its findings to different historiographical trends in transnational opera studies.

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Book SynopsisAlthough nineteenth-century legislation had tried to ensure a precise separation between genre and institution for Parisian music in the theatre, it had inadvertently laid out a field on which the politics of genre could be played out as agents and actors of all types deployed various forms of artistic power. During the Second Empire, from 1854 until 1870, the state took over day-to-day control of the Opéra in ways that were without precedent. Every element of the Opéra''s activity was subjugated to the exigency of Empire; the selection or artists, works and more general questions of artistic policy were handed over to politicians. The Opéra effectively became a branch of government. The result was a stagnation of the Opéra''s repertory, and beneficiaries were the composers of larger-scale works for competing organisations: the Opéra Comique and the Théâtre Lyrique.Table of Contents1. Introduction; 2. Technologies of power; 3. Artistic management; 4. Repertory; 5. The diplomatic imperative; 6. Opera, power and repertory; 7. Other pasts, other presents; 8. French pasts; 9. Opéra comique; 10. Conclusion.

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Book SynopsisGreat art is about emotion. In the eighteenth century, and especially for the English stage, critics developed a sensitivity to both the passions of a performance and what they called the transitions between those passions. It was these pivotal transitions, scripted by authors and executed by actors, that could make King Lear beautiful, Hamlet terrifying, Archer hilarious and Zara electrifying. James Harriman-Smith recovers a lost way of appreciating theatre as a set of transitions that produce simultaneously iconic and dynamic spectacles; fascinating moments when anything seems possible. Offering fresh readings and interpretations of Shakespearean and eighteenth-century tragedy, historical acting theory and early character criticism, this volume demonstrates how a concern with transition binds drama to everything, from lyric poetry and Newtonian science, to fine art and sceptical enquiry into the nature of the self.Trade ReviewCriticism, Performance and the Passions in the Eighteenth Century is an impressive study of the theory and practice of eighteenth-century acting. Focusing on 'transition' as a key component of the actor's art, James Harriman-Smith offers us a new way to understand and appreciate the emotional power of theatrical performance in the age of David Garrick. Conceptually astute and deeply immersed in primary sources, his book is a major contribution to British theatre history. Richard Schoch, Queen's University BelfastHarriman-Smith's strikingly original work is on the performance of 'transitions' – emotional turns from one passion to another – in the long eighteenth century. Using information gathered from plays, letters, manuals on speaking and acting, promptbooks, periodicals and paintings, Theatre and the Passions in the Eighteenth Century: The Art of Transition shows how 'jolts' in the passions affected everything from David Garrick's performances to the writing of lyric odes and the construction of Shakespeare criticism. The extraordinary insights offered by this book will transform our understanding performance and text in the eighteenth-century. Tiffany Stern, University of Birmingham'The Art of Transition is a welcome and even thrilling book because it offers its reader a new word for thinking about - and through that word, a new way of reading - the eighteenth-century archive.' David Francis Taylor, The Scriblerian and the Kit-CatsTable of Contents1. Dramatic Transition; 2. Zara; 3. Odes; 4. King Lear; 5. Dramatic Character.

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Book SynopsisOriginally published in 1923, this book addresses the old controversy regarding the exact location of the Globe Theatre. Through a wealth of evidence extracted from the records concerning Shakespeare's London, George Hubbard presents compelling evidence for placing the site of Shakespeare's playhouse to the north of Maiden Lane.Table of ContentsPreface; On the site of the Globe Playhouse of Shakespeare, lying to the North of Maiden Lane, Bankside, Southwark.

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Book SynopsisThose whose thoughts of musical theatre are dominated by the Broadway musical will find this book a revelation. From the 1850s to the early 1930s, when urban theatres sought to mount glamorous musical entertainment, it was to operetta that they turned. It was a form of musical theatre that crossed national borders with ease and was adored by audiences around the world. This collection of essays by an array of international scholars examines the key figures in operetta in many different countries. It offers a critical and historical study of the widespread production of operetta and of the enthusiasm with which it was welcomed. Furthermore, it challenges nationalistic views of music and approaches operetta as a cosmopolitan genre. This Cambridge Companion contributes to a widening appreciation of the music of operetta and a deepening knowledge of the cultural importance of operetta around the world.Trade Review'… finally, a collection of essays published by Cambridge University Press makes some of these new debates [about operetta] available to an English speaking audience … a great overview of many new trends in scholarship … attractively packaged and priced.' Kevin Clarke, Operetta Research Center'… the editors can be congratulated on the breadth and variety of the contents. Aimed at varying levels of knowledge as the chapters are, the book should provide informative reading for operetta students of a wide range of knowledge …' Andrew Lamb, www.zarzuela.net'I defy you not to learn something and expand your knowledge by reading this Companion. It is also the sort of book to return to again and again to look up a reference, or to find information in one of the many bibliographies. In short, a veritable mine of information and well worth the small price asked … Highly recommended!' John Groves, Operetta Research Center'[This book] deserves to take its place ... on the short (but growing) bookshelf of every operetta lover.' Richard Bratby, Gramophone'The 18 essays in this excellent compendium look at the origin, development, and distinct national characteristics of various types of light musical dramatic types that came to be known collectively as operetta … this book will interest scholars of Jewish studies as well as scholars of music and drama. The bibliography is excellent, as are lists of books and films … Highly recommended.' W. E. Grim, ChoiceTable of ContentsIntroduction Anastasia Belina and Derek B. Scott; Part I. Early Centres of Operetta: 1. French operetta: Offenbach and company John Kendrick; 2. Viennese Golden-Age operetta: drinking, dancing and social criticism in a multi-ethnic empire Lisa Feurzeig; 3. London and Gilbert and Sullivan Bruno Bower; 4. Hungarians and Hungarianisms in operetta and folk plays in the late Habsburg and post-Habsburg era Lynn Hooker; 5. Operetta in the Czech National Revival – the Provisional Theatre years Jan Smaczy; Part II. The Global Expansion of Operetta: 6. Going global: the international spread of Viennese Silver-Age operetta Stefan Frey; 7. Spain and Zarzuela Christopher Webber; 8. Camping along the American operetta divide (on the road to the musical play) Raymond Knapp; 9. Operetta in Russia and the USSR Anastasia Belina; 10. Operetta in the Nordic countries (1850–1970) Pentti Paavolainen; 11. Operetta in Greece Avra Xepapadakou; Part III. Operetta since 1900: 12. The operetta factory: production systems of Silver-Age Vienna Micaela Baranello; 13. Berlin operetta Tobias Becker; 14. Operetta in Italy Valeria De Lucca; 15. Operetta in Warsaw Anastasia Belina; 16. British operetta after Gilbert and Sullivan Derek B. Scott; 17. Operetta during the Nazi regime Matthias Kauffmann; 18. Operetta films Derek B. Scott; 19. 'Jazz was the dynamite that exploded the harmlessness of the Viennese operetta!' (Interviewer: Ulrich Lenz.) Interview with Barrie Kosky.

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Book SynopsisThe long-awaited and wildly entertaining memoir of the star of stage and screen, the legendary Chita Rivera—three-time Tony Award–winner, Kennedy Centers honoree, and recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom.She was born Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero—until the entertainment world renamed her.Trade Review“Chita Rivera blazed a trail where none existed so the rest of us could see a path forward. She has been part of some of the greatest musicals in the history of the form, from Anita in the trailblazing West Side Story through Claire Zachanassian in the underrated masterpiece The Visit, over 60 years later. She is a Puerto Rican Broadway icon and the original ‘triple threat.’ We’re so lucky to be alive in the same timeline as Chita Rivera." — Lin-Manuel Miranda "A frank and fascinating memoir from one of the truly great artists of the American Theater. Lots of stories … Lots of insight … and quite a few caustic statements from Chita’s alter ego, Dolores. An illuminating history and a guaranteed pleasure!" — John Kander "Playful and history-rich ... Broadway-loving readers will appreciate the play-by-play (pun intended) of this fizzy book." — New York Times "This deserves a standing ovation." — Publishers Weekly "Chita’s magnificent memoir literally danced off the page and into my heart with her signature style, wit, humor, warmth, and humility. It was as if she was giving me a personal glimpse into the golden years of show biz and beyond. It’s filled with Chita’s loves, laughs, losses, and all that jazz. If it’s possible—it made me love her even more than I already do!" — Rob Marshall "Fans of musical theater and dance are in for a real treat." — Kirkus Reviews "An enjoyable and inspiring inside look at a life in the theater." — Library Journal "A captivating, stirring memoir [filled with] loads of dramatic incidents…Every fast-reading page is animated with her upbeat, outspoken spin on a spunky, fearless life where she blazed her own trail. Chita, take your well-deserved bow!" — Brian Bromberger, Bay Area Reporter "Delicious!…One of the main and most delightful concepts of the book: 'Chita is sweet and kind,' she insists before admitting, 'Dolores [alter ego] is a bat out of hell.' Rivera’s advice to us all comes from an Ebb lyric in the team’s 70, GIRLS, 70: 'Say yes!' Indeed, say yes to this marvelous memoir so that you can not only savor all there is to Chita but also understand where Dolores is coming from, too." — Peter Filicia, Masterworks Broadway "This colorful and entertaining memoir-as vital and captivating as Chita herself-is the unforgettable and engrossing personal story of a performer who blazed her own trail and inspired countless performers to forge their own unique path to success." — Richie Ridge, Broadway World "Chita Rivera knows how to tell a story…The book is a fast, fun read full of fabulous tales, smart and insightful. It may well make you laugh and cry. And I bet you'll be sad when it ends. I was." — Wendy Caster, TalkinBroadway "Wow! A wide-ranging, entertaining memoir about her life on stage and screen. And yes, Chita is as wonderful as she is!" — Town&Country "Gripping, moving, insightful…wonderfully inspirational! Reading Chita, A memoir, is like going to the still center of Broadway creativity and the remarkable people who gave their all to make it happen. The details of her life are simply astounding!" — Cahir O'Doherty, The NY Irish Voice

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Book SynopsisPull back the curtain on the real history of magic – and discover why magic really matters   If you read a standard history of magic, you learn that it begins in ancient Egypt, with the resurrection of a goose in front of the Pharaoh. You discover how magicians were tortured and killed during the age of witchcraft. You are told how conjuring tricks were used to quell rebellious colonial natives. The history of magic is full of such stories, which turn out not to be true. Behind the smoke and mirrors, however, lies the real story of magic.   It is a history of people from humble roots, who made and lost fortunes, and who deceived kings and queens. In order to survive, they concealed many secrets, yet they revealed some and they stole others. They engaged in deception, exposure, and betrayal, in a quest to make the impossible happen. They managed to survive in a world in which a series of technological wonders appeared, w

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Book SynopsisFor Count Carlo Gozzi (1720-1806), theater was a fabulous world apart, in which human beings, statues, and animals change places by magical transformations. Gozzi's stage becomes a multiscenic home for adventures, loves, enmities, and dazzling visual effects. This collection brings together for the first time modern English translations of five of Gozzi's most famous plays: The Raven, The King Stag, Turandot, The Serpent Woman, and The Green Bird, each annotated by the translators and preceded by the author's preface. Ted Emery's Introduction places Gozzi in his social and historical context, tracing his world view in both the content and the form of his tales. In the ten works he called fiable or fairy tales, Gozzi intermingled characters from the traditional and improvised commedia dell'arte with exotic figures of his own invention. During Gozzi's lifetime, Goethe and Schiller translated and produced some of his dramas at the Weimar Theatre. In our century, the dramas have reasserted

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Book SynopsisPresents a study of playhouse catastrophes and the theory of performance they convey. Bringing together dramatic theory,theatrical, religious, and cultural history, this title reveals the period's radical take on the history and the future of the stage to show just how critical the relation was between early modern English theater and its public.Trade Review"Persecution, Plague, and Fire is a provocative and important book, one of the few - in some senses, the only - to engage both pro- and antitheatrical discourse in early modern England. MacKay's effort to track a kind of conceptual aporia in the early modern theater's understanding of its historical position, and indeed of its effective means, is developed in great detail and with significant interpretive flair and originality. It's a very powerful book." (W. B. Worthen, Barnard College, Columbia University)"

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Book SynopsisPairing close readings of Moliere's comedies with accounts of French social history and aesthetics, this book aims to show how Moliere perceived satire as a public mirror provoking dynamic exchange and conflict with audience members obsessed with their own images.

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Book SynopsisA wide-ranging study of the cultural, social, and technological developments of the 1920s and their effect on the performing arts and literatureTrade Review"Cleverly investigates ways in which drama, dance, and literature either embraced or challenged the rhythm of the time. . . . Highly recommended."--Choice"A lucid and insightful cross-genre study of the engagement between cultural producers and the transformations that took effect in American society in the decade often characterized as the Jazz Age."--American Studies“Amy Koritz's engaging book brings together drama, dance, and fiction of the 1920s in paired case studies of ‘high’ and ‘low’ culture. Koritz provides an eloquent and refreshing collection of detailed, insightful case studies that illuminate the way in which artists, intellectuals, and cultural commentators used culture-making to pose ‘symbolic resolutions’ to key social and cultural tensions of modernity.”--David M. Scobey, author of Empire City: The Making and Meaning of the New York Landscape"Amy Koritz makes a compelling case for the necessity of cultural production to a just society. Looking across an era, Culture Makers shows how several kinds of artistic producers and their work strove to make sense of radical changes confronting people in the 1920s United States. This excellent book speaks eloquently to dance studies, American studies, theatre studies, and architecture and urban design readers alike."--Linda J. Tomko, author of Dancing Class: Gender, Ethnicity, and Social Divides in American Dance, 1890-1920Table of ContentsAcknowledgments ix Introduction: Work, Consumerism, and the City 1 1. Drama and the Rhythm of Work in the 1920s 19 2. Consumption and Commitment: Rachel Crothers and the Flapper's Dilemma 39 3. More than Rhythm: The Charleston 64 4. The Inner Self of Martha Graham: Versions of Authenticity 86 5. "Make Yourself for an American": Anzia Yezierska's Public Sphere 111 6. Urban Form versus Human Function in the 1920s: Lewis Mumford and John Dos Passos 135 Conclusion: Geographies of Knowledge 155 Notes 163 Works Cited 177 Index 193

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Book SynopsisOffering a survey of variety musical theatre, this title chronicles the social history and class dynamics of the robust, nineteenth-century American theatrical phenomenon that gave way to twentieth-century entertainment forms such as vaudeville and comedy on radio and television.Trade Review"A pathbreaking contribution. This is the first in-depth, scholarly treatment of variety musical theater, and there is nothing comparable to it. Rodger follows sound scholarly methodology and is innovative in her pursuit of information from underutilized sources. No one interested in musical theater will be without it."--Dale Cockrell, author of Demons of Disorder: Early Blackface Minstrels and Their World "One of the most critically astute studies of another slighted aspect of American popular culture."--The Journal of American History"An unparalleled resource and an enlightening and enjoyable read."--American Music "A comprehensive, nuanced analysis of the evolution of American variety performance in the 19th century. Highly recommended."--Choice"Gillian M. Rodger has produced a clearly written and well-researched book that is wide enough in scope to be considered an indispensable source on the subject. . . . Traverses a swatch of popular culture which for too long has been talked about but rarely explored."--American Studies"An impressive book that should appeal to students and scholars of American business, cultural, and performance history and inspire additional research on this fascinating subject."--American Historical Review

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Book SynopsisA lavishly illustrated history and critical appraisal of The Builders Association, an award-winning intermedia performance company, with detailed accounts of its major productions.This book begins with the building of a house, and the building of a company while building the house. It expands to look at the ideas found in various rooms, some of which expanded into virtual space while they still were grounded in the lives of the artists in the house.—from the preface by Marianne WeemsThe Builders Association, an award-winning intermedia performance company founded in 1994, develops its work in extended collaborations with artists and designers, working through performance, video, architecture, sound, and text to integrate live performance with other media. Its work is not only cross-media but cross-genre—fiction and nonfiction, unorthodox retellings of classic tales and multimedia stagings of contemporary events. This book offers a generously illu

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Book SynopsisTwentieth-century architect Frederick Kiesler's innovative multidisciplinary practice responded to the ever-changing needs of the body in motion, anticipating the research-oriented practices of contemporary art and architecture.In 1960, the renowned architect Philip Johnson championed Frederick Kiesler, calling him “the greatest non-building architect of our time.” Kiesler's ideas were difficult to construct, but as Johnson believed, “enormous” and “profound.” Kiesler (1890-1965) went against the grain of the accepted modern style, rejecting rectilinear glass and steel in favor of more organic forms and flexible structures that could respond to the ever-changing needs of the body in motion. In Elastic Architecture, Stephen Phillips offers the first in-depth exploration of Kiesler's innovative and multidisciplinary research and design practice. Phillips argues that Kiesler established a new career trajectory for architects not

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Book SynopsisA collection of John Lahr’s New Yorker profiles and reviews that are “the nearest we get to modern theatre history” (The Spectator).Trade Review"[Lahr’s] interviews are themselves gleeful illuminations of art and its mysterious process, as he blends vivid details with erudite scrutiny of plays…His passionate arguments are always worth engaging…Lahr creates a book worthy of its title: It is a living celebration of theater itself." -- Caryn James - New York Times Book Review"Incisive, exuberant…. Lahr’s vivid reportage, trenchant insight, and infectious love of the stage will remind readers just how exciting modern theater can be." -- Publishers Weekly"Chatty, learned and wittily opinionated, Lahr’s essays bring us not only his passion for theater, but also his zest for the artistic and creative life." -- San Francisco Chronicle"An important collection." -- Steven Suskin - Huffington Post"An exuberant, entertaining collection." -- Kirkus Reviews"Lahr patiently mines the essence of his subjects—playwrights, directors—with the affection of a fan, the insight of a confidant and the authorial flair of an experienced critic…a delight to read." -- The Economist"John Lahr writes—beautifully—about the theatre and those who make it with an unrivalled blend of enthusiasm, perception, and analytical precision. This book is justly titled—his joy is irresistible." -- Nicholas Hytner"Informed, wide ranging, and charming…the pieces are, without exception, captivating. A must for theatergoers and theater collections." -- Mark Levine - Booklist"Lahr…must be one of the world’s foremost experts on “show people”….[he has] an ability to look past these authors’ mythologies without demeaning their achievements." -- Jonathan Russell Clark - Literary Hub"100 years from now this is where people will look to see what it was like back then. Bravo!" -- John Guare"Anyone interested in the history of the American theater and contemporary drama will applaud these thoughtful and critical pieces." -- Carolyn M. Mulac - Library Journal"Engaging and loquacious company." -- The Guardian"Impressive, entertaining and insightful…so worth reading or worth reading a second time around." -- Michelle Jones - Dallas Morning News

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Book Synopsis

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Book Synopsis

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