Historical Dictionary of American Theater

James Fisher is professor of theatre at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, where he served head of the Theatre Department for seven years. He has published a dozen books and directed and/or acted in 150 theatre productions. He is the 2007 recipient of the Betty Jean Jones Award for Excellence in the Teaching of American Theatre from the American Theatre and Drama Society and in 2010 he was elected to membership in the National Theatre Conference.

Fisher adds to this series with beneficial information on the American theater from its inception until 1880. The dictionary opens with a chronology spanning from 1538 to 1880, providing a framework for this period. Including brief biographical background along with some plot synopses, more than 1,000 short entries offer profiles of actors (Sarah Bernhardt in her debut, Edwin Booth, and Ira Aldridge), plays (Hazel Kirke, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Our American Cousin, and Fashion: Or Life In New York), and theaters (Walnut Street Theater, Ford’s Theater, the McVicker’s Theater, and the African Grove Theater, created for African Americans). Showman P.T. Barnum, producer David Belasco, and actor/playwright Steele MacKaye make appearances, as do historical events such as the Astor Place Opera House Riots and Abraham Lincoln’s assassination. Minstrel shows and the use of blackface are a part of theater history during this time, and discussions on both are included here. Cross-references appear in bold. Some entries, such as the description of the five acts of Dion Boucicault’s The Poor of New York go into more depth. An extensive bibliography is subdivided into sections on, for example, women, Native Americans, and cultural and regional studies, which is helpful for additional reading and research. VERDICT Offering a wealth of hard-to-find information in a single volume, this guide will enhance theater history collections. Students and theater buffs will relish this introduction to how theater developed in America.

• Editor’s Foreword Jon WoronoffAcknowledgmentsReader’s NoteChronologyIntroductionTHE DICTIONARYBibliographyAbout the Author