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 fledging 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. Dunlop'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...

This is the first book to focus on the economic and social forces that shaped American theater throughout its two hundred and fifty year history. The collection of essays, written by leading theater historians and critics of American theater, represent a variety of methodologies and approaches. Arranged chronologically, the volume explores such topics as anti-theatrical legislation in Colonial America; the theater's response to slavery, prostitution, alcoholism, and women's rights; the significance of Black American musical comedy; women managers in nineteenth-century American theater;...