The first multi-volume history of the American theater to have been published, The Cambridge History of American Theatre is an authoritative and wide-ranging history of American theater in all its dimensions. It recognizes changing styles of presentation and performance, and addresses the economic context that conditions the drama presented. Volume One brings together the work of ten major authorities on American theater and drama. Like each of the three volumes, Volume One includes an extensive overview and timeline followed by chapters on specific aspects of American theater up to c. 1870.

The playwrights covered in this study have among them won most of the available awards and experienced considerable success in the theater. They have not, however, found their way so easily into the academic canon. Christopher Bigsby examines, in some detail, the developing careers of some of America's most fascinating and original dramatic talent: John Guare, Tina Howe, Tony Kushner, Emily Mann, Richard Nelson, Marsha Norman, David Rabe, Paula Vogel, Wendy Wasserstein, and Lanford Wilson. In addition to the well-known works, Bigsby discusses some of their latest plays to reach the stage....

One of America's most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed...

In this new edition of the widely-acclaimed Modern American Drama Christopher Bigsby completes his survey of postwar theater and brings the reader up to 2000. While retaining the key elements of the first edition, including surveys of major figures such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard, Bigsby also explores recent works by established dramatists.

In this new edition of the widely-acclaimed Modern American Drama Christopher Bigsby completes his survey of postwar theater and brings the reader up to 2000. While retaining the key elements of the first edition, including surveys of major figures such as Eugene O'Neill, Tennessee Williams, David Mamet, and Sam Shepard, Bigsby also explores recent works by established dramatists.

Christopher Bigsby explores all of Arthur Miller's work, including plays, poetry, fiction and prose, in this comprehensive study. Using previously unpublished and unknown material, including conversations with Miller, Bigsby paints a compelling picture of how Miller's works were influenced by, and created in the light of, events of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

One of America's most powerful and original dramatists, August Wilson offered an alternative history of the twentieth century, as seen from the perspective of black Americans. He celebrated the lives of those seemingly pushed to the margins of national life, but who were simultaneously protagonists of their own drama and evidence of a vital and compelling community. Decade by decade, he told the story of a people with a distinctive history who forged their own future, aware of their roots in another time and place, but doing something more than just survive. Wilson deliberately addressed...

Offering both student and theatergoer a guide to one of the most celebrated living American dramatists, this volume covers the complete range of Mamet's writing, as well as his films, such as The Verdict and Wag the Dog. Additional chapters also explore Mamet and acting, Mamet as director, his fiction, and a survey of Mamet criticism. The Companion will prepare the reader for future work by this important and influential writer.

Something has happened in the world of television drama. For the last decade and a half America has assumed a dominant position. Novelists, screenwriters and journalists, who would once have had no interest in writing for television, indeed who often despised it, suddenly realised that it was where America could have a dialogue with itself. The new television drama was where writers could engage with the social and political realities of the time, interrogating the myths and values of a society moving into a new century. Familiar genres have been reinvented, from crime fiction to science...