Author Description

When Gerald Bordman's Oxford Companion to American Theatre appeared in 1984, critics and the general public highly praised it, including the distinguished actor José Ferrer who proclaimed, "I'm in awe of the scholarship and research that have gone into the making of this book." The book quickly established itself as the standard one-volume resource on the American stage.Now Bordman gives us an abridgement of his massive original volume, eliminating many entries on minor plays and figures but preserving the articles of the widest general interest. Containing over two thousand entries, it presents hundreds of biographical sketches and summaries of individual plays which cover the major achievements of playwrights Eugene O'Neill, Clifford Odets, Arthur Miller, Edward Albee, and many more. The volume also includes entries on performers ranging from Edwin Booth to John Barrymore, and from Jessica Tandy to James Earl Jones. It offers extensive treatment of that most American of theatrical forms, the musical, and of the often neglected achievements of the nineteenth century. In addition, this volume updates information on contemporary topics and includes a number of new articles.Affordable, compact, and eminently "companionable," this work retains those qualities of erudition and entertainment that so distinguished the parent volume and makes them available to a much wider readership.