The Theatre of Politics, or the Politics of Theatre? Yes.
Two new books consider the possibilities and limits of documentary theatre in a polarized nation.
Category Archives: Book Reviews
Reading Race Through Shakespeare, and Vice Versa
Two books come not to bury the Bard but to bring his writing down to the common ground we share.
Can a Theatre Critic Be a Good Dad?
Priscilla Gilman’s memoir portrays her father, Richard Gilman, as a passionate, difficult figure who bequeathed her life lessons, many unwittingly.
A Man in Full: August Wilson and His Plays, in All Their Complexity
Patti Hartigan’s excellent new biography gives us a rich portrait of the playwright’s life and art, and a measure of his significance.
What’s True in ‘True West’?
A new biography of Sam Shepard focuses on the man as an icon rather than as a writer—though, as with everything in the late dramatist’s work, such delineations are never so neat.
Triple Threats
A look at two new reads for musical theatre fans: a thought-provoking analysis of Broadway’s body biases and a breezy memoir by dance icon Chita Rivera.
Drama, Onstage and Off, at the Public Theater
A new book documents Oskar Eustis’s regime at the pivotal New York theatre, with its heady mix of idealism, triumph, compromise, and controversy.
Asian American History, Told in Stages
The theatre is one place where the disparate, diverse Asian American experience has found common expression, as a new entry in Routledge’s Milestones series shows.
The Rise and Fall of Arthur Miller
John Lahr’s new biography recounts the story of a playwright who met his historical moment like few before or since, then struggled for a second act.
What Can We Learn From Broadway Musicals?
A new guide to musicals about American history, and a new biography of the crucial figure Oscar Hammerstein II, make new cases for taking the form seriously.
