The Cambridge Companion to American Theatre since 1945

Provides an overview and analysis of developments in the organization and practices of American theatre since the end of World War II.

Julia Listengarten (Edited by), Stephen Di Benedetto (Edited by)

9781108480260, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 9 September 2021

300 pages
23.5 x 15.8 x 2 cm, 0.57 kg

'For an up-to-date chronicle of American theater history from 1945 to the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered theaters nationwide in March 2020, there is no better choice than this companion … Each essay includes extensive notes and a select bibliography to direct readers to deeper studies … Highly recommended.' M. S. LoMonaco, Choice Connect

The Cambridge Companion to American Theatre since 1945 provides an overview and analysis of developments in the organization and practices of American theatre. It examines key demographic and geographical shifts American theatre after 1945 experienced in spectatorship, and addresses the economic, social, and political challenges theatre artists have faced across cultural climates and geographical locations. Specifically, it explores artistic communities, collaborative practices, and theatre methodologies across mainstream, regional, and experimental theatre practices, forms, and expressions. As American theatre has embraced diversity in practice and representation, the volume examines the various creative voices, communities, and perspectives that prior to the 1940s was mostly excluded from the theatrical landscape. This diversity has led to changing dramaturgical and theatrical languages that take us in to the twenty-first century. These shifting perspectives and evolving forms of theatrical expressions paved the ground for contemporary American theatrical innovation.

Introduction Julia Listengarten and Stephen Di Benedetto
Part I. Commercial and Mainstream Theatre: 1. Broadway post-1945 to 1960: shifting perspectives Susan C. W. Abbotson
2. Bridging the gap: Broadway and the experimental from the 1960s to 2020 Cindy Rosenthal
3. What's inside? Collaborative relationships at the heart of the American musical Laura MacDonald
4. Shaping Broadway and off-Broadway plays through collaborations: playwrights, directors, designers, and companies Jessica Silsby Brater
Part II. Regional Theatre Movement: 5. Money matters: dismantling the narrative of the rise of regional theatre Elizabeth A. Osborne
6. When and where they enter: black and brown voices in American theatre Faedra Chatard Carpenter
7. El jardín mágico: commissions, collaboration, and new play development in American regional theatre David A. Crespy
Part III. Experimental Theatre and Other Forms of Entertainment: 9. Post-avant-garde theatre Arnold Aronson
10. Populist provocations and commercial cavalcades: popular entertainments and the rise of mass mediated performance Chase Bringardner.

Subject Areas: Literary studies: from c 1900 - [DSBH], Literary studies: general [DSB], Literature: history & criticism [DS], Theatre studies [AN]