Research Guides: Plays and Playwrights: Reviews

Regional Reviews Available Online

Performing Arts Periodicals Database This link opens in a new window
A performing arts journal resource with over 492,000 indexed articles, plus detailed abstracts and full text from 1864 to the present, covering theatre, dance and film.

To Search Performing Arts Periodicals Database:

go to Search Articles,
enter the play title in quotes,
select Broad subject (select from the list) Theatre Productions.
click to see dates of coverage

ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
A multidisciplinary resource including ProQuest
Research Library with citations and abstracts for over 2,500 journals, magazines, and newspapers, many dating back to 1986 or earlier and covering all subject areas.
To search clear all databases, select Proquest Newspapers, continue, select Advanced, select Document Type -Performance Review. For Historical Databases, clear all databases, select Advanced, select Document Type REVIEW.
TIP: use quotes around the title.
International Bibliography of Theater & Dance with Full Text This link opens in a new window
Contains citations and full-text to journal articles, books, book articles and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance. IBTD is a multicultural and inter-disciplinary research tool for theater students, educators and professionals.
To Search: enter the name of the play in quotes and select document type entertainment review.
Readers' Guide Full Text Mega This link opens in a new window
Indexes 375 general-interest magazines and periodicals published in the United States. Coverage is from 1983 to the present. Full text coverage, extends from 1994 to the present. SEE ALSO Readers'Guide Retrospective Dates of Coverage: 1890-1982
To search: in first box enter the name of the play, second box enter the words THEATER REVIEWS.
Readers' Guide Retrospective (EBSCO) This link opens in a new window
This database provides a comprehensive indexing of the most popular general-interest periodicals published from 1890-1982 in the United States, including People Weekly, Vogue, Rolling Stone, and Ladies' Home Journal.
Arts and Humanities Citation Index (A&HCI) This link opens in a new window
Provides access to current and retrospective bibliographic information and cited references found in nearly 1,130 of the world's leading arts & humanities journals. 1988 to present

To Search: Select Advanced option, select Field Tag, Restrict to Theatre Review.
OmniFile Full Text Mega This link opens in a new window
ilson OmniFile Full Text, Mega Edition dramatically expands your periodical resources with electronic access to full text articles, page images, article abstracts, and citations from over 4,000 journals. Coverage back as early as 1982 ensures that every search is as deep as it is broad. Users have access to information on virtually any subject.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
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In addition to indexing more than 400 magazines and journals, LexisNexis Academic is a news database that provides full text news stories from more than 350 international, national, and regional newspapers published between the late 1970s and the present.
To Search: enter the name of the play in quotes AND theatre AND reviews. Specify date and what publications you wish to search.
Please clear your browser's cache and cookies before attempting to access this resource.
Historical Newspapers (ProQuest) This link opens in a new window
Search the PDF full text and image archives of more than 100 major U.S. and African American newspapers.

Highlights include: Atlanta Constitution (1868-1945), Atlanta Daily World (1931-2003), Baltimore Afro-American (1893-1988), Chicago Tribune (1849-1986), Christian Science Monitor (1908-2004), Los Angeles Times (1881-1995), New York Amsterdam News (1922-1993), Pittsburgh Courier (1911-2002), The Chicago Defender (1910 - 1975), The New York Times (1851-2014), The New York Tribune (1841-1922), The New York Tribune (1900-1910), San Francisco Chronicle (1869-1922), The Wall Street Journal (1889-2000), The Washington Post (1877-2001), St. Petersburg Times / Tampa Bay Times (1901-2009), Korea Times (1956-2016)

A Guide To Critical Reviews
Description: Provides critical reviews of Broadway, Off Broadway, and Off-Off Broadway production from 1909-1982.
Organization: Arranged alphabetically. Part 1: American Drama, 1984 - indexed by playwright; Part 2: The Musical, 1909-1974 - indexed by title; Part 3: Foreign Drama, 1909-1974 - indexed by title with a supplement from 1963-1980.
Theatre Record
1981 to date. Bi-weekly. Titled London Theatre Record from 1981 to 1990.
New York Theatre Critics' Reviews.
1958 to 1996. Weekly. Titled National Theatre Critics' Reviews from 1995 to 1996.

Times Digital Archive (London) This link opens in a new window
Provides full-text access to back issues of The Times newspaper. Dates of coverage: 1785 to 2006.
NewsBank This link opens in a new window
Newsbank searches a collection of databases from the information vendor Newsbank, including the Archive of Americana, World News Archive, Foreign Broadcast Information Service Reports, and Access World News. These collections include: Early American Newspapers, Series XV, 1822-1879: Immigrant Communities; American Underworld: The Flash Press; African American Newspapers, Series 1, African American Newspapers, Series 2, Ethnic American Newspapers (Balch), 1799-1971; Joint Publications Research Service Reports (JPRS), 1957-1995; Sowetan Collection; Financial Mail Collection, Sunday Times Collection; Business Day Collection