Research Guides: Actors Page: Creating a Production History

Creating a Production History

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Historical Sources

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.
Theatre in Context Collection This link opens in a new window
O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works.
ProQuest Central This link opens in a new window
ProQuest Central is a large, multidisciplinary database with over 11,000 titles, with over 8,000 titles in full-text.

IBDB
Wonderful for finding the complete production history of plays which have appeared on Broadway. It can be searched by play title, performer, theatre or theatre company. It includes date of first and last performance, number of previews, number of performances, and complete cast information.
Lortel Off-Broadway Database
The Lortel Archives is a database for Off-Broadway theatre information. It is a searchable database encompassing Off-Broadway production information from the beginnings of Off-Broadway to the present. Each production entry includes all available credits and production information as well as window card photos, actor biographies and photos, and additional interesting facts regarding the production.
Televised Opera and Musical Comedy Database
Televised Opera and Musical Comedy Database documents more than three-quarters of a century of opera, operetta and musical comedy telecasts produced in the United States.

GuideStar: the National Database of Nonprofit Organizations This link opens in a new window
GuideStar provides data on IRS-recognized nonprofit organizations in the U.S. Users can search nonprofits according to their operating budgets, size, location. They can also view a Financial Trends Analysis snapshot for each organization.
To access the premium section of Guidestar, you must register and create an account. Once registered, NYU users are permitted to download 1000 records per month.
New York Newspaper Archive This link opens in a new window
Newspaper Archive contains the historical archives of hundreds of U.S. and international newspapers from the 19th and 20th century, with coverage of some titles dating back as far as the 17th century. Very good for regional newspaper coverage.

Theatre Record

In The Reference Room

The New York Times Theatre Index

One of the key places to begin if you want to trace the entire "life" of a play is with The New York Times Theatre Index,

REF1 PN1581.N4 (1851 to present).
The library now has full text access to the New York Times available via the Proquest database.

The New York Theatre Critics Reviews

Is another great source,

REF1 PN1601.N4 (1958-1996);
these volumes provide reviews from all the major New York Newspapers.

The Guide to Critical Reviews

REF1 Z5782.S16 1973,
is especially useful for providing citations to reviews from many diverse sources from opening day to closing.

The Readers Guide to Periodical Literature

REF1 AI3.R4 (dating from 1890 to present), contains citations to both journal and newspaper articles.

Theatre World

REF1 PN2277.N5 A17
is great for finding photos of productions.

Other sources:

American Literary and Drama Reviews: an Index to Late Nineteenth Century Periodicals. Boston G.K. Hall, 1984

Call number: REF1 PN2256 M37 1984
Indexes reviews in 13 periodicals published 1880-1900. Has a separate section for drama reviews (arranged by play title).

American Theater and Drama Research: An Annotated Guide to Information Sources, 1945-1990 / Irene Shaland. Jefferson, N.C. : McFarland, 1991.

Call number: REF1 Z1231.D7 S53 1991
A general bibliography of resources for all types of drama related research.

International Dictionary of Theatre, ed. by Mark Hawkins-Dady. Chicago: St. James, 1992.

Call number: REF1 PN2000 .I474 1991
Vol. 1: Plays. Contains entries for over 620 plays, with a critical essay on each, identifies dates of publication and initial performance.
Vol. 2: Playwrights. Major dramatists, with a summary of their lives, a list of works, and a list of critical studies about the playwrights.
Vol. 3: Actors, directors, and designers. Brief biography with chronological list of performances.

In the Stacks

The Best Plays series

Call number: PN2266.A2 B5
Begins in 1899. Contains photos as well as a good synopsis and critique of the play.

American Theatrical Arts: A Guide to Manuscripts and Special Collections in the United States and Canada / William Young. Chicago, American

Library Association, 1971.
Call number: Z6935 .Y68
A serious researchers tool, it identifies where manuscripts and other primary source material relating to American and Canadian theatrical arts are located. This is now out-of-print but is available as an on demand reprint from University Microfilms

Recent Plays and Outside-of-New York Productions

British Plays

If you seek information about British plays or plays performed in Britain, you can find reviews in the London Theater Record, PN 2596.16 L66.

Other European Plays

For other European shows see:

European Drama Criticism 1900-1975, Z5781.P2 1971.
The International Bibliography of Theatre, Z5781.I8 (1982-present) and
Drama Criticism, REF1 PN1601.D59, a 14-volume set, will also be helpful.

To find reviews of foreign plays you will most likely need to go to databases and the web. Remember to try Lexis/Nexis and Factiva. The database Performing Arts Periodicals Database, will have some reviews, but you may want to use international search engines. A link to these is provided on my Theatre and Performance Studies Guide.