Theatregoer's Almanac

As a concise study of the American theatre, this work explores the past and present by looking at major aspects of theatregoing in America over the past 250 years. Diverse topics include plays On and Off Broadway, ticket prices, critics, playwrights, awards, musicals, actors, theatre groups and organizations, and theatre publications. The Almanac is both a reference work and a very personal browsing book. It is lively and highly readable, yet scholarly with commentary, suggestions for further reading, and a thorough index. This work will be of interest to scholars, students, and theatregoers in general.

The Almanac provides an interesting collection of facts, presents personal commentary on trends in theatre, puts contemporary theatre in the context of the past, and serves as both a browsing book and a reference work. Material is presented by subject matter. The range is very wide, but the book often focuses on details, interesting trivia, and little-known facts. Like an eccentric collector who arranges his personal museum of art in his own unique way, The Theatregoers Almanac takes the reader on a personal and distinctive tour of the American theatre.

THOMAS S. HISCHAK is Professor of Theatre at the State University of New York College at Cortland. He is the author of several plays published by Samuel French, Inc., Dramatic Publishing Co., Baker's Plays, and others. His books include The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia (Greenwood, 1995), Stage It with Music: An Encyclopedic Guide to the American Musical Theatre (Greenwood, 1993), and Word Crazy: Broadway Lyricists from Cohan to Sondheim (Praeger, 1991).