Theater history

Hardcover. NY, Brentano's, 2nd Ed., 1922, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, blue cloth stamped with gilt design and lettering, 346 pages with index. Color frontis plus 3 color plates, many halftone photos throughout. This volume examines the modern Russian theatre and its restless spirit, showing how bold direction, new forms, and a sense of discovery reshaped performances. It ties together productions from Moscow's leading houses to the London- and New York-based stages where this energy found a global audience. The book foregrounds how artists, designers, and actors worked together to create moments that felt both experimental and deeply musical, often transforming familiar stories through striking staging and rhythm. Originally published 2 years earlier by Little, Brown. This is the slightly revised Second Edition with illustrations. Spine darkened, bookplate on second prelim page, otherwise clean.

Softcover. The New Press, 1st, 2008, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Softcover, 364 pages. Collects the Pulitzer Prize-winning oral historian's remarkable conversations with some of the greatest luminaries of film and theater. Originally published under the title The Spectator, this "knowledgeable and perceptive" (Library Journal) look at show business presents the actors directors, playwrights, dancers, lyricists, and others who created the dramatic works of the twentieth century. Among the many highlights in these pages, Buster Keaton explains the wonders of unscripted silent comedy, Federico Fellini reflects on honesty in art, Carol Channing reveals that she is far more serious than she lets on, and Marlon Brando turns the tables and wants to interview Terkel. We learn about crucial artistic decisions in the lives of Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams, and Edward Albee and hear from a range of film directors, from Vittorio De Sica and King Vidor to Satyajit Ray. We even get to witness Terkel playing straight man to a wildly inventive Zero Mostel. Clean copy.

Hardcover. Boston, Little, Brown, and Company, reprint, 1928, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover in black cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 298 pages. A collection of articles about the theater by Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), a stage designer and theatrical producer and director. Although he directed only a handful of plays, "his controversial theories of scene design and stagecraft gave him eminence in the European and American theater" (The New York Times). For instance, he favored three-dimensional stage effects and more innovative lighting than the traditional footlights. Craig argues that theatre is not just a form of entertainment, but a powerful medium for social and political change. He advocates for a new kind of theatre that is not bound by traditional conventions and that challenges the audience's expectations. Craig also emphasizes the importance of the actor's body and movement, and he proposes new techniques for training actors to be more expressive and dynamic on stage. Previous owner's inscription on front fly leaf, otherwise clean.

London, Rupert Hart-Davis, 1st, 1961, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: None, Hardcover, green cloth with gilt lettering on spine, 292 pages. Maps on the endpapers. Black and white illustrations by Timothy Birdsall. A illustrated guide to the major theatres in London along with a brief history of each. No dust jacket. A bright, clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 324 pages, color and black and white illustrations throughout. A masterly survey of the world's stages brings to the contemporary reader the entire panorama of the theatre, including its formative stages among primitive peoples and the richly stylized traditions of the East.

Hardcover. NY, McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1975, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover, 324 pages, color and black and white illustrations throughout. A masterly survey of the world's stages brings to the contemporary reader the entire panorama of the theatre, including its formative stages among primitive peoples and the richly stylized traditions of the East.

Hardcover. NY, Harper & Row, 1st, 1977, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright dust jacket, 435 pages, b&w illustrations. An illustrated world history of the Yiddish theatre covering five continents and more than 300 years. Mild wear to rear panel of dust jacket, clean copy.

Hardcover. NY, George H. Doran, 1st, 1915, Hardcover, black cloth covers with gilt title, top edge gilt. 523 pages, b&w photos. The author wrote this book to depict and commemorate "leading representatives of the Stage". He writes about: William Warren, laura Keene, Matilda Heron, Lester Wallack, James W. Wallace, Mark Smith, Edward Adams, Henry J. Montague; Edwin Booth, Augustin Daly, Henry Irving, Johnston Forbes-Robertson, Edward H. Sothern and Julia Marlowe. Index. Clean, bright copy.

Hardcover. NY, HarperCollins, 1st, 1999, Book: Very Good, Dust Jacket: Very Good, Hardcover in a bright, unclipped dust jacket. 48 pages illustrated in color by Aliki. With her characteristically sprightly words and pictures, Aliki brings Shakespeare's life, times, and legacy to life in this highly acclaimed information-packed treasury that is truly for readers of all ages. This nonfiction picture book is an excellent choice to share during homeschooling, in particular for children ages 6 to 8. It's a fun way to learn to read and as a supplement for activity books for children From Hamlet to Romeo and Juliet to A Midsummer Night's Dream, Shakespeare's celebrated works have touched people around the world. Aliki combines literature, history, biography, archaeology, and architecture in this richly detailed and meticulously researched introduction to Shakespeare's world-his life in Elizabethan times, the theater world, and the Globe, for which he wrote his plays. Then she brings history full circle to the present-day reconstruction of the Globe theater.