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In Richard Barr: The Playwright’s Producer , author David A. Crespy investigates the career of one of the theatre’s most vivid luminaries, from his work on the film and radio productions of Orson Welles to his triumphant—and final—production of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Explored in detail along the way are the producer’s relationship with playwright Edward Albee, whose major plays such as A Zoo Story and Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf Barr was the first to produce, and his innovative productions of controversial works by playwrights like Samuel Beckett, Terrence McNally, and Sam Shepard. Crespy draws on Barr’s own writings on the theatre, his personal papers, and more than sixty interviews with theatre professionals to offer insight into a man whose legacy to producers and playwrights resounds in the theatre world. Also included in the volume are a foreword and an afterword by Edward Albee, a three-time Pulitzer Prize–winning playwright and one of Barr’s closest associates. 

The hand-puppet play starring the characters Punch and Judy was introduced from England and became extremely popular in the United States in the 1800s.This book details information on nearly 350 American Punch players.

A Gambler’s Instinct offers a rare glimpse of one of the first female producers in American theater. Active in the Group Theatre, the Actors Studio, and on Broadway, her success with Tennessee Williams plays and the musicals of Kurt Weill and Marc Blitzstein, among others, highlight her persistence and expertise.

Margaret Webster: A Life in the Theater is an engrossing backstage account of the life of pioneering director Margaret Webster (1905-72). This is the first book-length biography of Webster, a groundbreaking stage and opera director whose career challenged not only stage tradition but also mainstream attitudes toward professional women. Often credited with first having brought Shakespeare to Broadway, and renowned for her bold casting of an African American (Paul Robeson) in the role of Othello, Webster was a creative force in modern American and British theater. Her story reveals the independent-minded artist undeterred by stage tradition and unmindful of rules about a woman's place in the professional theater. In addition to providing fascinating glimpses into Webster's personal and family life, Margaret Webster: A Life in the Theater also offers a who's-who list of the biggest names in New York and London theater of the time, as well as Hollywood: John Gielgud, Noël Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Uta Hagen, Sybil Thorndike, Eva LeGallienne, and John Barrymore, among others, all of whom crossed paths with Webster. Capping Webster's amazing story is her investigation by Senator Joseph McCarthy and HUAC, which left her unable to work for a year, and from which she never fully recovered.

Fists Upon a Star is the hard-hitting memoir of Florence James, a pioneering American theatre director, whose devastating experience with McCarthyism led her to flee to Canada. The memoir is as epic as America itself. Born in 1892 in the frontier society of Idaho, she became a suffragette in New York City, was the first to put Jimmy Cagney on stage, and along with her husband, Burton, founded the Negro Repertory Theater and the nationally recognized Seattle Repertory Playhouse. With star appearances by Woody Guthrie and Helen Hayes, the memoir beautifully illustrates the evolution in her personal life and the development of professional theater during the Great Depression, World War II, and the McCarthy period. James believed that theatre could offer both an uplifting artistic experience and the tools to advance community development. Her views on art and politics and her choice to stage what some saw as controversial plays led to a clash with the Un-American Activities Committee. After two Kafkaesque trials, a conviction for refusing to follow Committee rules, and being manhandled by police, she fled to Canada. After settling in Saskatchewan (where she pioneered professional theatre) with her beloved husband, Burton, she marvelled over the \"simplicity of causes\" that brought the U.S. Government down upon her: \"unionism, the eight-hour day, free speech, an uncensored press, freedom from poverty in old age, and health programs... Most of these principles are now the law of the land...But the struggle is hardly over.\" Written thirty-five years ago with celebrated actress Jean Freeman, James's memoir sheds light on a fully realized creative life, her love for Burton, and a fascistic strain of American politics that continues to exist today.

'Theater legend Malina has written one of the most interesting studies of the avant-garde theatrical movement published in the last several years.' - CHOICE Judith Malina and The Living Theatre have been icons of political theatre for over six decades. What few realise is that she originally studied under one of the giants of twentieth century culture, Erwin Piscator, in his Dramatic Workshop at The New School in New York. Piscator founded the Workshop after emigrating to New York, having collaborated with Brecht to create \"epic theatre\" in Germany. The Piscator Notebook documents Malina's intensive and idiosyncratic training at Piscator's school. Part diary, part theatrical treatise, this unique and inspiring volume combines: complete transcriptions of Malina's diaries from her time as a student at the Dramatic Workshop, as well as reproductions of various of Piscator's syllabi and teaching materials; notes on Malina's teachers, fellow students - including Marlon Brando and Tennessee Williams - and New School productions; studies of Piscator's process and influence, along with a new essay on the relationship between his teaching, Malina's work with the Living Theatre and \"The Ongoing Epic\"; an introduction by performance pioneer, Richard Schechner. The Piscator Notebook is a compelling record of the genealogy of political theatre practice in the early 20th Century, from Europe to the US. But it is also a stunningly personal reflection on the pleasures and challenges of learning about theatre, charged with essential insights for the student and teacher, actor and director. 'Piscator is the greatest theatre man of our time.' - Bertolt Brecht

The Show Makers describes twelve of the most creative and influential directors of contemporary musical theatre. Richly anecdotal, The Show Makers communicates the passion and joy which motivates these directors.

In Acts of Resistance in Late-Modernist Theatre, Richard Murphet closely analyses the working processes of three ground-breaking late-modernist artists: Richard Foreman, Jenny Kemp and Richard Murphet. He examines their methodologies as writer/directors to gain a deeper understanding of recent experiments in theatre practice.

The past 50 years have seen a tremendous arts boom in Seattle, which has given the city not only internationally recognized classical music institutions but also great performance halls to showcase their work and that of visiting artists. From Igor Stravinsky's presence as guest conductor at the World's Fair in 1962, to Speight Jenkins's masterly production of Wagner'sRingcycle, to the work of benefactors such as Jack and Becky Benaroya, Seattle is deservingly well known as a city of the musical arts. InClassical Seattle, Melinda Bargreen documents the lives of prominent figures in the local classical music world. Informed by Bargreen's experience as a music critic and drawing on interviews she conducted over several decades, the 35 biographical profiles presented here illuminate the conductors, performing artists, composers, arts organizers, and arts leaders who have shaped Seattle's classical music community and made world-class performances possible. Among the individuals featured are University of Washington virtuosi, Seattle Symphony maestros and musicians, and Seattle Opera directors.