American Women Theatre Critics

Book excerpt: While the history of American theatre has been widely documented, the history of its female reviewers has been routinely overlooked. This book seeks to correct that oversight by exploring the role of the great female American critics, thereby expanding their canonical status. The anthology provides a brief description of the women's lives, their working conditions, samples of their writing, and supporting analyses. For some readers, this will be a first encounter with women who deserve to be represented in the American theatre of their times and recognized for their contributions to the development of dramatic theory and criticism.