Brooks Atkinson (1894–1984)

Lively account of the Great White Way's history up until the 70's, from a longtime New York Times theater critic. Atkinson is definitely opinionated, so you have to remember that even though he has more knowledge than a lot of theatergoers, his judgment isn't always the be-all and end-all. (For instance, how dare he say the music from "Fiddler on the Roof" is indistinguishable from that for "Hello Dolly"?) Still, I enjoyed learning about the past personalities on the Broadway stage (or show more backstage), as should anyone interested in theater in general and Broadway in particular. show less

Mixed bag of a survey of the theatre scene in New York City from the late 1890s to the mid-1970s. For the most part, a long series of capsule biographies of prominent figures in theatre. Atkinson continually harps on the inferiority of American theatre in the pre-World War I era, and is very tiresome on the issue of the impact of the Red Scare era of the 1950s — this after saying on page 434, essentially, there was little impact. The last third of the book is a dreary, joyless grind. show more Perhaps that is reflective of the era. Page 180 has an annoyingly coy self-reference, and there is a sloppy error on 401 relating to Don Marquis. Sloppy, because Marquis was as much an ornament of New York newspaper writing as Atkinson was. The lavish use of illustrations helps with the book, and brings up what might have been a harsh grade, indeed. show less

brooks atkinson and albert hirschfeld .. subtitled "a half-century of the most significant plays on broadway' .. came out in 1973. generously illustrated by hirschfeld ... its a sort of burns mantle 'best plays' but for a broad range of years. subjective and entertaining plot synopsis and opinion. a few final words from the final paragraph "The contemporary theatre is an abstract of hte life of the times. Indeed, it is part of the same thing. What is wrong with America is wrong with the show more American theatre." (p.308). 35 years ago .. a focus on what was wrong perhaps and how things had changed from the golden age a few decades before. several decades on, intriguing to feel a different energy. for history and for great writing and images by two giants of theatre history ... give this a whirl. show less

The plays contained herein are:
A Streetcar Named Desire
Death of a Salesman
Come Back, Little Sheba
The Seven Year Itch
Tea and Sympathy
and
The Caine Mutiny Court-Martial

So basically not a bad one in the bunch. All classics that make good reading. Like a crash course in American theater.