University Libraries

v. 1. Beginnings to 1870 -- v. 2. 1870-1945 -- v. 3. Post-World War II to the 1990s

These volumes cover brief production history. The preface contains the key to reading the entries. Each entry includes an historical background, summary of the plot, and “idea of the critical reaction to the play and performance” taken from a variety of review sources. These
sources are noted but the exact date of the review article isn’t given.

Foreign Drama, 1909 - 1977

American drama, 1909-1982. Find the author, play title and the book provides production and review information.

Older resources.

Although this print source is current through 1992, valuable information about performance and history of well known plays/playwrights.

Same idea as IMDB, but for Broadway productions.

Facsimile reprints of the reviews of theater productions as they appeared in the New York Times. Arranged chronologically, the set also includes appendices of awards and prizes and of productions and runs by season as well as indexes by title, production company, and personal name. The first 21 volumes cover the years 1870-1970. Since then volumes have been published biannually. [NOTE: these reviews can also be found online through Proquest Historical Newspapers]

Annual still being published. Exact title, editors, and publishers have changed over time.
- Covers Broadway and Off-Broadway productions.
- For each play: lists theatre, opening/closing night, number of performances, complete
cast, understudies, setting, synopsis. Includes some photos from the production.

Reviews, images, and criticism after 1980 from major US newspapers

You can limit by 'photograph', but notice you will have to open PDF in order to find the images.