Theatre
Before you Search
To locate a review of a play, you need to know the title of the play. It helps to know at least the approximate date the play was produced. Other facts about the play, such as the correct names of the playwright, director, or actors, are also useful to know.
Printed Indexes
- American Drama Criticism: InterpretationsRef Z1231 .D7 P3 1979
These volumes are a very selective, unannotated list of drama criticism published in books and periodicals of significant plays. - New York Theatre Critics' ReviewsRef PN1601 .N4
Reprints reviews from several New York City newspapers as well as national magazines like Time and Newsweek. Coverage 1940-1996.
Play Reviews Online
- American Newspapers (NewsBank) This link opens in a new window
A subset of the Access World News collection from NewsBank, this database consists of 3,000 American newspapers. They are listed by state and are searchable individually, by state or nationally.
- New York Times with Index (1851-2019) This link opens in a new window
Search the full-text of this newspaper by keywords or names, or limit your search to type of document such as editorials, cartoons, classifieds, birth and marriage notices, front page stories, display ads, legal notices, obituaries and the weather.
- ProQuest Research Library This link opens in a new windowIndexes popular magazines, scholarly journals, newspapers and trade publications in a wide range of subject areas, including business, education, humanities, social sciences, and sciences. Full-text available for over 2,500 journals. Coverage from 1857.
Data on Productions
- Theatre WorldData about theatrical productions on and off Broadway and by professional regional and national touring companies.
Related Guides
See these guides for more sources for plays, play reviews, and literary criticism.