About the book
This text tells the fascinating story of American identity formation through the nation’s unique staged narratives. Divided into seven historical periods, it provides overviews of 38 American plays and their reception, from Robert Hunter’s Androboros (c.1714) to Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2015). Each historical section begins with an overseas play which proved significantly influential to American playwrights in that period, such as Sheridan’s The School for Scandal (1777), demonstrating an astonishing dialogue taking place across the Atlantic.
Exploring themes such as Indian removal, the slavery question, modern women and the American dream, this text challenges the popular assumptions that American playwrights wrote inside of a vacuum of national self-consciousness, and especially that American drama had no life worth consideration before the early twentieth century. It provides the student of American drama with a unique vantage point over three hundred years of American plays as well as their remarkable engagement with texts from across the Atlantic.
About the website
On this website you will find resources to help you get the most out of American Drama, including play scripts, images and thought-provoking essay questions. Use the links on the left-hand side to navigate between the areas.
Praise for American Drama
“American Drama belongs in the classroom. It is an indispensable partner to the plays, not just an extra reading assignment. Anyone interested in American drama will appreciate the inclusiveness of this volume, particularly concerning race and gender.
-June Schlueter, Lafayette College, USA.
“A lucid and enlightening introduction to American theatre history, this book offers readers insight into the challenging relationship between mainstream American drama and alternative and international theatre traditions. It is especially appropriate for students and teachers seeking the best one-volume introduction to American drama
-Mary Brewer, Loughborough University, UK.
