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AMERICAN WOMEN'S DRAMA
This newly released electronic database comprises more than 1,500
full text plays written by women from the
U.S.
and Canada. Edited by noted
feminist performance scholars such as Peggy Phelan and Janet Brown,
this rich resource includes works ranging from Colonial drama to 19th-century
melodrama to contemporary performance art.
The collection includes the work of 100-plus playwrights
(e.g., Susan Glaspell,
Gertrude Stein, Maria Irene Fornes) and includes more than 300
previously unpublished plays. The
plays are superbly indexed; keyword and multi-field searching is
available in 50 fields, including author, title, character, theater,
costumes, production company, type of character (e.g., mythical
characters or animal characters), and so on.
One of the unique features of this product is the performance
database that lists theaters, theatrical companies, and productions
for many of the plays. The
plays are accompanied by reference materials such as brochures,
playbills, and production photographs.
Available by annual subscription or one-time purchase (with
perpetual rights), this wonderful resource gives voice to the
frequently overlooked history of women’s drama.
Summing up: Highly
recommended. Upper-division
undergraduate and graduate students, faculty, and professionals. Reviewer: H. A. Booth, University at Buffalo, SUNY

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