THTR 2A: Critical Thinking & Writing II (Bracco): Theatrical Reviews

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This online database provides the full text online of criticism of literature in all genres (including plays) from around the world and from all time periods from antiquity to contemporary emerging authors. Type the name of the play in the first search box, click the down arrow in the box to its right, and select "Name of Work." Then type the author's name (last name first) in the second search box, and type "review" in the third search box. Once the search results appear on the screen, click the down arrow in the "Sort by" box and select "Oldest." This will make it easier to find reviews of the original production of the play and to distinguish them from reviews of later productions. If you omit the word "review" in the third search box, you will see scholarly articles analyzing the play as a work of literature, as well as reviews of specific productions.

This online database indexes articles published in journals and books, as well as whole books and other publications, on all aspects of theatre, dance, and other performing arts. To find reviews of theatrical productions, type the name of the play in quotes in the first search box, then type "reviews" in the second search box. Once the search results appear on the screen, click the down arrow next to the word "Relevance" just above the first result, and select "Date Oldest." This will list the reviews in the chronological order in which they were published, making it easier to identify the different productions under review.

The full text online of reviews of theatrical productions in the New York area from 1851 to four years ago can be found in this online database. Just type the name of the play into the search box. Other types of articles may appear among the results, but most of them will be reviews of particular productions.

The full text of reviews of theatrical productions in England between 1902 and five years ago, as published in The Times Literary Supplement, can be found in this online database. Type the name of the play in the search box, then scroll down to the "by document type" box, click the down arrow, and select "Review." The search results appear on the screen with the oldest listed first, making it easier to find reviews of earlier productions of the play and to distinguish them from reviews of later productions.

This online database contains the full text of articles from more than 2,500 newspapers throughout the United States and elsewhere in the world. It is a good source for finding reviews of stage productions beyond the city of New York.

This online database indexes articles published in the most important journals on theatre, literature, and other fields in the humanities, from 1984 to the present. To find reviews of play productions, type the name of the play in quotes in the first search box, then type "reviews" in the second search box. Once the search results appear on the screen, click the down arrow next to the word "Relevance" just above the first result, and select "Date Oldest." This will list the reviews in the chronological order in which they were published, making it easier to identify the different productions under review.

This online database indexes articles published in the most important journals on theatre, literature, and other fields in the humanities and social sciences, from 1907-1984. To find reviews of play productions, type the name of the play in quotes in the first search box, then type "theater reviews" in the second search box and select "subject" from its drop-down box. Once the search results appear on the screen, click the down arrow next to the word "Relevance" just above the first result, and select "Date Oldest." This will list the reviews in the chronological order in which they were published, making it easier to identify the different productions under review.

Indexing articles published in over 20,000 periodicals, and providing the full text of many of them online, this database is a good place to find reviews of stage productions that appeared in both popular magazines and theatrical journals. To find them, type the name of the play in quotes in the first search box, then type "theater reviews" in the second search box and select "subject terms" from the drop-down box. Once the search results appear on the screen, click the down arrow next to the word "Relevance" just above the first result, and select "Date Oldest." This will list the reviews in the chronological order in which they were published, making it easier to identify the different productions under review.

Produced by the Folger Shakespeare Library, this online database is the most comprehensive listing available of everything written by or about Shakespeare since 1960. The easiest way to find reviews of stage productions is to type the most significant or unique word in the title of the play and the word "productions" (for example, Merchant and productions).