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 Ibsen and Hitler: The Playwright, the Plagiarist, and the Plot for the Third Reich
Steven F. Sage
Steven F. Sage reveals that long before the Final Solution, three dramas by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen powerfully influenced Hitler's vision. Swayed by German cultists hailing him mas a reborn Ibsen hero come to found the "Third Reich" foretold in Ibsen's play, Hitler cribbed phrases, metaphors, themes, and plots from the playwright's work. This astonishing piece of detection work not only shows a new method in the Fuhrer's madness, but reveals an essential missing link in the history of the twentieth century. Softcover, 370 pp. $20.95.
 Adaptation
and Appropriation
Julie Sanders
From the apparently simple adaptation of a text into film, theatre, or
a new literary work, to the more complex appropriation of style or
meaning, it is arguable that all texts are somehow connected to a network
of existing
texts and art forms. This well rounded volume brings clarity to the
complex debates around adaptation and appropriation, offering a much-needed
resource
for those studying literature, film or culture. Softcover, 184 pp.
$26.95.
 Performance
Theory
Richard Schechner
When this seminal volume first appeared, Richard Schechner's
ideas were not only novel, they were revolutionary: drama is not
just something that occurs on stage, but something full of meaning
operating on many levels in everyday life. For this revised edition
of this classic text, Schechner has written a new preface, revised
and updated Chapter 1 and added a final chapter. Softcover, 407 pp.
$29.95.
 Performance
Studies: An Introduction
By Richard Schechner
Provides a lively and accessible overview of the full range of performance
for undergraduates at all levels and beginning graduate students in performance
studies, theatre, performing
arts, and cultural studies. Large-format softcover, $41.95.
 The Grotowski
Sourcebook
Richard Schechner and Lisa Wolford. ed.
Now in softcover, this is an invaluable resource to one of the most
influential theatre practitioners of our time. This edition has a revised
introduction and a new essay
by Schechner on Grotowski and his legacy. Written contributions from
over twenty eight directors and writers including Peter Brook, Eugenio Barba,
Ferdinando Taviani
and Jan Kott give a world view of Grotowski's influence. $39.95.
 Stop
the Show!
Brad Schreiber
In Stop the Show! Brad Schreiber has compiled the funniest, most frightening,
and most truly bizarre stories of top directors, actors, playwrights,
and technicians from the nineteenth century to today: stories about
missed entrances and exits; onstage, unscripted fights between performers;
improvised lines; accidental pratfalls; falling scenery; and so much
more.
Softcover, 262 pp. $19.95.
 Of
Irony: Especially in Drama
G.G. Sedgewick
G.G. Sedgewick's Of Irony: Especially in Drama has long
been considered a central text in literary studies. A wide-ranging
study, with particular attention focused on drama, this lively and
enlightening book begins with an introduction to Sedgewick's ideas
about dramatic irony and concludes with an impressive illumination
of the works of Shakespeare and Ibsen. Softcover, 117 pp. $19.95.
 The
Death of Comedy
Erich Segal
In a grand tour of comic theatre over the centuries, Erich Segal
traces the evolution of the classical form from its early orgins
to the Theater of the Absurd. With fitting wit, profound erudition
lightly worn, and instructive examples from the mildly amusing to
the uproarious, this book fully illustrates comedy's glorious life
cycle from its first breath right up to its death. Softcover, 589
pp. $36.95.
 Whose
Improv is it Anyway? Beyond Second City
Amy E. Seham
This inside look at the evolution of improv-comedy in Chicago reveals the struggles,
the laughter, and the ideals of mutual support, freedom, and openness that have
inspired
many performers. Drawing on the experiences of working improvisers, Whose
Improv
is it Anyway? provides a never-before-published account of developments beyond
Second City's mainstream approach to the genre. Softcover, 258 pp. $33.95.
 Theatre,
Body and Pleasure
Simon Shepard
Part theatre history, part dramatic criticism, part theoretical tour de
force, the central argument in Theatre, Body, and Pleasure is that
theatre is where society negotiates around bodily value and bodily
meaning. It
will therefore appeal to those with interests not only in theatre
but also in wider questions about society, culture, and pleasure.
Softcover, 198 pp. $40.95.
 Drama/Theatre/Performance
Simon Shepherd & Mick Wallis
What is implied when we refer to the study of performing arts as "drama", "theatre",
or "performance"? Each term identifies a different tradition
of thought and offers different possibilities to the student or practitioner.
This book examines the history and use of the terms and investigates
the different philosophies, politics, languages and institutions with
which they are associated. Softcover, 262 pp. $28.95.
 Primo
Time
Anthony Sher
Primo Time is Antony Sher's vivid account of the struggles
- and the triumphs - involved in bringing his one-man show about the life of
Primo Levi to the stage. In Primo Time, Sher tells of his
long-held ambition to find a way of adapting Levi's book, If This is
a Man, for the theatre. Primo Time is the story of
a remarkable journey, often very dark, but also shot through with vital flashes
of humour, culminating in a piece of theatre that goes a long way towards describing
the indescribable. Softcover, 180 pp. $24.95.
 Robert Wilson
Maria Shevtsova
Routledge Performance Practitioners is a series of introductory guides to the key theatre-makers of the last century. Robert Wilson is an American-European director who is also a performer, installation artist, writer, designer of light and much more besides - a crossover polymath who dissolves both generic and geographical boundaries and is a precursor of globalization in the arts. Softcover, 172 pp. $29.99.
 Striptease:
The Untold History of the Girlie Show
Rachel Shteir
Striptease is an insightful and entertaining portrait of an art
form at once reviled and embraced by the American public. Blending
careful research and vivid narration, Rachel Shtier captures striptease's
combination of sham and seduction while illuminating its surprisingly
persistent hold on the American imagination. Softcover, 438 pp. $21.95.
 The Shuberts
Present: 100 Years of American Theatre
The Shubert Archive
This lavishly illustrated book surveys the contributions made by
the Shuberts to American theatre over the past century - from the magnificent
buildings and their
architects, to the directors, actors, and designers who created the
countless productions that tell the fascinating story of 100 years of theatre
in America. Large-format
Hardcover, $75.00.
 5
Performing Arts: Tom Stoppard, Charles Rosen, Jonathan Miller, Garry
Wills & Geoffrey
O'Brien
Robert B. Silvers
Does an opera producer do anything besides tell the singers where to stand?
Can a single note be played more or less beautifully on the piano? Is film
art? And why have people been listening to Burt Bacharach again? In these essays,
all originally published in The New York Review of Books,
five of our most accomplished contemporary critics and artists offer witty,
insightful, and often surprising answers to questions of technique and interpretation
in the performing arts. Softcover, 120 pp. $18.95.
 John
Simon on Theatre
Criticism 1974 -2003
John Simon
Displaying the wit, humor, wide span of knowledge, and serious engagement with
the arts that have made John Simon's work respected and recognized the world
over, this collection of theatre criticism will entertain and enlighten any
theatre fan. Herein the reader will find a sampling of his writing, spanning
a period of almost thirty years. This provocative book is but one volume of
a major publishing event that wil bring together the cultural writing of this
highly respected cultural critic. Hardcover, 837 pp. $42.95.
 Jerzy Grotowski
James Slowiak & Jairo Cuesta
Jerzy Grotowski was a master director, teacher and theorist whose work extends beyond the conventional limits of performance. This book combines an overview of Grotowski's life and the distinct phases of his work; an analysis of his key ideas; a consideration of his role as director of the renowned Polish Laboratory Theatre, and a series of practical exercises offering an introduction to the principles underlying Grotowski's working methods. Softcover, 182 pp. $24.95.
 Pinter
in the Theatre
Ian Smith
This is the first book to focus on Harold Pinter as a man of the theatre --
as an actor and a director, and as a playwright with an unrivalled practical
experience of the way theatre works. Pinter's understanding of his craft is
revealed through interviews conducted over forty years and through conversations
with fellow theatre practitioners. This book offers a multi-faceted exploration
of an immensely pragmatic man of the theatre. Hardcover, 234 pp. $37.95.
 When
Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of A Streetcar Named Desire
Sam Stagg
When Tennessee Williams's ground-breaking play opened on Broadway, audiences
were scandalized by its raw sexuality and taboo subject matter. The outrage
in London was even fiercer, and Elia Kazan's movie version incensed the nation
and provoked censorship by religious and political pressure groups. Yet in
spite of its notoriety, A Streetcar Named Desire became both
a classic and a pop-culture phenomenon. When Blanche Met Brando combines
suberb research, including interviews with every living cast member of the
first three revolutionary productions, in New York, London, and Hollywood,
with a close reading of the play text and screenplay. Hardcover, 394 pp. $35.95.
 Seeing is
Believing: America's Sideshows
A.W. Stencell
Take a twisted journey into the rich history of American midway
attractions with the last America's real showmen. From the 1893
Chicago World's Fair to the advent of World War II, Seeing is
Believing explores American sideshows and the showmen who presented
them. Softcover, 260 pp. $25.95.
 A
Guide to Ancient Greek Drama
Ian C. Storey & Arlene Allan
This Blackwell Guide provides a broad-ranging introduction to ancient Greek
drama, including its genres (tragedy, comedy, and satyr play) and major playwrights
(Aeschylus, Sophokles, Euripedes, Aristophanes, and Menander). Also discussed
are contextual issues, including: the orgins of the dramatic art forms, the
conventions of the festivals, the relationship between drama and the worship
of Dionysos, and the theatre's political dimension. Softcover, 311 pp. $48.95.
 Trans-Global
Readings: Crossing Theatrical Boundaries
Caridad Svich
This book provides a forum for a wide range of theatre, music and performance
artists to talk about where they stand in relation to new technologies,
intercultural collaborations, and the making of interdisciplinary work.
Editor Caridad Svich has gathered the voices of unique and dynamic artists
including Tim Etchells, Rinde Eckert, Richard Foreman, Peter Gabriel,
David Grieg, Guillermo Gomez-Pena, Phelim McDermott, and Peter Sellars.
Softcover, 208 pp. $26.95.
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Voices From Canada:
Focus on Thirty Plays
Stage Fright, Animals, and Other Theatrical Problems
Boxed Sets: Television Representations of Theatre
Outsider: John Rockwell on the Arts, 1967-2006
Performing History:
Theatrical Representations of the Past in Contemporary Theatre
Performance
in America: Contemporary U.S. Culture and the Performing Arts 
Sam
Shepard
The Cambridge Companion
to Sam Shepard
Anthropology
of the Performing Arts
