Mid-century American Theatre (1940s – 1950s) - THE 331x - Theatre History & Dramatic Literature I, II, & III - UCF Research Guides at University of Central Florida Libraries

Literature Criticism Databases

Literature Criticism Online (Gale)
Excerpts and full text of articles and essays providing critical discussion of authors and their works.

- Children’s Literature Review
- Classical and Medieval Literature Criticism
- Contemporary Literary Criticism
- Dictionary of Literary Biography
- Drama Criticism
- Literature Criticism 1400-1800
- Nineteenth Century Literary Criticism
- Poetry Criticism
- Shakespearean Criticism (see index information)
- Short Story Criticism
- Something About the Authors
- Twentieth Century Literary Criticism
MagillOnLiterature Plus (EBSCOhost)
Critical analyses and brief plot summaries of the most studied works in the history of literature: long fiction, short fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama.

- Censorship
- Critical Survey of Drama
- Critical Survey of Long Fiction
- Critical Survey of Mystery & Detective Fiction
- Critical Survey of Poetry
- Critical Survey of Short Fiction
- Cyclopedia of Literary Characters
- Cyclopedia of Literary Places
- Cyclopedia of World Authors
- Dictionary of World Biography (The Ancient World, The Middle Ages, The Renaissance, The 17th & 18th Centuries, The 19th Century, The 20th Century)
- Encyclopedia of the Ancient World
- Ethics
- Guide to Literary Masters & Their Works
- Identities & Issues in Literature
- Magill's Book Reviews
- Magill's Choice: Holocaust Literature
- Magill's Guide to Science Fiction & Fantasy Literature
- Magill's History Annual, 1983-1985
- Magill's Literary Annuals, 1977+
- Magill's Survey of American Literature
- Magill's Survey of World Literature
- Masterplots
- Masterplots II: African American Literature
- Masterplots II: American Fiction
- Masterplots II: British & Commonwealth Fiction
- Masterplots II: Christian Literature
- Masterplots II: Drama
- Masterplots II: European Fiction
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Biography
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Fiction
- Masterplots II: Juvenile & Young Adult Literature
- Masterplots II: Nonfiction
- Masterplots II: Poetry
- Masterplots II: Short Story
- Masterplots II: Women's Literature
- Masterplots II: World Fiction
- Sixties in America
MLA International Bibliography (EBSCOhost) (1926+)
Indexes critical literary and language scholarship in journals and serials published worldwide.

Videos

A Search for an American Voice in Theater: Into the Post-War Era
Films For The Humanities & Sciences, 1998, 29 mins
"This program considers the unique synergy between method acting and poetic realism, as Ellen Adler and Tom Oppenheim, of The Stella Adler Conservatory, and author William Simon track the changes in American theater from pre- to post-World War II society."

History of American & Canadian Theatre

Theatre in Context Collection (Alexander Street)
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A comprehensive reference work covering all aspects of the Canadian and American Theatre. "O’Dell’s Annals of the New York Stage, the Oxford University Press Companion series, and Greenwood’s American Theatre Companies series are just a few of the many in-copyright sources included in the Theatre in Context Collection. Placed alongside thousands of playbills, posters, photographs, and related theatrical ephemera, users will be able to paint a more comprehensive picture of the life and evolution of dramatic works."
Includes full-text plays from:
- Black Drama
- Twentieth Century North American Drama
- Asian American Drama
- North American Women's Drama
- Latino Drama
International Bibliography of Theatre & Dance (1984+)
"a fully indexed, cross-referenced and annotated databank of over 60,000 journal articles, books, book articles and dissertation abstracts on all aspects of theatre and performance in 126 countries....contains more than 400 full-text titles, including more than 130 full-text journals...and more than 270 full-text books & monographs."

American History

American Decades 1900-1999
Call Number: UCF ONLINE General Collection -- E 169.12.A421
Volumes for each decade, 1900-1909 through 1990-1999, with chapters about: - World Events - The Arts - Business & the Economy - Education - Fashion - Government & Politics - Law & Justice - Lifestyles & Social Trends - Media - Medicine & Health - Religion - Science & Technology - Sports

Notable Plays

Mid-century American Theatre (1940s – 1950s)

Lorraine Hansberry – A Raisin in the Sun, The Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window
William Inge – Bus Stop, Picnic, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs
Sidney Kingsley – Detective Story, Dead End, Men in White
Arthur Miller – All My Sons, After the Fall, Death of a Salesman, The Crucible, A View from the Bridge
Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II – The Sound of Music, South Pacific, Flower Drum Song, Carousel, Oklahoma!
Tennessee Williams – The Glass Menagerie, Sweet Bird of Youth, A Streetcar Named Desire, Suddenly Last Summer, Summer and Smoke, The Rose Tattoo
Eugene O’Neill – A Moon for the Misbegotten, The Iceman Cometh, Long Day’s Journey into Night, Desire under the Elms