Theaters

A theatre is a revered cultural artifact and a technological challenge. This visual sourcebook traces it colourful and varied forms as they developed in early America, on the western frontier, and in cities from coast to coast. The first comprehensive study of American theatres, it illustrates their wide range from raucous music halls to vaudeville, from circus to grand opera, from World's Fair to Coney Island, from nickelodeon to glorious picture palace. Also featured are theatres for burlesque, theatres afloat, military theatres, Shakespearean theatres, summer theatres, theatres and African Americans, and arenas (when a stage just won't do), enlivened by a cast of entrepreneurs and showmen who were the movers and shakers of our theatrical heritage.