Start Here – Reference Sources - Theatre - Research Guides @ Fordham at Fordham University Libraries

Selected Encyclopedias, Dictionaries, Handbooks, etc.

The Cambridge Companion to American Theatre Since 1945 [electronic resource] by Julia Listengarten; Stephen Di Benedetto (editors)
Cambridge University Press, 2021.
The Routledge Dictionary of Performance and Contemporary Theatre [electronic resource] by Patrice Pavis
Routledge, 2016.
The Oxford Companion to Theatre and Performance [electronic resource] by Dennis Kennedy
Oxford University Press, 2010.

Production History Resources

Internet Broadway Database
Offers production information on the theatres, people, songs, awards, and statistics of shows staged on Broadway.
Playbill Vault
Provides Playbill images and information on shows beginning in the 1947-1948 season to present. Includes news on Broadway and Off-Broadway shows.
Internet Off-Broadway Database
Includes a catalog of all shows ever produced Off-Broadway with information on staffing, casting, awards, and opening & closing dates.

Awards Reference

Tony Awards
Offers list of winners, broadcast information, and other facts & trivia dating back to 1947.
Obie Awards
Provides lists of winners, archival images, award presenters, and more since 1956.

Background Information & Reference Sources

Print and electronic reference sources (dictionaries, encyclopedias, handbooks, etc) available at the libraries provide authoritative background information on a wide variety of topics. In some cases, these sources will suggest or link to additional resources for further reading.

Search the Library Catalog to locate print & electronic reference books.

Use the databases below to search across many electronic reference sources.

Literature Resource Center (Gale)
Provides biographical and background information on literary topics, authors, and their works. Includes all genres and disciplines, all time periods, and all regions of the world. Database content comes from the Dictionary of Literary Biography, Contemporary Authors, Contemporary Literary Criticism, and more.
Credo Reference - Academic Core
Full text of hundreds of reference books including encyclopedias, dictionaries, atlases, and handbooks.

Image credit: Opening of Macbeth at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem circa 1936 via the Federal Theatre Project, 1935 - 1939 collection at the Library of Congress.