Don B. Wilmeth research files for the Cambridge Guide to the American Theatre (Ms.2008.004)

This collection consists of the research files for the second edition of The Cambridge Guide to the American Theatre, compiled by Don B. Wilmeth and Tice L. Miller. Their task was to produce a single volume of approximately 500 pages which would be a guide to all aspects of theater in the United States from the beginning to the present, paying special attention to contemporary theater, popular forms, and marginalized groups especially in areas slighted by other encyclopedias and dictionaries.

The first series of the collection consists of subject files covering such topics as actors, designers, producers, directors, performance artists, repertory companies, and playwrights. These files contain newspaper clippings, magazine articles, e-mails, press releases, playbills, postcards, letters, student papers, lecture notes, brochures, and conference presentations.

There are also obituaries, interviews, and reviews as well as in-depth articles on theater trends and topics such as gay and lesbian theater, musicals, revivals, and the cost of tickets. The subject files comprise the bulk of the collection and are filed alphabetically by topic.

The second series of the collection is manuscripts. It consists of manuscripts and related lists and e-mails. Of note is a printed version of the first edition of The Cambridge Guide of American Theatre with copious editing and interpolations of print-outs for new entries, discussions on worthy new additions to the second edition, and a final list of items to be included in the second edition. This series also includes the second edition in proof form with several versions of the instructions, a list of plays and productions in Bordman*, and a list of American entries in The Cambridge Guide to World Theatre (CGWT).

Lastly, there are entries either written by or edited by Prof. Wilmeth. These entries have word counts and are in the order in which they were found which is not alphabetical.

*This is probably Gerald Bordman's book American Theatre. A chronicle of Comedy and Drama 1869-1914.