"...includes some 3,500 articles arranged under one alphabet....not only plays, playwrights, actors and actresses but also theater managers, directors, critics, theaters, technical terminology, and actors' slang....Characters are not neglected....an emphasis on the somewhat less well known...confirm(s) what the reader most likely already knows, then give(s) information and anecdotes that the reader may not know....creates a work both more readable and more useful for reference than one that merely summarizes information readily available elsewhere....Not limited to legitimate theater...discusses vaudeville, burlesque, and various folk dramas....Non-Western theater traditions are not neglected....recommended for public, high school, and undergraduate libraries..."--Booklist. "...what makes The Cassell Companion such a delicious read is the unexpected--the trivia, language, and legend you stumble upon while looking for something else."--Dramatics.