This second edition of Historical Dictionary of African American Theater reflects the rich history and representation of the black aesthetic and the significance of African American theater’s history, fleeting present, and promise to the future. It celebrates nearly 200 years of black theater in the United States and the thousands of black theater artists across the country—identifying representative black theaters, playwrights, plays, actors, directors, and designers and chronicling their contributions to the field from the birth of black theater in 1816 to the present. This second edition of Historical Dictionary of African American Theater, Second Edition contains a chronology, an introduction, appendixes, and an extensive bibliography. The dictionary section has over 700 cross-referenced entries on actors, playwrights, plays, musicals, theatres, -directors, and designers. This book is an excellent resource for students, researchers, and anyone wanting to know and more about African American Theater.

"Highly Recommended: The second edition of Hill's Historical Dictionary of African American Theater is a significant expansion of the first. It retains the original features—including a chronology, introductory essay, bibliography, and appendixes—nearly doubles the number of entries of the original, and adds coverage of the ten years since the first edition was published. Most entries are brief, but Hill (emer., Ohio State) provides longer entries for the Civil Rights Movement, August Wilson, and several notable theaters. Entries are extensively cross-referenced, emphasizing the connections between the people, organizations, themes, and (new to this edition) design technicians. Given its updated coverage and the significant increase in the number of entries, this volume replaces the earlier edition. Valuable for those interested in theater or African American studies." - CHOICE