US theater finally found its place on the world stage in the latter part of the twentieth century. As international interest in US theater has grown, there has been renewed interest in the father of the modern US theater, Eugene O’Neill. Because of O’Neill’s central position in US theater history and development, the new bibliography of his works and reception compiled by Madeline C. Smith and Richard Eaton is an important record of the US theater’s increasing international presence. Eugene O’Neill: An Annotated International Bibliography, 1973‐1999 presents O’Neill’s works and reception in the USA and also in non‐English‐speaking areas of the world. The bibliography continues the compilation begun by Jordan Y. Miller in Eugene O’Neill and the American Critic (1973) that covers US interest in O’Neill up to 1973. Smith and Eaton provide a few items overlooked in Miller’s compilation and significantly expand the scope for the 1973‐1999 compilation by including foreign language translations, criticism, and productions, which all give important evidence of O’Neill’s growing international stature.
The bibliography includes primary and secondary works as well as reviews, some of which are annotated. The entries are presented in eight categories: periodical publications in English, books and parts of books in English, dissertations in English, scholarship and criticism in foreign languages, productions in English, productions in foreign languages, primary works including translations, and miscellaneous items, including videos, audio recordings, music productions, and other adaptations. An index of authors, plays and subjects is also included. A list of abbreviations and a one‐page introduction complete the contents.
The compilation begins with English‐language periodical publications, books and parts of books, and dissertations. Over 700 articles, 450 books and book articles, and 100 dissertations are briefly annotated, with most annotations averaging two or three sentences. The section on foreign language criticism and scholarship provides a fascinating panorama of O’Neill’s international presence. It contains notably fewer entries than the bibliography of works in English, with three sub‐sections of articles, books and articles in books, and dissertations, resulting in a total of 238 entries. These works offer a truly international perspective on O’Neill, including criticism in Lithuania, China, Canada, Italy, Yugoslavia, Japan, Argentina, and elsewhere. Translations of the titles are not included, and most entries are not annotated, so this section of the bibliography will be of most use to those able to read in foreign languages.
Those interested in the performance of O’Neill’s works will welcome the lengthy and detailed lists of both English and foreign language productions. Nearly 600 English language productions are listed, including information about the production company, location, date and, in some cases, directors and actors. Especially helpful are the entries that include quotations from newspaper and magazine reviews of the productions. These annotations often provide contrasting views of multiple reviewers, which describe the unique qualities of a particular production. Smith and Eaton do not limit the list to first productions, as Miller does, but rather they have included “as many as we could find”. The compilers acknowledge that, while the list of productions is extensive, it is not complete, as many productions by community and college theaters will have been inadvertently omitted. Still, the bibliography of productions provides an excellent representation of O’Neill’s presence in the English‐speaking theater world.
In addition to productions in English, Smith and Eaton also list 81 foreign language productions in Russia, China, Bulgaria, France, Hungary, and elsewhere. The entries provide information about the date, location and, foreign language title of the production, and in some cases, production members as well. As in the section on foreign language scholarship, many entries are not annotated.
The section on primary works lists not only English‐language texts, but also translations in Arabic, Czechoslovak, Dutch, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Icelandic, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Portuguese, Romanian, Russian, Spanish, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, and Yugoslav. In this section, both English and foreign language titles are provided. The concluding section entitled “Miscellaneous” covers operas, videos, recordings, other materials, with some review references also provided.
Smith and Eaton’s bibliography is not only an excellent reference tool, but also an important record of the US theater’s growing international presence over the last quarter‐century. Eugene O’Neill: An Annotated International Bibliography, 1973‐1999 is highly recommended for all libraries supporting research in US drama and contemporary theater.
