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DOCUMENTARY THEATRE IN THE UNITED STATES: AN HISTORICAL SURVEY AND ANALYSIS OF ITS CONTENT, FORM1AND STAGECRAFT. By Gary Fisher Dawson. Contributions in Drama and Theatre Studies, no. 89. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1999; pp. xix + 249. $65.00.
American documentary theatre has had an interesting history in the twentieth century, notably gaining attention in the 1930s with the Living Newspapers created by the Federal Theatre Project. In the 1960s and 1970s, politically committed playwrights turned to the form to explore such issues as racial prejudice in the United States and the protest against the war in Vietnam, with works like Martin Duberman's In White America and Daniel Berrigan's Trial of the Catonsville Nine. Other plays dealt with the trial of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, the surrender of the Pueblo spy ship, and the hearings of the House Un-American Activities Committee. Most recently, oral history has been transformed into theatre pieces by Emily Mann, Anna Deavere Smith, and the Tectonic Theater Project. In his historical survey, Gary Fisher Dawson sets out to explore the American contribution to the world of documentary theatre.
It is clear that Dawson cares about his subject deeply. It is also apparent that he has researched the subject: his bibliography is extensive, and he...