Hot Links to Theatre Sites Dr. H's Home | Contact Info | Play List | Film List | Lectures | Links Here are some useful links to theatre, film, and television sites that might be useful in completing various assignments for this class. Caution, plagiarism (the copying of what someone else wrote without proper attribution) is cheating and grounds for expulsion. See the info on Plagiarism in the FAQs for this site.
Criticism & Reviews New York Magazine
newyorkmag.comAn Arts and Culture magazine for the masses--not too highbrow. This link will take you to recent New York play reviews by John Simon, a highly respected theatre reviewer. If not, look for the Cue section.
Los Angeles Times - Calendar Supplement
calendarlive.comSouthern California's largest newspaper. Calendar, its arts section, has this online edition which contains both articles and reviews of plays and film--and it is free.
To find reviews do the following. On the left side under the seach box click on Theatre & Dance, or Movies. The most recent reviews are linked in the box Reviews: On the Stage or Movies. Other play reviews can be found by entering the name of the play or film in the Find a Show search box, then click on the name of the play to go the full review. Other film reviews can be found by going to the left column labeled Movies and clicking on the link Recent Reviews.
Los Angele Times - Online Edition
latimes.comThe rest of the L.A. Times online is not all free. Articles appearing within the last week are free. Older ones are archived and will cost you to get to them. To research a theatre company do the following. Go to www.latimes.com and click on the Archive link at the bottom. Put the full name of the theatre company in the search box--and put it in quotation marks--otherwise you'll also get all kinds of stuff unrelated to this particular theatre. From the list of articles that is returned, look for ones that look like they might contain serious information about the theatre, not just a review of a play there. You can see an abstract of an article for free to help you decide if it's worth getting. You'll then have to pay a little if you want a full version.
Fandango
fandango.comOne way around the L.A. Times problem described above is to go here. Fandango has a deal with the L.A Times (and the Hollywood Reporter) to supply current film reviews. Go there and get them for free--no hassle!
Curtain Up
curtainup.comAn online magazine of theatre reviews with sections for California as well as other major theatre centers such as New York and London. Quality of writing is fairly high.
L.A. Weekly
laweekly.comA free newspaper that is found at bookstores, coffee houses and the like. It focuses on the culture of Southern California. I find that the quality and depth of its theatre reviews sometimes surpass those of the Times, but they tend to be brief. Click the Theatre link on the main page of the online edition and then look for link to New Reviews. Often only the current reviews (those which start right on the review page) are full length.
Orange County Register
ocregister.comSouthern California's "other" newspaper. A great source of reviews for theatres in Orange County such as South Coast Rep. For reviews go to Show, then look for the Current Arts link for theatre reviews. Use the search field for archived older reviews. Beware of "Capsule Reviews" which are too short to be useful for assignments.
Aisle Say
aislesay.comThis site calls itself "The Internet Magazine of Stage Reviews and Opinion." Homepage has links to indexes of reviews for both New York and other major cities around the U.S. Quality of reviews varies.
Daily Variety
variety.comThis is the online version of America's oldest daily newspaper devoted to live entertainment. There is news, articles, and reviews of stage, film, and television. You can get a free 30-day subscription to see all the pages, but there is plenty of free stuff.
Click on the link for Legit in in the green bar of the masthead, then click on the Reviews link, then scroll down to Legit Reviews. There may be a Regional section with L.A. shows. You may have to click on the name of the play to get to the full version of the review instead of the capsule version.
Back Stage/West
backstage.comThe print version is a weekly tabloid that has both East Coast and West Coast editions that are probably the most important periodicals for actors today. It recently absorbed DramaLogue, the old Hollywood weekly. This online version has reviews for both coasts and pretty interesting news and feature stories about "the biz" of both stage and screen. For newest L.A. reviews look for Reviews, West--for a specific show click on Showguide. A worthwhile visit. Some of its content, such as archives of old stories, are restricted to subscribers. Reviews are top notch.
The New York Times
nytimes.comWhat can you say? This is one of the world's greatest newspapers in one of the world's greatest theatre cities. This link will take you directly to the online version of their Arts & Entertainment section. You'll find news, articles and reviews. One of the best!
Ebert and Roeper at the Movies
ebertandroeper.tvThis is the grandaddy of online movie reviews. You can either read them as text, or listen to them if you have downloaded and installed the proper software on your computer.
KCRW
kcrw.comThis is the local outlet for National Public Radio. Look for keywords Theatre Talk for local play reviews, or Film Talk for film reviews. You can download the necessary audio software from the page if you don't already have it installed. Or, you can listen at 89.9 FM on Thursdays at 3:55 PM.
Movie Review Query Engine
mrqe.comThis website has reviews of over 25,000 movies. Just enter the name of the movie and you will be presented with links to many reviews. Be sure to look for reviews in major papers or sites, not unknown ones--they are likely to have the most professional critics. Avoid those sites that feature reviews written by the unwashed masses.
Internet Movie Database (IMDb)
imdb.comThis is the most comprehensive source for any and all information about movies. You can get info on a film, its director, and cast. It's a great place to check out the movies I "force" you to see since you probably will never have heard about them, and this will help you to choose which one you most want to see. Beware of the reviews, though. They are submitted by visitors to the site such as yourselves and are not to be used for any assignment or question in this class that calls for a professional review.
General Theatre.Com
theatre.comA well laid out site that focuses on Broadway, but has links to theatre companies all over the U.S. It houses the "official" web pages for most Broadway shows. You can order cast CDs, t-shirts, and even videos of some shows. Many consider this the best general theatre website.
Playbill Online
playbill.comPlaybill publishes that familiar yellow and black program that most professional theatres in the U.S. use. Their online site specializes in helping you to get information on and tickets for shows around the country. They also have articles of general theatre interest.
Broadway.Com
broadway.comThis website is rich in content but kinda cluttered with too many graphics making it a bit slow to load in your browser. If you look around the homepage you'll find a link to some current reviews.
Total Theater
totaltheater.comA site which says it is "devoted to the ongoing history of the theatre." This is a comprehensive website devoted to many aspects of the theatre. Click on the Criticopia button to find links to reviews from the U.S. and Internationally. As I write this, the site is still under construction and not ready for prime time. It's an interesting and ambitious project and it may be further along when you visit. I know the owner, tell him I sent you!
Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
ibdb.comA great source for information on any Broadway show, past and present.
Awards Tony Awards
tonys.orgThis is the official website of the Tony Awards, the only televised theatre award show.
Actors Thespian Net
thespiannet.comThis site has listings for many actors and includes links to articles about them.
Internet Broadway Database (IBDB)
ibdb.comA great source for information on actors who have acted on Broadway--including biographical information and awards (hint-hint, the Actor Report assignment!).
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