Broadway: A History of the Theatre in New York City

by Brooks Atkinson, Steve Gierhart (Editor), Nancy Malitz (Foreword)

Very few men have had the impact on Broadway theatre as did Justin Brooks Atkinson, the drama critic of The New York Times from 1925-1960, and the winner of the Pulitzer Prize for foreign correspondence in 1947. Excepting four years as a foreign correspondent during WWII, for 31 years Mr. Atkinson’s views in The Times were held in high regard by theatre-goers and industry producers, directors, playwrights, and actors, often making or breaking productions.

It is from this expert background that his descriptions of Broadway from the late 1800s through 1970, as reflected in his history of New York theater in Broadway are so valuable.

Whether you are a theater historian, or simply a theater lover, you will be spellbound by the parade of stars, writers, directors and producers in the many productions that made stage history for America.

Atkinson’s Broadway is not simply historical description. It is the emotions and reflections of the spirit-lifting and intellectual nuances of why Broadway remains a strength of American entertainment and soul, as much true today as it was during Atkinson’s time.

“It is in historical projects such as this one that Atkinson performs the ultimate connecting of the dots over long periods of time. We see him recognizing other decade-long patterns, … and continuing to elevate his impression of the astonishing creative outbursts that belied the Great Depression’s grueling hardship. The defining characteristics for him — the conclusions he always seeks — have to do with the fundamental originality of the works in question, and in what way they struggle with, or somehow shed new light on, real-life predicaments.”

Nancy Malitz

Founding music critic at USA Today

Editor, Classical Voice North America

Publisher, Chicago On the Aisle

733 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 7, 2019

About the author

Justin Brooks Atkinson was an American theatre critic. He worked for The New York Times from 1925 to 1960. In his obituary, the Times called him "the most important reviewer of his time."