Theatre World Volume 66, 2009-2010

Theatre World Volume 66 (2009-2010).  Edited by Ben Hodges and Scott Denny. Theatre World. Hardcover. 602 pages. Published by Applause Books.

Celebrating its 66th year, Theatre World is the most comprehensive record of the theatrical season on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and in regional theatre. Each of the 1,000-plus entries includes photos, a complete cast listing, producers, directors, authors, composers, opening and closing dates, song titles, and plot synopses. Theatre World also features the year's obituaries, a listing of all nominees and winners of the major theatrical awards, the longest-running shows on and Off-Broadway, and a complete index.

The 2009-2010 season, found big-screen stars continuing their trend of taking to the stage, with Jude Law in Hamlet and Catherine Zeta-Jones in Stephen Sondheim's A Little Night Music lighting up Broadway, while Cate Blanchett wowed all at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. Donald Margulies' Time Stands Still with Laura Linney and David Mamet's Race with James Spader led the season of new Broadway plays, while David Greenspan's one-man The Myopia and Horton Foote's magnum opus The Orphans' Home Cycle debuted to raves Off-Broadway. Fela! based on the life of African-American composer Fela Anikulapo Kuti was a musical sensation and Dreamgirls had another noteworthy revival at the Apollo Theatre that went on to a successful national tour. Regionally, Hughie and Krapp's Last Tape, starring Brian Dennehy at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and American Idiot, the Green Day musical, at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre were regional hits.