Adapted from Salem Press's Critical Survey of Drama, Revised Edition (2003), the entries gathered here present biographical sketches and critical studies of 106 important dramatists from antiquity to the present day. Of the 106 playwrights, 72 are English- language writers, including 33 American and 30 British playwrights. Entries note place and date of birth then list principal dramatic works followed by descriptions of related literature and achievements, a biography, and critical analyses (approximately 300 to 500 words each) of several important works. The playwrights include Aeschylus, Edward Albee, Susan Glaspell, Eugene O'Neill, Voltaire, Sean O'Casey, Neil Simon, Federico García Lorca, Ntozake Shange, Brian Friel, Max Frisch, Frank Chin, Lope de Vega Carpio and Chikamatsu Monzaemon. Together they address a wide variety of movements and dramatic genres, including postmodernism, comedy, absurdism, modernism, and expressionism. A categorized index in volume three lists the playwrights by genres and movements such as Asian American culture, Agitprop theater, angry young men, American local color, cape and sword play, psychological realism, and Bunraku. Also included are a timeline and a glossary of dramatic and literary terms. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)