CurtainUp Site Guide
The Internet Theater Magazine of Reviews, Features,
Annotated Listings
All About CurtainUp
This free on line theater magazine established in 1996 by Elyse Sommer. Most of the links in the yellow strip to the left of all our pages are pretty clear cut as to where they will lead you-- but this page provides you with additional information which you may find helpful in taking advantage of our entire site. A click on any of the headings in the gray box below will take you to an in depth click-through index.
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Our Home or Front Page is where you'll find links to the most recent reviews and features added during our daily updates.>
. . . Currently Running Show Review Links, includes links to all shows we've reviewed that are currently running, including dates for when the show was reviewed and when it will close.
. . . Archived Reviews -- every show reviewed is archived as a link in our Master Index. The links are arranged alphabetically by show title and include the author's name. This is the best and most sure-fire way to check whether we've reviewed a show and can be searched by title or a key word from the title or by the author's name. If a review was posted in a location other than New York, that location is listed parathetically.
. . . Archive of all past Berkshire reviews
. . . Links to Reviews of Plays about Science
. . . Broadway. Shows currently running and scheduled to open, listed alphabetically by show title and including: Location, details about creative team, cast, what it's about; running time, scheduled previews, opening and closing dates; performance schedule, ticket information. Once we review a show, links to that review are added.
. . . Off-Broadway. Same as the Broadway show listings, for Off and Off-Off-Broadway shows running at least 3 weeks..
. . . Currently Running Shows We've Reviewed. Links to reviews of currently running shows, arranged by show title and with review and closing dates.
When first posted, features are linked on the Home Page
. . . Archived Features. Like the master index of reviews, this is an archive, including
interviews, book reviews, reports on special festivals (for example, our annual Humana Festival and New York International Fringe Festival reports). The organization principle is that of a book index.
. . . Archive of all past Berkshire reviews & features
News or etcetera A page of miscellaneous news items: seasonal announcements from various theater companies, interesting special events such as free readings, play festivals, bits of gossip (though we are not a Page 6 type publication!). A special big yellow box at the top gives details about short term events-- anything running from one day or evening up to five. (Because our human resources are limited our regular listings pages don't include any shows not running at least 3 weeks).
New & Noteworthy items specific to regional page: California Main Page; Philadelphia Main Page; Berkshires
While New York is our main base, we also maintain very lively pages in London, California, DC, Philadelphia, New Jersey elsewhere. Our London and Los Angeles pages are particularly active, with a chief critic as well as several backup critics which is true each summer of the Berkshire summer theater scene (we are the only national/international publication -- on or off line -- to have cover this s area so fully. Some of these areas have their own main pages with links to reviews of currently running shows, and new & noteworthy sections featuring announcements and occasional mini reviews
London Main Page
California Main Page
Philadelphia Main Page
Berkshires Main Page
Berkshire News
Index of Summer Schedules of all Area Venues
Berkshire Review Archives
Capsule descriptions of some eatieries we've found to be good, fun, inespensive (often all) for grabbing a bite near theaters. This is not intended to do for restaurants what we do for theaters and the growth and success of the restaurant pages so far depends on reader participation.
. . . NYC Restaurants
. . . Los Angeles Restaurant Tips
. . . Berkshire Restaurants
. . . . This includes links to books and CDs available through our affiliation with Amazon.com -- buying your books and CDs and anything else available at Amazon's humungous merchandise stock, is one way you can support what we're doing
Stage & Screen Talk. Brief reviews on films, with emphasis on those featuring stage actors or otherwise of special interest to theater goers. A page we'd like to update more often -- with reader input most welcome.
As anyone who reads our reviews regularly knows we like quotations and try to put at least one pertinent quotation at the top of each reviews, and to post some current ones on our home page in the gray box at the righthand side of the page. When the shows from which they are taken close, these quotes migrate into a page we call Timely Quotes which is organized in no special order, except that most recently collected quotes from plays go on top. Eventually, these quote migrate to two other quote files:
. . .
Quotes 'n Notes
From Current and Past Shows which are arranged alphabetically by play title and given a subject heading so that you can search by play, playwright and topic.
. . . Quotes By and About Famous People Connected to the Theater which are arranged alphabetically by speaker and also given a subject heading for searching by speaker and subject.
. . . Quotes by Shakespeare -- no quote compendium would be complete with something devoted to the ultra quotable Bard. Our Shakespeare quotes are intended to double as a guide to daily life (thus our title Shakespeare's Little Instruction Book). The quotations are arranged alphabetically by title, with each quote followed by a bit of wit and wisdom to be garnered from the quote. The entries are fully sourced with speaker and act and scene origin. Links to Shakespeare productions reviewed at CurtainUp are also included.
You'll also find a section of quotes in our Playwright Biographies
To find out what's on TKTS
Letters to the Editor
Links to Helpful Resources
How to Subscribe to Free Weekly Email Updates
List of Pulitzer Prize Winning Playwrights
Navigating NYC -- includes shopping tips
Backgrounders on Famous Playwrights -- biographical details, style, publications, quotes by the playwrights and from their work, links to reviews of their works
Detailed writing guidelines
Masthead with biographical links
©2006 Elyse
Sommer.