ELLERY QUEEN MYSTERY MAGAZINE ( November/December 2023) Review:
**** Amnon Kabatchnik, Courtroom Dramas on the Stage: Volume 1, BearManor Media, $45.00 (HC), $35.00 (TPB), $9.95 (eBook). Over the years, I’ve reviewed several volumes of Kabatchnik’s encyclopedic Blood on the Stage reference books, including his 2008 work, Sherlock Holmes on the Stage. Together, these six massive volumes provide a comprehensive and annotated history of mystery-related plays and theatrical productions. Theater professor and stage director Kabatchnik has now taken on a new project, chronicling the history of courtroom drama. Volume 1 of the series analyzes over fifty plays that feature trials as a central part of their scripts. He examines the history, plot, adaptations, and famous productions of each play, beginning with ancient Greek plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Aristophanes. This enlightening and engaging reference book covers centuries of English, French, Indian, and Spanish plays, wrapping up with the 1862 play East Lynne by American playwright Clifton W. Tayleure. - The Jury Box' Steve Steinbok Reviewer
**** Amnon Kabatchnik, Courtroom Dramas on the Stage: Volume 1, BearManor Media, $45.00 (HC), $35.00 (TPB), $9.95 (eBook). Over the years, I’ve reviewed several volumes of Kabatchnik’s encyclopedic Blood on the Stage reference books, including his 2008 work, Sherlock Holmes on the Stage. Together, these six massive volumes provide a comprehensive and annotated history of mystery-related plays and theatrical productions. Theater professor and stage director Kabatchnik has now taken on a new project, chronicling the history of courtroom drama. Volume 1 of the series analyzes over fifty plays that feature trials as a central part of their scripts. He examines the history, plot, adaptations, and famous productions of each play, beginning with ancient Greek plays by Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Aristophanes. This enlightening and engaging reference book covers centuries of English, French, Indian, and Spanish plays, wrapping up with the 1862 play East Lynne by American playwright Clifton W. Tayleure. - The Jury Box' Steve Steinbok Reviewer