Bulletin News

04/01/2010 

Thomas Hischak, Performing Arts Department, was awarded the Outstanding Reference Book Award of 2009 by the American Library Association (ALA) for his nonfiction work, Broadway Plays and Musicals: Descriptions and Essential Facts of More Than 14,000 Shows Through 2007.

The 644-page volume, published by McFarland & Co., Inc., Publishers, was selected as one of the top 10 reference books by the ALA. The book briefly describes every Broadway production, play, musical, revue, revival and specialty, between 1919 and 2007, giving plot, personnel, critical reaction and any significance in the history of New York theatre. The book also discusses another 600 noteworthy productions from before 1919.

Reviews for Broadway Plays and Musicals describe the book as “the most complete listing of plays ever” and “truly a reference history of New York’s famous Broadway district,” and state “(Hischak) hits a bull’s-eye with this comprehensive catalog.” In The Groove Magazine wrote, “A must for libraries and those interested in musical theater.”

Hischak, of Cortland, N.Y., has taught and directed theatre productions at SUNY Cortland since 1983. He has written 20 books on theatre, film and popular music, and is a playwright with 24 published plays. In 2004, he was honored with a SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities. Hischak holds degrees in theatre and English from St. Louis University and Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Hischak won a similar award from the ALA in 1995 for his book The American Musical Theatre Song Encyclopedia.