From the Back Cover: Why do golden ages produce golden theater? What made theater great in the age of Pericles, the centuries of the Renaissance in Italy, Spain, and Elizabethan England, the Baroque of France, the era of the industrial revolution in Europe? Golden Ages of the Theater traces 2,500 years of play going, play acting, and play reading. It follows theater history from earliest beginnings to the present to show how the physical theater and its plays serve as a reflection of the culture of the time. In these pages you will encounter the most significant personages in theater history-the actors, directors, authors, designers, and technicians who have made contributions of lasting importance to the theater. A special series of "time charts"--Locating the chief playwrights chronologically-lends continuity and clarity to this lively history of drama and the stage.