LibGuides: Theatre Arts: Plays

Searching the Catalog for Plays

Lewis Library Online Catalog

Use the Library Catalog to search for plays

If you don’t find the play you want with a Title search in the online catalog, try these 3 steps:

(1) Try a “Words and phrase” search, typing in the author's name and the title of the play. Often we have the play only in an anthology, so a “Title” search may not work as it does for novels.

For example, to find Philip Barry’s The Philadelphia Story:

(2) Do an “Author” search for the playwright. We may have the play in an edition of the author’s “Plays,” “Collected Plays,” or “Complete Plays.”

(3) Ask the Reference Librarian.

We may have the play in an anthology that doesn’t show up in the catalog.
If it’s a foreign play (such as Oedipus Rex, Molière’s The Clever Women, or Brecht's The Good Woman of Setzuan/The Good Person of Szechwan), we may have it under a different title from the one you know.
If we don’t have it, we can borrow it from another library (assuming it’s been published).

Where are the Plays Shelved?

The plays aren’t all shelved together. They’re usually shelved according to the playwright’s nationality and period, for example:

British plays in the PR area (along with British novels, poetry, etc.)
American plays in the PS area
French plays in the PQ area
German plays in PT
ancient Greek plays in PA

Your best bet is to look up the playwright in the online catalog to determine the call number, or ask the Reference Librarian for assistance.

If you want to browse plays, e.g. to find a speech to use for an audition, you may want to try the play anthologies:

PS 634 – anthologies of American plays
PN 6112 – anthologies of plays from various countries (including American)
Musical libretti are mostly in the ML 50 area on the upper level