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ORIENTATION

Welcome to Internet Broadway Database. Here's a quick map of the site. The basic search engine is in the lefthand column of the page. For more complicated or filtered searches, click on the Advanced Search button below the Basic Search. Search results will appear in the body of the page. To get back to the IBDB home page, click on the IBDB logo on the top left or onto the IBDB Home link on the blue stripe, available at the top of every page. You can also access the IBDB Help menu, About IBDB, and Contact IBDB pages by clicking the tabs at the top of every page.

SEARCHING

BASIC SEARCHES (left column of Each Page)

To search Internet Broadway Database for a person, show, theatre or list of shows that opened in a particular season, it is easiest to use the basic search button on the left column of every page.

To find a person's Broadway credits, type his/her name into the search field (e.g. "Helen Hayes") and select a category (e.g. "People"). The search engine will bring up the results closest to your search. If there is more than one result (e.g. two people with the same name), you will get a list of people from which to select.

To get a list of all shows of a certain title, type in the title (e.g. "Gypsy") and the category ("Show"). You will get a list of all of the different shows with the title "Gypsy" along with their types (musical or play) and their author(s). Once you find the "Gypsy" that you want (e.g. the musical by Jule Styne and Stephen Sondheim), click on that link to get a list of all productions of the Styne/Sondheim "Gypsy".

To get a list of all shows that opened at a particular theatre, type in the theatre name (e.g. "John Golden Theatre") and select the category ("Theatre"). You will get a list of all Broadway theatres that had at any time been named the "John Golden" along with their addresses. Click onto the theatre that you want to get a list of productions at that venue.

To get a list of all shows that opened and closed in a particular season, type in the season (e.g. "1999-2000"). Seasons run from June to June. If you do not know the category or want to search across multiple categories, type in the name you want and select the "All" category (in the previous example, "Helen Hayes" would generate results in both the "People" and "Theatre" categories.)

If you are not sure of the spelling, type in the letters you are sure of at the beginning of a word (i.e. "Cy" will yield "Cyril" but "Cyrril" will not). If this still doesn't work, try an Advanced Search.

FILTERED SEARCHES (Advanced Search Page)

To find certain types of shows by category

To find a list of all shows of a particular type, select a category (e.g. "play") without filling in the title. You will get a list of all plays ever produced on Broadway. If you want to further filter this search, select a subtype (e.g. "solo"). In this case, your search will return a list of plays performed by one person.
If you know the title of the show but still want to narrow the search down by type, go to the show section and enter the title of the show (e.g. "Peter Pan") and select the category you want (e.g. type = "musical"). You will get a list of all productions of the musical version of "Peter Pan", but not of the play with the same title.

To find productions that opened or closed in a specific time period

To find specific productions that opened between two dates (i.e. "Hamlet" in the 1960's), go to the production section and type in the name of the show and the start and end dates of your search in the "Opening Date" fields.
Dates should be entered numerically, not spelled out. Month or Day fields may be left blank.
To find a list of all shows that opened between two dates, leave the show title out and only type in the start date and the end date.
Do the same thing if you are looking for productions that closed between two dates by filling in the "Closing Date" fields.

To find a list of productions that played between 2 dates

Coming soon.

To find shows set in a specific time or place

To search by setting, type a key word into the Setting field (i.e. "Verona" or "1776, Philadelphia"). This will give you a list of all productions that were set in the time or place specified. Make sure this is a "fuzzy" search (simply list key words separated by commas) in case the production's setting doesn't exactly match your phrase.

To find a person by name

If you are unsure of the spelling or proper name of a person or if you know only part of his/her name, type in what you know (e.g. first name "Anton"). You will get a list of everyone in the database whose first name is "Anton"
If you know the person's function, type in as much of the name as you know (e.g. first name "Anton") and his function (e.g. playwright). You will get a list of all playwrights with "Anton" in the name.

To find a person by function

If you want a list of all Broadway playwrights, check "playwright" in the filter box, but leave the name field blank.

To find a person by gender

If you want a list of all female playwrights, check "playwright" in the function box and "female" in the gender box.

To find a person by place or date of birth or death

Similarly, to find all female playwrights born in Ireland, check "playwright" and "female" as well as "Ireland" in the country of birth box.
You can also get a list of all people who were born or died on a certain date by typing in the date in the date of birth or date of death fields.

To find out what actors played a specific character

You can also search by character name (e.g. all characters named "Horatio"). This will bring up a list of all characters with that name, the productions in which they appeared, and the performers who played the role.

MORE ADVANCED SEARCHES

To find two people credited together

To find a production on which two people are credited together, begin by searching for one of the people. When you are on the first person's page, use the search box at the bottom of the page that says, "Find out where this person and ______are credited together." Type the name of the second person in the blank.

To find out when someone was credited at a particular theatre

To find out when a person was credited at a particular theatre, search for the theatre you want. Use the search on the bottom of the theatre's page that says, "Find out when ____ was credited at this theatre." Type the name of the person in the blank.

To find theatres by addresses

If you know the street of the theatre, but not the name, type in the street in the "Street" field (i.e. 44th). If you do not fill in the name, you will get a list of all venues whose addresses include 44th Street.

GLOSSARY OF TERMS

Type:
The type of a show refers one of three genres: musical, play, or special. Specials are defined as any production not "typically theatrical" in nature and often presented for a limited run (e.g. concerts, dance pieces, comedians).

Subtype:
Subtypes are more specific than the three main types mentioned above. Each production must have one and only one type, but may have many or no subtypes. Subtypes for a musical may include "comedy" (A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum), "dance", (Riverdance), "revue" (Smokey Joe's Café), etc. Plays may have such subtypes as "farce" (Tartuffe), "mystery" (An Inspector Calls), "tragedy" (Hamlet), etc. Subtypes can also vary from production to production of a particular show. For example, a one-man version of Hamlet would have "play" as its type and "tragedy" and "solo" as its subtype.

Version:
The two versions of a production are "original" and "revival". An original production is the first time the show appeared on Broadway. A revival is subsequent production of that show with a different concept (usually with a different creative staff).

A return engagement is a replica of a previous production (either an original or revival). The direction and designs are duplicated and the cast is often the same.

Setting:
The setting is the time and place of the play in a specific production. The setting of a show may change from production to production, and may not be the same as the author's original setting. For example if a director set a production of "Hamlet" on the moon, "the moon" would be the setting for that particular production.

Opening Date:
The official opening date of a production.

Preview Date:
The date a show began previewing to audiences.

Closing Date:
The final performance of a production.

Number of Previews:
The total number of previews the production performed.

Number of Performances:
The total number of performances, excluding previews. Performance counts do not include Actors' Fund or other benefit performances.