“The purpose of The Best Plays Theater Yearbook series, founded by Burns Mantle, has been to create an ‘armchair view’ of the theatrical season. The challenge of the series has been to capture that ephemeral, elusive moment of connection between playwright, design team, actors and audience. The series now numbers some eighty-five volumes, having captured almost a century in American Theatre and in so doing, provided an encapsulated view of eighty-five years of American History through the eyes of its dramatists… The series has also expanded its reach to cover not only the theatrical world of New York, but around the entire country.”