Musical Theater Research Guide

1. Get Background Information about people, genres, and shows. 

2. Search HOLLIS for performing arts resources provided by Harvard Library.

3. Use the links in the Find Articles section of this guide to find articles and reviews in newspapers, magazines, and scholarly periodicals.

4. Look for primary sources like production designs, photos, and manuscripts, using the tips in this guide's Find Primary Sources section.

5. Talk to a librarian!

For help:

• Email Kerry Masteller, Research Services, Loeb Music Library (music specialist)
• Email Steve Kuehler, Research Services, Lamont Library (theater specialist)

Start your search, using a known keyword and/or one of the strategies below.

• Exact Phrase – Use quotation marks to search for an exact name or phrase, instead of separate words.
  • Example: “jukebox musical" 
• AND, OR, NOT – Use Boolean operators (must be in all caps) to focus your search.
  • Using AND in your search will connect two or more related concepts or phrases.
    • Example: book musical AND Andrew Lloyd Webber AND Cats
  • Using NOT in your search will exclude specific words or phrases from your search results.
    • Example: Sondheim NOT Follies
  • Using OR in your search will broaden your results to include any of your chosen terms.
    • Example:  rock musical OR rock opera
• Truncation – Use an asterisk (*) in your search to find all the words that share a common root.
  • Example: Searching dram* will provide search results with resources that include terms like drama, dramatic, and dramaturg, as well as names like DRAM (Database of Recorded American Music) and the Drama Desk Awards.
• Grouping – Use parentheses to use multiple search strategies at once.
  • Example: (“The Color Purple” AND musical) OR perform* – uses the exact term “The Color Purple”, the additional term musical, as well as results that include both of the terms in parentheses and a word with the root perform* (in this case, likely performers or performance).

Still not finding the resources you need? Change or refine your search terms using the tips below.

• More or Less – Add or remove search terms to adjust your results.
• Uniqueness – Use words that are likely to show up in the materials you want and are unlikely to show up elsewhere, including vernacular or slang. Take note of any common phrases used in helpful resources you have already found to use as key terms for continued searching.
• Focus Your Results – Most databases and catalogs include a wide variety of filters to help you limit the scope of your search’s results, including filters about a resource’s date, format, topic, physical location, language, and accessibility. Use these modifiers to after an initial search to narrow the results even further.
• Connect to a Subject – Specify the research area, field or discipline you want to concentrate on in your search terms. For example, HOLLIS allows you to select a “Subject” in its search filters, allowing you to limit your search to resources whose HOLLIS records include a specific topic’s subject heading.