More than mere entertainment, German theater was a crucial component of culture-often influencing society and politics in German-speaking countries-whose influence gradually reached much further with the emergence of outstanding playwrights like Goethe, Schiller, Hauptmann, and Brecht, as well as exceptional dramas such as Faust and The Threepenny Opera . The A to Z of German Theater covers the field of theater performance in the German language, concentrating on German-speaking Europe, through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and several hundred cross-referenced dictionary entries on significant playwrights, directors, producers, designers, actors, plays, theaters, cities, dramatic genres, and movements such as the Sturm und Drang, Naturalism, and Expressionism.