Instruct: Classify Amazon reviews into positive or negative sentiment
Query: The history and the memoir are equally strong

Richard Christiansen modestly downplays his role in creating today's amazingly vibrant Chicago theater scene with groundbreaking reviews in the Daily News and Tribune, but that's the only "weakness" in this spectacular history. His research into the earliest days of Chicago theater --150 years ago -- are as vividly realized as those of which he has first-hand knowledge. This volume is a vital resource for understanding the "Chicago school" whose effects have come to touch Broadway, TV, and motion pictures in equal parts.