Bookman: "He writes in a pleasant, free-and-easy way.... He accepts things chiefly at their face value, but he describes them so accurately and agreeably that he recalls vividly to mind the plays we have seen and the pleasure we have found in them."

New York Evening Post: "It is not often nowadays that a theatrical book can be met with so free from gush and mere eulogy, or so weighted by common sense ... an excellent chronological appendix and full index ... uncommonly useful for reference."

Dial: "Noteworthy example of literary criticism in one of the most interesting of literary fields.... Provides a varied menu of the most interesting character.... Prof. Hale establishes confidential relations with the reader from the start.... Very definite opinions, clearly reasoned and amply fortified by example.... Well worth reading a second time."

New York Tribune: "Both instructive and entertaining."

Brooklyn Eagle: "A dramatic critic who is not just 'busting' himself with Titanic intellectualities, but who is a readable dramatic critic.... Mr. Hale is a modest and sensible, as well as an acute and sound critic.... Most people will be surprised and delighted with Mr. Hale's simplicity, perspicuity, and ingenuousness."

New York Dramatic Mirror: "Though one may not always agree with Mr. Hale's opinions, yet one always finds that he has something interesting to say, and that he says it well. Entertaining and generally instructive without being pedantic."

The Theatre: "A pleasing lightness of touch.... Very readable book."