User:Ganymead/Dramatic works notability

This page offers a guideline to the notability of dramatic works. Dramatic works are defined as works of literature and/or music that are created in a dramatic format with the possible intent of performance.

General statement
Many Wikipedians are wholly averse to the use of Wikipedia for advertising and promotion of non-notable material, and that Wikipedia articles must not be vehicles for advertisement is an official policy of long standing. A number of other relevant policies which all articles must comport with are: verifiability; no original research; Wikipedia is not a soapbox; Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information; and Wikipedia is not a crystal ball. Where articles fail to encompass these policy considerations and others, they may be proposed for deletion or may be more formally listed at Articles for deletion, where Wikipedia editors apply the criteria outlined at Notability to come to consensus. This guideline is a part of that notability standard.

Please note that the failure to meet any of these criteria does not mean an article must be deleted; likewise, the meeting of any of these criteria does not mean that an article must be kept. These are merely rules of thumb which some editors choose to keep in mind when deciding whether or not to keep an article that is listed on articles for deletion. Note also that not only must articles adhere to Wikipedia's policy on verifiability, but this naturally apply to claims of notability; it is not enough to simply assert that a book meets a criterion without substantiating that claim with reliable sources.

Coverage
As used here, "dramatic works" refers to individual works of literature created for performance such as plays, monologues, dialogues, skits and librettos but it also includes works created using a dramatic format such as closet dramas. Those works involving music such as operas, masques, oratorios, musical theatre and related forms such as Chinese opera are included under this heading as well as individual ballets.

Criteria
Dramatic works exist on two levels: as a work itself and in production. Thus this criteria has been broken into Literary Notability and Production Notability.

Literary notability

 * 1) Works essential to the development and history of a particular format or genre. This includes works that may be deemed the "first of their kind" or works that introduce innovation.
 * 2) Major works by major creators.
 * 3) Minor works by major creators upon which a substantial base of scholarship exists, otherwise these works should be described in the article on the creator or perhaps a separate list of minor works that would include descriptions.
 * 4) Lost works by major creators upon which a substantial base of scholarship exists.
 * 5) Winner of a non-trivial prize or award.
 * 6) Controversial works. This criteria may be used for major or minor works by a major or minor creator that ignite substantial controversy due to the work itself.

Production notability

 * 1) Production by more than one major artist, performing ensemble or in a major performance venue (such as a Broadway theatre, major opera house or artistic festival). Adaptation to film may also be considered.
 * 2) An extended series of performance by a single major artist, performing ensemble or in a major performance venue.
 * 3) A work that has entered the popular repertoire.
 * 4) Performances essential to the development and history of a particular format or style. This includes performances that may be deemed the "first of their kind" or that introduce innovation.
 * 5) Controversial performances. This criteria may include otherwise non-notable works that ignite substantial controversy in the performance of the work.
 * 6) Winner of a non-trivial prize or award.

Examples and precendents

 * Tchaikovsky's The Nutcracker - Notable as a major work by a major composer and a widely performed ballet.
 * Claudio Monteverdi's Orfeo - Notable as one of the earliest operas.
 * Adolphe Adam's Giselle - Notable as the first ballet to use leit motifs for characters and also a widely performed ballet.
 * Shakespeare's Hamlet - Notable as one of the best known and most quoted plays in the Western dramatic canon.
 * Tom Taylor's Our American Cousin - Notable as a widely popular 19th century play and the play Abraham Lincoln was watching when he was assassinated.
 * Shakespeare's Cardenio - A lost play of Shakespeare's which has had a substantial amount of scholarship devoted to it.
 * Mozart's Apollo et Hyacinthus - A minor opera by a major composer.
 * Stephen Sondheim's Follies - A major musical by a major musical theatre composer.
 * Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring - notable as a major innovative work by a major composer that ignited substantial controversy in its first performance.
 * Rolf Hochhuth's The Deputy - Notable as a play by a minor playwright that ignited controversy for it's portrayal of Pope Pius XII.
 * Verdi's Rigoletto - Notable as an opera in the popular repertoire.
 * Donald Margulies' Dinner With Friends - A Pulitzer Prize winning play.