Eileen Blumenthal (theater history and criticism) is a theater critic and historian. She received her Ph.D. degree in history of theater from Yale University in 1975. Her specialties include contemporary experimental theater, puppet and object theater, and the theater of Southeast Asia. Three hundred of her reviews and other articles have appeared in the New York Times, American Theatre, Village Voice, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, and many other publications. Her most recent book is Puppetry: A World History, a comprenhensive overview of the history, techniques, and unique aesthetics of this art. She is also the author of Joseph Chaikin: Exploring at the Boundaries of Theatre, and coauthor, with Julie Taymor, of Julie Taymor: Playing with Fire.
