You will need to use a combination of print and microfilm sources to find older reviews in the New York Times.
New York Times
Search the New York Times's website for free. Full-text content is freely available for items published before 1923 (i.e., pre-copyright).
Once you've determined in what issue of the New York Times your play was reviewed:
1. Go to very end of the AU Library's reference collection.
2. Look for the index volumes for the New York Times (ZZ150 .N4).
3. Select the volume for the year in question.
4. Look alphabetically under the term THEATER (-er ending) for 1942-96. For earlier editions of the New York Times, look under the term PLAYS, or PLAYS AND OPERAS, or MUSICAL COMEDIES AND REVUES.
5. Find the entry for your play's review.
Once you've determined where the review is located, you need to find the specific roll of microfilm for that issue of the New York Times. Microfilm for the New York Times is on the main floor, near the reference collection.