Download or read book It s getting dark on old Broadway African American theatre of the Harlem Renaissance in search of the right direction written by Clare Stalder and published by GRIN Verlag. This book was released on 2013-04-19 with total page 20 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Seminar paper from the year 2011 in the subject Didactics for the subject English - History of Literature, Eras, grade: 2,0, Free University of Berlin, language: English, abstract: [...] When Gilda Gray performed "It's Getting Dark on Old Broadway" in the opening show of the song-and-dance revue Ziegfeld Follies on 5 June 1922 she eternalized Broadway's latest trend (Woll 76). Black entertainment proliferated in the Theatre District along Broadway in the 1920s and it seemed that black shows had made it into the limelight of success. There was, however, a different 'dark' side to the developments of the black performance scene. To many leading intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance, the new darkness on Broadway looked rather bleak. Important figures like W. E. B. Du Bois who campaigned for a new racial identity through cultural creation (cf. Du Bois “Criteria of Negro Art”) feared that the new phenomenon of black productions reaching out for mainstream success would betray their cause. In his speech at the NAACP's annual conference, he famously claimed that "all Art is propaganda and ever must be" (Du Bois par. 29). Catering to the white public's demands (pars. 33, 35), as the successful Black Broadway musicals did, would mean failing the cause, according to Du Bois. While some scholars argue that theatre and performance in the New Negro era played "a pivotal role in the evolution of Black Nationalism" (Krasner 1), those are opposed by a number of authors who look upon the Harlem Renaissance as a failure (cf. Baker xiii, Neal 39, Krasner 95f.). In the following paper, I will look into the question of whether the performers and artists of the Harlem Renaissance really failed to contribute to a change of white America's attitude toward the African American race (Krasner 14). One point at issue will be whether the increasing success and commercialisation of Black theatre counteracted the objectives of racial renewal or if on the contrary, they were a means to an end. [...]
Download or read book Harlem s Theaters written by Adrienne Macki Braconi and published by Northwestern University Press. This book was released on 2015-10-31 with total page 406 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Honorable Mention, 2016 Errol Hill Book Award for Outstanding Scholarship in African American Theater, Drama and/or Performance Based on a vast amount of archival research, Adrienne Macki Braconi’s illuminating study of three important community-based theaters in Harlem shows how their work was essential to the formation of a public identity for African Americans and the articulation of their goals, laying the groundwork for the emergence of the Civil Rights movement. Macki Braconi uses textual analysis, performance reconstruction, and audience reception to examine the complex dynamics of productions by the Krigwa Players, the Harlem Experimental Theatre, and the Negro Theatre of the Federal Theatre Project. Even as these theaters demonstrated the extraordinary power of activist art, they also revealed its limits. The stage was a site in which ideological and class differences played out, theater being both a force for change and a collision of contradictory agendas. Macki Braconi’s book alters our understanding of the Harlem Renaissance, the roots of the Civil Rights movement, and the history of community theater in America.
Download or read book Macbeth in Harlem written by Clifford Mason and published by Rutgers University Press. This book was released on 2020-06-12 with total page 246 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: 2020 George Freedley Memorial Award Special Jury Prize from the Theatre Library Association 2021 PROSE Awards Finalist, Music & the Performing Arts In 1936 Orson Welles directed a celebrated all-black production of Macbeth that was hailed as a breakthrough for African Americans in the theater. For over a century, black performers had fought for the right to perform on the American stage, going all the way back to an 1820s Shakespearean troupe that performed Richard III, Othello, and Macbeth, without relying on white patronage. "Macbeth" in Harlem tells the story of these actors and their fellow black theatrical artists, from the early nineteenth century to the dawn of the civil rights era. For the first time we see how African American performers fought to carve out a space for authentic black voices onstage, at a time when blockbuster plays like Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Octoroon trafficked in cheap stereotypes. Though the Harlem Renaissance brought an influx of talented black writers and directors to the forefront of the American stage, they still struggled to gain recognition from an indifferent critical press. Above all, "Macbeth" in Harlem is a testament to black artistry thriving in the face of adversity. It chronicles how even as the endemic racism in American society and its theatrical establishment forced black performers to abase themselves for white audiences’ amusement, African Americans overcame those obstacles to enrich the nation’s theater in countless ways.
Download or read book A Beautiful Pageant written by D. Krasner and published by Springer. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 394 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The Harlem Renaissance was an unprecedented period of vitality in the American Arts. Defined as the years between 1910 and 1927, it was the time when Harlem came alive with theater, drama, sports, dance and politics. Looking at events as diverse as the prizefight between Jack Johnson and Jim 'White Hope' Jeffries, the choreography of Aida Walker and Ethel Waters, the writing of Zora Neale Hurston and the musicals of the period, Krasner paints a vibrant portrait of those years. This was the time when the residents of northern Manhattan were leading their downtown counterparts at the vanguard of artistic ferment while at the same time playing a pivotal role in the evolution of Black nationalism. This is a thrilling piece of work by an author who has been working towards this major opus for years now. It will become a classic that will stay on the American history and theater shelves for years to come.
Download or read book A History of African American Theatre written by Errol G. Hill and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 2003-07-17 with total page 652 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Table of contents
Download or read book Lost Plays of the Harlem Renaissance 1920 1940 written by James V. Hatch and published by Wayne State University Press. This book was released on 1996-10-01 with total page 472 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A valuable contribution to African American literary and theatrical scholarship, this volume is a compilation of sixteen plays written during the Harlem Renaissance, brought together for the first time and set in a historical context.
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre written by Harvey Young and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 291 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This Companion provides a comprehensive overview of African American theatre, from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Along the way, it chronicles the evolution of African American theatre and its engagement with the wider community, including discussions of slave rebellions on the national stage, African Americans on Broadway, the Harlem Renaissance, African American women dramatists, and the 'New Negro' and 'Black Arts' movements. Leading scholars spotlight the producers, directors, playwrights and actors whose efforts helped to fashion a more accurate appearance of Black life on stage, and reveal the impact of African American theatre both within the United States and further afield. Chapters also address recent theatre productions in the context of political and cultural change and ask where African American theatre is heading in the twenty-first century"--
Download or read book African American Theater written by Glenda Dicker/sun and published by John Wiley & Sons. This book was released on 2013-08-23 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Written in a clear, accessible, storytelling style, African American Theater will shine a bright new light on the culture which has historically nurtured and inspired Black Theater. Functioning as an interactive guide for students and teachers, African American Theater takes the reader on a journey to discover how social realities impacted the plays dramatists wrote and produced. The journey begins in 1850 when most African people were enslaved in America. Along the way, cultural milestones such as Reconstruction, the Harlem Renaissance and the Black Freedom Movement are explored. The journey concludes with a discussion of how the past still plays out in the works of contemporary playwrights like August Wilson and Suzan-Lori Parks. African American Theater moves unsung heroes like Robert Abbott and Jo Ann Gibson Robinson to the foreground, but does not neglect the race giants. For actors looking for material to perform, the book offers exercises to create new monologues and scenes. Rich with myths, history and first person accounts by ordinary people telling their extraordinary stories, African American Theater will entertain while it educates.
Download or read book Dictionary of the Black Theatre written by Allen Woll and published by Greenwood. This book was released on 1983 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This volume covers Broadway, Off-Broadway and selected Harlem plays that are "by, about, with, for and related to blacks," from 1898 to 1981. Part I documents shows from 1898, the date of the first black musical comedy (A Trip to Coontown) to December 1981 (Dreamgirls). Information for each show includes: its theatre opening date, and number of performances, the creative personnel (producer, author, director, composer, and lyricist), the cast credits, and the show's songs. Each entry concludes with a plot summary, a survey of critical comment and an analysis of the historical context of important shows. Part II includes biographical entries of major performers, writers, and directors and notes on major organizations that have encouraged the black theatre in New York City in the twentieth century. Appendices include a chronology, a discography of recordings of black shows and a select bibliography. ISBN 0-313-22561-3 : $39.95.
Download or read book Staging Faith written by Craig R. Prentiss and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2014 with total page 234 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: - "Lively descriptions... compelling analysis... and careful attention to historical contexts." - Judith Weisenfeld, author of Hollywood Be Thy Name "Methodically and brilliantly probes the nuances... One of the most brilliant and engaging studies on African American theater." - David Krasner, author of A Beautiful Pageant
Download or read book The Cambridge Companion to African American Theatre written by and published by . This book was released on 2018 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: With contributions from the leading scholars in the field, this Companion provides a comprehensive and accessible overview of African American theatre, from the early nineteenth century to the present day. Along the way, it chronicles the evolution of African American theatre and its engagement with the wider community.
Download or read book Black No More written by George S. Schuyler and published by Courier Corporation. This book was released on 2012-03-08 with total page 162 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A satirical approach to debunking the myths of white supremacy and racial purity, this 1931 novel recounts the consequences of a mysterious scientific process that transforms black people into whites.
Download or read book African American Theatre written by Samuel A. Hay and published by Cambridge University Press. This book was released on 1994-03-25 with total page 308 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book traces the history of African American theatre from its beginnings to the present.
Download or read book A Study Guide for Harlem Renaissance written by Gale, Cengage Learning and published by Gale, Cengage Learning . This book was released on 2016 with total page 37 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A Study Guide for "Harlem Renaissance," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Literary Movements for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Literary Movements for Students for all of your research needs.
Download or read book The First Black Actors on the Great White Way written by Susan Curtis and published by . This book was released on 1998 with total page 312 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Why was a nation, so fascinated with firsts, able to forget these black actors and this production so quickly? It is this question that Susan Curtis addresses in The First Black Actors on the Great White Way. Set against the backdrop of transforming theater conventions in the early 1900s and the war in 1917, this important study relates the stories of the actors, stage artists, critics, and many others - black and white - involved in this groundbreaking production. Curtis explores in great depth both the progress in race relations that led to this production and the multifaceted reasons for its quick demise.
Download or read book Black Broadway written by Stewart F. Lane and published by . This book was released on 2015 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The African-American actors and actresses whose names have shone brightly on Broadway marquees earned their place in history not only through hard work, perseverance, and talent, but also because of the legacy left by those who came before them. Like the doors of many professions, those of the theater world were shut to minorities for decades. While the Civil War may have freed the slaves, it was not until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s that the playing field began to level. In this remarkable book, theater producer and historian Stewart F. Lane uses words and pictures to capture this tumultuous century and to highlight the rocky road that black actors have travelled to reach recognition on the Great White Way. After the Civil War, the popularity of the minstrel shows grew by leaps and bounds throughout the country. African Americans were portrayed by whites, who would entertain audiences in black face. While the depiction of blacks was highly demeaning, it opened the door to African-American performers, and by the late 1800s, a number of them were playing to full houses. By the 1920s, the Jazz Age was in full swing, allowing black musicians and composers to reach wider audiences. And in the thirties, musicals such as George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and Eubie Blake's Swing It opened the door a little wider. As the years passed, black performers continued to gain ground. In the 1940s, Broadway productions of Cabin in the Sky, Carmen Jones, and St. Louis Woman enabled African Americans to demonstrate a fuller range of talents, and Paul Robeson reached national prominence in his awarding-winning portrayal of Othello. By the 1950s and '60s, more black actors--including Ruby Dee, Ossie Davis, and Sidney Poitier--had found their voices on stage, and black playwrights and directors had begun to make their marks. Black Broadway provides an entertaining, poignant history of a Broadway of which few are aware. By focusing a spotlight on both performers long forgotten and on those whom we still hold dear, this unique book offers a story well worth telling.
Download or read book Rediscovering the Harlem Renaissance written by Eloise E. Johnson and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 1997 with total page 184 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This collection of essays and reviews represents the most significant and comprehensive writing on Shakespeare's A Comedy of Errors. Miola's edited work also features a comprehensive critical history, coupled with a full bibliography and photographs of major productions of the play from around the world. In the collection, there are five previously unpublished essays. The topics covered in these new essays are women in the play, the play's debt to contemporary theater, its critical and performance histories in Germany and Japan, the metrical variety of the play, and the distinctly modern perspective on the play as containing dark and disturbing elements. To compliment these new essays, the collection features significant scholarship and commentary on The Comedy of Errors that is published in obscure and difficulty accessible journals, newspapers, and other sources. This collection brings together these essays for the first time.
