American Theatre

From the beginning , American drama has cut against the grain:

According to the poet and pamphleteer Philip stubbed, plays are “sucked out the devils teases to nourish us in Ydolatrie, heatherine, and since.”

Examples of the development of drama in America 1700-1779:

• As early as 1702, American colleges became a natural locus for dramatic activity
• Between 1716 and 1718, the first colonial theatre was built in williamsburg, Virginia
• By 1767, Charleston, Philadelphia, and New York had permanent theatres.
• In virgina, august 1665, three residents were arrested and tried for acting in ye bare and ye cubb, The first recorded performance in America.
• all the colonies had laws whose effects were to prohibit or deter theatrical activity.

The plays of this period foreshadows contemporary drama

• The condemn political corruption and critque society.
• they mix linguistic play with facial or symbolic action, and show the language of the “common folk.”

They reveal an implicit faith in the playwright’s ability to promote social .

American Variety

• Variety was americas most popular entertainment in the early to mid 1800’s
• variety was not out to attract a family audience. the audience was primarily all male.
• Nudity and verbal obscenity were forbidden, but “blue” acts and songs depicting sexual situations were common.

Minstrel Shows

• crude, low-grade style of song, dance and comedy entertainment.
• impersonation of negro life and manners by white men in black face.
• The music,songs, dances and comic chatter reflected a plantation experience that never existed.
• The first to popularise blackface acts was thomas d.rice in 1828. He sang the patter song “jim crow” which created the craze for blackface performers
• Jim crowe became a synonym for any black male.

• The most famous graduate of minstrelsy was Al Jolson.
• Jolson immortalised his blackface routines in several films, including the talking landmark
• By 1870, the minstrel show began to fade; however, minstrel traditions were transformed:
• the variety acts evolved into vaudeville. the specialties led to the revue.
• The burlesque paved way for others in, what else burlesque

 

Vaudeville

• The origins of the term vaudeville are still unclear.
• For our purpose, it comes from the French phrase, “voix de ville” or “songs of the town.”
• Show business entered a gold age of new and gaudy showplaces.
• Nearly 2,000 theatres featured weekly programs.
• By 1924, management became very sophisticated.  The vaudeville bill may have looked like a melange of entertainment, but it was skillfully put together.

 

• Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
• The First “popular” and “serious” show that featured African Americans.
• Introduced controversial themes which were considered impossible for the musical stage.
• Brought with it a new level of literacy–based on Edna Ferber’s novel.

Showboat

• Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II
• The First “popular” and “serious” show that featured African Americans.
• Introduced controversial themes which were considered impossible for the musical stage.
• Brought with it a new level of literacy–based on Edna Ferber’s novel.

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