Download 19 January 2017 American Theatre Origins and

19 January 2017
American Theatre
Origins and development
From the beginning, American drama has cut against the grain: according to the poet
and pamphleteer Phillip Stubbes, plays are "sucked out of the devils teates to nourish
us in ydolatrie, heathenrie, and sinne."
EXAMPLES OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF DRAMA IN AMERICA 17001779:
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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
EXAMPLES OF ANTAGONISTIC ATTITUDES TO AMERICAN THEATRE:
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In Virginia, 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.
In Pennsylvania, a statute punished anyone who produced or even attended
performances by sentencing them to hard labour.
THE PLAYS OF THIS PERIOD FORESHADOW 2OTH CENTURY
AMERICAN DRAMA:
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They condemn political corruption and critique society
They mix linguistic play with farcical or symbolic action, and show the
language of the “common folk.”
They reveal an implicit faith in the playwright’s ability to promote social
change
AMERICAN VARIETY
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Variety was America’s most popular entertainment in the early to mid-1800s.
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
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The minstrel show
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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 popularize blackface acts was Thomas D. Rice in 1828. He sang
the patter song, “Jim Crow” which created the craze for blackface performers.
Jim Crow became a synonym for any black man
The most famous graduate of minstrelsy was Al Jolson.
Jolson immortalized his blackface routines in several films, including the
talking landmark The Jazz Singer (1928).
He advocated equal rights for African Americans
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
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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
The Vaudeville Bill
According to George A. Gottlieb, booker for the Palace Theatre, the vaudeville nineact was:
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Dumb Act: designed not be spoiled by late arrivals.
Vaudeville Act: Designed to “settle” down the audience.
Comedy-Drama Sketch: Designed to wake up the audience.
“Name” Act: Rouse the audience to expect still better things.
Big act with “name”: Must crown off the first half of the
program.INTERMISSION
Vaudeville specialty/Comedy dumb act: A difficult spot to fill.
Full stage act with “name.”
“The” place of the evening: The headliner.
Big, flashy, show act: People are leaving and should not want to stay around.
The Early Musical
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The popular stage in America was a musical stage.
Almost every theatrical production interpolated musical numbers—even
Shakespearean tragedies.
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As early as 1796, New York’s American Company, an early theatre company,
musical entertainments accounted for 45% of their productions
The first homegrown American musical was the comic opera, The Archers by
William Dunlap. (1796)
Based on the William Tell legend.
Broadways first blockbuster: The Black Crook (1866)
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Niblo’s Garden, a 3,200 seat theater that boasted the most well equipped stage
in New York.
Elaborately staged melodrama with pasticcio music.
Featured more than 100 ballet dancers.
Lasted around 5 1/2 hours.
The initial run grossed $1,000,000.00 and ran 475 performances.
It was the most popular musical production of the 19th Century.
The Ziegfeld Follies
Ziegfeld formula calls for:
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Glamour--the glorification of the most beautiful American girls. (Burlesque)
Pace--with all elements leading to first act curtain and finale. (Vaudeville)
Decency--nothing suggestive or unclean. (Vaudeville)
Spectacle.
SHOWBOAT (1927)
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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.
Opened with the largest advance ticket sale to date.
Solidified the accomplishment/genius of Kern and Hammerstein--Oscar also
adapted the book--the show was produced by Florenz Ziegfeld.
Songs:"Can't Help Lovin' Dat Man Of Mine”; "Ol' Man River.
Most important for bringing new and meaningful themes to the musical stage-it set a precedent for the musical of the future.
The foremost critical and popular achievement of the 1920s.
The Roaring 20's
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The new concept of “credit”
People were buying:
Automobiles
Appliances
Clothes
Alcohol and drugs are in abundance
Dancing
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Flappers
PRESIDENT HOOVER
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Herbert Hoover
Progressive
War Reconstruction
Opposed direct federal aid
Self-help & volunteerism
Self-help cooperatives
HOOVER’S AMERICA
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Anti-tax views & opposition to government support deepened depression
Texas legislature vetoed a bond measure for relief
Oklahoma governor William Murray called out the national guard to enforce
segregation in Oklahoma City
Colorado Senator Ed Costigan wanted federal government to help states in
relief efforts
What about the people?
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Farmers were already feeling the effects
–Prices of crops went down
–Many farms foreclosed
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People could not afford luxuries
–Factories shut down
–Businesses went out
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Banks could not pay out money
People could not pay their taxes
–Schools shut down due to lack of funds
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Many families became homeless and had to live in shanties
“HOOVERVILLE”
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Some families were forced to live in shanty towns
A grouping of shacks and tents in vacant lots
They were referred to as “Hooverville” because of President Hoover’s lack of
help during the depression
A drought in the South lead to dust storms that destroyed crops
ROOSEVELT AND THE NEW DEAL
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Frederick Delano Roosevelt (FDR)
Programs to address the Depression
“Relief, Recovery, Reform”
Debt spending
Consume our way out of the depression
Role of government in providing relief
“Just so he does something. Even if what he does is wrong they are with him... if
he burned down the capital, we would cheer and say, "well, we at least got a fire
started anyhow.” - WILL ROGERS ON F.D.R.
Immediate Responses, 1933
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Federal Emergency Relief Act
Federal funds for relief
National Industrial Recovery Act
Fair work and competition codes
Administration to enforce codes
Guaranteed labor’s right to organize
Works Progress Administration (WPA)
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Biggest agency
1935 employed 8 million and $2 billion fund
Bridges, reservoirs, irrigation, sewage, schools, playgrounds, education,
training
Work Programs paid minimum wages, pulled them off charity and soup lines
“We Work Again!”