Download File - Mr. Dendy`s Theatre Class

Drama in the United States Pt. 3
Post-War Theatre
- In the postbellum, or
era North, theatre flourished as
a post-war boom and allowed longer and more
productions
- The invention of the American
allowed
production companies, its
and large, elaborate sets
to travel
between towns
o Made
theatres in small towns feasible
- The invention and practical application of
lighting
also led to changes and improvements of scenery styles and the
designing of theatre
and seating
- In
:
o Charles Frohman, Al Hayman, Abe Erlanger, Mark Klaw,
Samuel F. Flenderson and J. Fred Zimmerman Sr. formed the
 Established a booking system and network throughout
the United States
 Created a management monopoly that controlled all
aspects of
and
until the
th
turn of the 20 Century
o The Schubert Brothers then formed a rival agency known as
and they are still in
business today
- For playwrights, the period after the war brought
financial reward and aesthetic respect
o Also, professional
- In terms of form, spectacles, melodramas and farces remained popular
but poetic drama and romanticism almost died out completely due to
the new emphasis on
The 20th Century
was common in the late 19th and Early 20th
Century and is notable for heavily influencing early film, radio and
television productions
was a very long lived comedian who
started out in Vaudeville but went on to enjoy a career spanning into
the
- Some vaudeville theatres built between about 1900 and 1920 managed
to survive as well
o Many went through periods of alternate use, most often as a
o The second half of the century saw many urban populations
decline and
built in the suburbs
o Since that time, a number have been restored to original or
nearly original condition and attract new audiences nearly
years later
- By the beginning of the
o Legitimate 1752 (
) theatre had
become more sophisticated in the United States as it had in
Europe
o The stars of this era, such as Ethel Barrymore and John Drew
were often seen as even more important than the
itself
o The advance of the
also led to many
changes in theatre
 The popularity of
may have been in
part due to the fact that early films had no sound and thus
could not compete

in 1927 was the first
film to combine talking and music in a moving picture
o More complex and sophisticated
bloomed in
this time period, acting styles became more
o Even by
, actors were being lured away from
the theatre and to the

began to face stiff competition
 While
consisting of mostly
unconnected songs, sketches, comedy routines and
scantily-clad dancing girls dominated the first 20 years of
the 20th century,
would eventually develop beyond this
 One of the first major steps was
with music by Jerome Kern and lyrics by Oscar
Hammerstein
 It featured songs and non-musical scenes which
were integrated to develop the show’s plot
 The next great step forward was
!
With lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein and music by Richard
Rodgers
 Its “
” used dance to
carry forward the plot and develop the characters
o Amateur performing groups have always had a place alongside
professional acting companies
 The Amateur Comedy Club, Inc was founded on
 Organized by 7 men who broke away from the Madison
Square Dramatic Organization
 The
held its first
performance on February 13, 1885
 It has performed ever since making it the oldest,
continuously performing theatrical society in the United
States
o The massive social change that went on during
also had an effect on theatre in the
United States
 Plays took on social roles, identifying with immigrants
and the unemployed
o
 A
program set up by Franklin D.
Roosevelt helped to promote theatre and provide actors
with jobs
 The program staged many elaborate and controversial
plays
 By contrast,
(founder of the Tony Awards) was among those who felt
it was more of a time than ever for comedic materials to
provide an escape from the harsh reality of real life
o The years between the
were years
of extremes

 His plays were the high point for serious dramatic
plays leading up to the outbreak of war in Europe
o Beyond The Horizon (
)
o Anna Christie (
)
o Strange Interlude (
)
 He won the Nobel Prize in Literature for all three
of these plays
o 1940 proved to be a pivotal year for
 Frederick O’Neal and Abraham Hill founded ANT better
know as the
 The most renowned African American theatre
group of the 1940’s
 The stage was small and located in the basement of the
library in
 Most shows were written and attended by AfricanAmericans
 Shows Included:
o Natural Man by
o Garden of Time by
 Famous Actors/Actresses Include
o
o
o