American Theatre History
The first play ever produced on
American soil…

August 27, 1655
 Ye
Bare and Ye Cubb
 Accomac, Virginia
 Fowkes’ Tavern
The first playhouse in the
American colonies…

1716
 Williamsburg,
Virginia
The first professional theatre in
America…

1752
 William
Hallam
The first time American soldiers
fired on American citizens…

The Astor Place
Riots
 May
7, 1849
 William Charles
MacCready
 English
 Astor
Place Opera
House
 Shakespeare
 Upper class
 Edwin
Forrest
 American
 Bowery
Theatre
 Shakespeare
 Working Class
The Astor Place Opera House
Bowery Theatre
William Charles MacCready
Edwin Forrest
First President Assassinated…

Abraham Lincoln
 John
Wilkes Booth
 Ford’s Theatre, Washington D.C.
 April 14, 1865
John Wilkes Booth
(AKA J.B. Wilkes)

Actor and Assassin
 First
stage appearance:
 17 years old
 August 14, 1855
 Earl of Richmond in Richard III
 Charles Street Theatre, Baltimore, MD
 Downfall?
 Southern
Sympathizer
Sic Semper Tyrannis

April 14, 1865
 Went
to get his mail, came out an assassin
 Stabbed Henry Rathbone
 Shot Lincoln
 Dove onstage to escape
 Broke his leg
 Carried to Garrett farm
 Shot and Killed on April 26, 1865
Common Works of the Late
Nineteenth Century

Most popular:
 Shakespeare
 “…Shakespeare,
had he been alive at the time,
would have been, at heart at least, an American.”

Development:
 Melodrama
A
sensational dramatic piece with exaggerated
characters and exciting events intended to appeal
to the emotions of the audience
One of the Most Famous
Melodramatic Works

Uncle Tom’s Cabin
 Adapted
by George Aiken
 Based on the novel by Harriet Beecher Stowe
 Vital Abolitionist novel
 Created



Stereotypes we still know today:
The Mammy– affectionate, dark-skinned grandmother
The Pickaninny– black children
Uncle Tom– dutiful, faithful, hard-working servant-slave
“The Mammy”
“The Pickaninny”
“Uncle Tom”
Climax

Eliza escaping with her child
Theatrical Poster
African Grove Theatre
New York City, New York
 3rd attempt

 Most

successful
First Play Written by an African-American
 The
Drama of King Shotaway
Shut down in 1823
 1858

 William
 The
Wells Brown
Escape
 Ex-slave
The Minstrel Show
Popular Form of Theatre at the time
 White, or black, actors dressed in
“blackface”

 Comic
skits
 Parodies
 Buffoonery
 Slapstick

Revealed
 Racial
stereotyping
 Racist Themes
Theatrical Syndicate

Creators
 Charles
Frohman
 Al Hayman
 Ade Erlanger
 Mark Flaw
 Sam Flenderson
 Fred Zimmerman

Purpose
A
systemized booking agency for theatrical
troupes across the US
Rival: The Shubert Organization

Creators
 Lee
Shubert
 Sam Shubert
 Jacob Shubert

Purpose
 “Theatre
for all”
Vaudeville
The Variety Show is  Trained animals
 Magicians
born
 Impersonators
 Series of separate,
 Acrobats
unrelated acts
 jugglers
grouped together
and billed together  Sources
 Concert saloon
 Types of Acts

 Musicians
 Minstrelsy
 Singers
 Freak
 Dancers
 Comedians
shows
 Dime museums
 Burlesque
Burlesque

Characteristics of Burlesque:
 Minimal
costuming
 Focus on the female form
 Sexual innuendo
 Quick-witted humor
 Puns
 Short routines or sketches
 Think
SNL
Birth of the Musical
Comic Operas and Pantomimes performed
 Minstrel shows - played banjos,
tambourines, “bones”, sang, danced, and
made jokes
 Music Halls and Vaudevilles - unrelated
acts, magic, jugglers, acrobats, sketches,
animals, singers, and dancers

What is a Musical?

a play or movie in which singing and
dancing play an essential part
The First Musical

The Black Crook - Sept 12, 1866 in New
York
 Ran
474 performances
 5 1/2 hours long
 Mixture of drama, spectacle, scenery,
transformations with ballet and scantily clad
dancers
 Lots of scenic special effects
 Produced in Birmingham, AL in 1882!
The Black Crook