White People Do Not Know How to Behave at Entertainments Designed for Ladies and Gentlemen of Colour

William Brown's African and American Theater

Nonfiction, Entertainment, Performing Arts, Theatre, History & Criticism, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Cultural Studies, African-American Studies
Cover of the book White People Do Not Know How to Behave at Entertainments Designed for Ladies and Gentlemen of Colour by Marvin McAllister, The University of North Carolina Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Marvin McAllister ISBN: 9780807862605
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press Publication: November 20, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press Language: English
Author: Marvin McAllister
ISBN: 9780807862605
Publisher: The University of North Carolina Press
Publication: November 20, 2003
Imprint: The University of North Carolina Press
Language: English

In August 1821, William Brown, a free man of color and a retired ship's steward, opened a pleasure garden on Manhattan's West Side. It catered to black New Yorkers, who were barred admittance to whites-only venues offering drama, music, and refreshment. Over the following two years, Brown expanded his enterprises, founding a series of theaters that featured African Americans playing a range of roles unprecedented on the American stage and that drew increasingly integrated audiences.

Marvin McAllister explores Brown's pioneering career and reveals how each of Brown's ventures--the African Grove, the Minor Theatre, the American Theatre, and the African Company--explicitly cultivated an intercultural, multiracial environment. He also investigates the negative white reactions, verbal and physical, that led to Brown's managerial retirement in 1823.

Brown left his mark on American theater by shaping the careers of his performers and creating new genres of performance. Beyond that legacy, says McAllister, this nearly forgotten theatrical innovator offered a blueprint for a truly inclusive national theater.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In August 1821, William Brown, a free man of color and a retired ship's steward, opened a pleasure garden on Manhattan's West Side. It catered to black New Yorkers, who were barred admittance to whites-only venues offering drama, music, and refreshment. Over the following two years, Brown expanded his enterprises, founding a series of theaters that featured African Americans playing a range of roles unprecedented on the American stage and that drew increasingly integrated audiences.

Marvin McAllister explores Brown's pioneering career and reveals how each of Brown's ventures--the African Grove, the Minor Theatre, the American Theatre, and the African Company--explicitly cultivated an intercultural, multiracial environment. He also investigates the negative white reactions, verbal and physical, that led to Brown's managerial retirement in 1823.

Brown left his mark on American theater by shaping the careers of his performers and creating new genres of performance. Beyond that legacy, says McAllister, this nearly forgotten theatrical innovator offered a blueprint for a truly inclusive national theater.

More books from The University of North Carolina Press

Cover of the book Choice and Coercion by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Burden of White Supremacy by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book National Insecurities by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Patrician Tribune by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Earl J. Hess Fortifications Trilogy, Omnibus E-book by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Oregon and the Collapse of Illahee by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Revolutions Revisited by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Age of Youth in Argentina by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Not Straight, Not White by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Enclosed Garden by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Calculating the Value of the Union by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book The Birth of a New Europe by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Beyond the Broker State by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Christianity, Social Justice, and the Japanese American Incarceration during World War II by Marvin McAllister
Cover of the book Pageants, Parlors, and Pretty Women by Marvin McAllister
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy