"James Hewlett as Richard III"
John Malveaux of
writes:
Please see excerpt from History of the Musical Stage 1700-1865: Musical Pioneers by John Kenrick [(Copyright 1996, Revised 2014) Full text: http://www.musicals101.com/1700bway.htm]:
"In the summer of 1821, William Henry Brown (a
black West Indian and former ship's steward) opened a "pleasure garden"
in his backyard at 38 Thomas Street. This was the first black-owned
establishment in New York to offer entertainment to African American
audiences. With blacks barred from every other theatre in town, Brown
drew capacity crowds. He soon built the American Theatre on Mercer
Street, and drew curious whites by featuring all-black casts in the
same blend of plays and musical acts found in white theatres.
At
first, Brown's work was tolerated by the authorities, and viewed with
amusement by the press. However, when he had the audacity to lease a
performance space on Broadway, the theatrical establishment reacted with
alarm. White theatre owners hired street toughs to break up Brown's
performances, and when police were called in they ignored the thugs and
arrested the black actors. When the matter came to trial, a white
judge ruled that Brown's negro company was not to perform Shakespeare
again, limiting itself to lighter material. Brown returned to his old
location and abided by the court's order, but continuing harassment
forced him to shut down altogether in 1823. African American performers
would not return to New York's legitimate stages until after the Civil
War, and all-black productions would not successfully appear on
Broadway until the next century."
John Malveaux
No comments:
Post a Comment