In the first half of the twentieth century; a number of American theatres and theatre artists fostered interracial collaboration and socialization on stage; behind the scenes; and among audiences. In an era marked by entrenched racial segregation and inequality; these artists used performance to bridge Americarsquo;s persistent racial divide and to bring African American; Latino/Latina; Asian American; Native American; and Jewish American communities and traditions into the nationrsquo;s broader cultural conversation. In Experiments in Democracy; edited by Cheryl Black and Jonathan Shandell; theatre historians examine a wide range of performancesmdash;from Broadway; folk plays and dance productions to scripted political rallies and radio dramas. Contributors look at such diverse groups as the Theatre Union; La Unioacute;n Martiacute;-Maceo; and the American Negro Theatre; as well as individual playwrights and their works; including Theodore Brownersquo;s folk opera Natural Man; Josefina Nigglirsquo;s Soldadera; and playwright Lynn Riggsrsquo;s Cherokee Night and Green Grow the Lilacs (the basis for the musical Oklahoma!). Exploring the ways progressive artists sought to connect isolated racial and cultural groups in pursuit of a more just and democratic society; contributors take into account the blind spots; compromised methods; and unacknowledged biases at play in their practices and strategies. Essays demonstrate how the gap between the ideal of American democracy and its practicemdash;mired in entrenched systems of white privilege; economic inequality; and social prejudicemdash;complicated the work of these artists. Focusing on questions of race; ethnicity; gender; and sexuality on the stage in the decades preceding the Civil Rights era; Experiments in Democracy fills an important gap in our understanding of the history of the American stagemdash;and sheds light on these still-relevant questions in contemporary American society.
2016-05-24 2016-05-24File Name: B01GOS0HQI
Review
