THTR 420 From The Chitlin’ Circuit to The Great White Way: A History of African-Americans Onstage in the United States
This course chronologically examines black performers in dramas and musicals from the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) circuit to Broadway. Various U.S. theatrical productions will be introduced through lectures, reading assignments, video clips, documentaries, recordings, and photographs. An overview of the history of U.S. social politics and laws, and their significant effects on the lives of African-Americans, will accompany the presentation of a collection of black creative and performing artists, organizations, producers, and social and political figures. Students will present oral reports that specifically reveal a person or organization intrinsically connected to this history. The student will experience a dramatic research investigation of the heroic determination and ultimate achievement of black performers to be perceived as legitimate artists on Broadway by critics and theatergoers alike.