The History of The American Theater to Date - Essay Example

HISTORY OF THE AMERICAN THEATER TO The history of American Theatre begins in the post-Civil War period, weaving its way through the developmentof American theatre through 1945 and well into the twenty-first century. However, between 1870 to 1920 the theater experienced its most dramatic change in the United States. A massive European immigration and major population shifts between regions of the country led to the increase of personal incomes and leisure time, marking the need for increased entertainment. The first play written by an American and performed in America by professional actors was The Prince of Parthia (Thomas Godfrey, 1759). The Broadway Musical was born in 1866 when William Wheatley staged the first show, The Black Crook. As the American theatre became more popular, it grew to include drama, melodrama, comic opera, pantomime, extravaganza, satiric comedy, burlesques, and musical theatre and comedy to create the American theatre that we know today. Memories of the old American theater crowd the mind so thick, much like the evening of June 4, 1821. The setting is surreal as New Yorkers promenade on Broadway from the Battery to City Hall Park. Two men inspect a new, imposing monument in the churchyard of St. Pauls Chapel, adjacent to the fashionable promenade. Many strollers on the avenue would have recognized them instantly. The taller of the two men, Dr. John Wakefield Francis, was a distinguished physician and more importantly a lover of the arts and an inveterate patron of the theater. The good doctor considered it a privilege to give his services, without fee, to authors, painters and actors, but his private reasons for giving his services was simply because he enjoyed their society, and cultivated their friendship (Morris 1953:3). According to Morris (3), the doctor’s “unconventional taste was condoned by many of his patients because of his professional skill.” His companion had recently “given cause for scandal,” launching what Morris calls “a stormy controversy” in the New York and Boston newspapers. Public resentment rose against this man, Edmund Kean, the most famous of English actors whose successful American tour ended, abruptly, in disaster. Still, amidst the struggles and fight, Kean was successful in having the first monument dedicated to an actor’s honor erected. The monument reads: Erected to the Memory of George Frederick Cooke by Edund Kean of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane 1821 “Three kingdoms claim his birth, Both hemispheres pronounce his worth.” In spite of the growing number of theatrical productions, the northern states continued to harbor much opposition over the theater. In 1794, the first Boston theater opened. It was equipped with a separate entrance to the gallery, of which theater opponents of the playhouse argued that in affording a special door to this portion of the house meant the theater was offering “the resort of the vile of both sexes” (Morris). In spite of public opposition, the theater continued to grow. In fact, “little theaters” began to pop up all around. Dion Boucicault wrote The Octoroon (1861-1862) –a lurid tale of race, slavery, and crime- in a time when penning such literature was popular and risqué. Even so, Boucicault’s work became as infamous as the works of Tennessee Williams (The Glass Menagerie) and Arthur Miller (Death of a Salesman). It was with these plays that many of the first little theaters got their start. One of the first little theaters in the United States, the Wisconsin Dramatic Society, was run by Thomas Dickinson. Another little theater, founded by Maurice Brown, came to be recognized as the leader in the little theater movement in general. Brown’s accomplishments in the industry were widely covered in such publications as the Theatre Arts Magazine, The Drama, and The Theatre. However, it was through his national tour of Trojan Women in 1915 and visits with other productions to theaters throughout the United States that made his name in the industry. In a 1992 book on the origins of modern American theater, Feinsod wrote that of all the little theaters that were born and died between 1912 and 1920, Brown’s “held most consistently to the goal of a simple stage and left an indelible imprint on the American mise-en-seine” (78). It is no secret that drama falls short when compared to other genres simply because of its demands of collaboration between the playwright and the producer, a largely conservative audience, and the requirements of a theatre, actors, set design, and a director (Reuben). It was at the end of the First World War, at the hands of what Reuben describes “greedy businessmen who peddled inferior plays for profit” that the theater began to end. However, this dying of the genre sparked a strike by Actors’ Equity in 1917, which shut all New York theaters (Ibid). In spite of the turmoil, theaters continued to pop up around the nation, including the rebirth of little theaters in cities that had previously shut down production. As the theater progressed, so did the diversity of its participants. The strong onset of African-American theater (African American Theatre, Freetown Village Theatre Troupe, Madam Walker Theatre Center, Asante Childrens’ Theatre, Chicago’s Ethiopian Art Theatre; Circa 1922-24) brought the drama of American life to the masses. Additional genre theaters date back much farther than can be covered in these pages, but a brief selection includes Vaudeville and popular entertainment theaters (i.e., American Variety Stage: Circa 1870-1920, Chestnut Street Theatre: Philadelphia, 1794 –one of America’s oldest theaters, Federal Theatre Project: Circa 1930s, the San Francisco Theatre: Circa 1849-1900, and Wild West Shows). There still stands at 722 and 724 Montgomery Street a building, which in the [eighteen-] fifties was for a brief period utilized as a theatre, called “The Melodeon.” Joe Murphy, Lew Rattler, Frank Hussey, the Worrell Sisters and other early day favorites played there. The admission was 25 cents. San Francisco’s very first entertainment was given by Stephen C. Massett, better known as “Jeemes Pipes of Pipesville,” who on June 22nd 1849, at the Police Office, rendered a program consisting of vocal music and recitations. The front row was reserved for ladies. Four attended. (San Francisco Theatrical Memories) Drama had its hold on many Americans but during war eras, comedies were most popular. In fact, it was during this period in history that America was introduced to some of the nation’s finest comedians: Bob Hope, George Burns, and Milton Burle. Comedians, like these, often migrated, along with their jokes and skits, from minstrelsy to vaudeville, from burlesque to recordings, to radio, and even to television (Library of Congress, 1996). In the mid 1900s, Shakespeare’s plays became popular again. One opening, in May 1963, was The Guthrie Theater with a production of Hamlet directed by Sir Tyrone Guthrie, the theaters founder. Over time, the American theater has vastly expanded to include endless genres of entertainment, both physical and electronic. As we enter the twenty-first century, the American theater opens the imagination to a world of possibilities. Over the past few decades, many of the nations noted feature film actors have made their way to the stage trying their talents at live performances –proving that the American theater is alive and well today. Such noted personalities include Steve Martin (recipient of the Mark Twain Prize for American Humor, Dead Men Dont Wear Plaid, The Man with Two Brains, Roxanne, L.A. Story, Bowfinger, Father of the Bride, Parenthood, Cheaper by the Dozen, and Bringing Down the House; Off Broadway plays: Picasso at the Lapin Agile and The Underpants, an adaptation of a 1911 play by Carl Sternheim), Vanessa Redgrave (Hecuba), Christine Baranski (Mame), and James Earl Jones (On Golden Pond). Among those personalities referenced within these pages are many more, including those belonging to the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.). Artists around the world are familiar with ART and its unique place in the American theatre as the only not-for-profit theatre in the country that maintains a resident acting company and an international training conservatory, and that operates in association with a major university. Proving, again, that the American theater lives on, ART has been the recipient of many distinguished awards, including a Pulitzer Prize, a Tony Award, and a Jujamcyn Award. Such productions of this company include William Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew and George Bernard Shaw’s Man and Superman and The Doctor’s Dilemma. American theater takes the audience into a world that is not so different from their own, but also exports them to a place to escape their daily trials and routines. Looking back through out the history of American theater, one clear description best defines the art of the stage –it is timeless, entertaining, talent-packed, and opens the door to never-ending opportunities for classic titles. Works Cited: Feinsod, Arthur. The Simple Stage: Its Origins in the Modern American Theater. Greenwood Press: New York, 1992. John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. URL: http://kennedy-center.org/ (May 24, 2005). Madison, James. “San Francisco Theatrical Memories.” The Virtual Museum of the City of San Francisco. URL: http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist/theatres.html (May 24, 2005). Morris, Lloyd. Curtain Time: The Story of the American Theater. Random House: New York, 1953. “Production History.” American Repertory Theatre. URL: http://www.amrep.org/prodhist.html (May 24, 2005). Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 8: American Drama - An Introduction." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL:http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap8/8intro.html (May 24, 2005). The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870 – 1920. Library of Congress, October 1996. Read More