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The rich history of African-American theatre has often been overlooked, both in theoretical discourse and in practice. This volume seeks a critical engagement with black theatre artists and theorists of the twentieth century. It reveals a comprehensive view of the Art or Propaganda debate that dominated twentieth century African-American dramatic theory. Among others, this text addresses the writings of Langston Hughes, W.E.B. DuBois, Alain Locke, Lorraine Hansberry, Amiri Baraka, Adrienne Kennedy, Sidney Poitier, and August Wilson. Of particular note is the manner in which black theory collides or intersects with canonical theorists, including Aristotle, Keats, Ibsen, Nietzsche, Shaw, and O'Neill.
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Theorizing Black Theatre
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Theorizing Black Theatre Art Versus Protest in Critical Writings, 1898 –1965 HENRY D. MILLER Foreword by JAMES V. HATCH
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Jefferson, North Carolina, and London
LIBRARY
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CONGRESS CATALOGUING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA
Miller, Henry (Henry D.) Theorizing black theatre : art versus protest in critical writings, 1898–1965 / Henry D. Miller ; foreword by James V. Hatch. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-7864-5937-7 softcover : 50# alkaline paper ¡. American drama — African American authors — History and criticism. 2. American drama — 20th century — History and criticism. 3. African American theater — United States — History — 20th century. 4. African Americans — Intellectual life — 20th century. 5. African Americans in literature. 6. Racism in literature. 7. Civil rights in literature. 8. Politics in literature. I. Title. PS338.N4M45 2011 812'.509896073 — dc22 2010041612 British Library cataloguing data are available © 2011 Henry D. Miller. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher. On the cover: A scene from the 1936 film adaptation of Marc Connelly’s Pulitzer Prize–winning play The Green Pastures (Warner Bros./Photofest) Manufactured in the United States of America
McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers Box 6¡¡, Je›erson, North Carolina 28640 www.mcfarlandpub.com
To the memory of my parents: Hortense E. Miller (1921–2000) and Henry J. Miller (1921–1975) And the late professor emeritus Charles Gattnig of the City College, City University of New York *** Also to the African American theatre people who have, sometimes unknowingly, personally taught me a great deal about the main crafts of the theatre — acting, playwriting, and directing: Marilyn Tsouristakis, Claire Leyba, Philip Hayes Dean, Roger Furman, Maxwell Glanville, Stanley Greene, Ted Butler, Ed Ellison, Ossie Davis, Simon Bly, James Baldwin, Leecinth Hunkins, Louise Mike, Rose Philip, Dr. Barbara Holmes, Esther Rolle, Alice Childress, Lofton Mitchell, Oscar Brown, Jr., Frances Foster, Earl Hyman, Marjorie Eliot, Arthur French, Jr., William Jay Marshall, Frank Robinson Adu, and Arthur Woodley.
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Table of Contents Acknowledgments Foreword by James V. Hatch Preface Introduction
viii 1 3 7
I —The Dawn of Black Dramatic Theory and the Art or Propaganda Debate Goes Public, 1898–1916 II —“The New Negro” and the High Harlem Renaissance: Core of 20th Century Black Dramatic Theory, 1917–1929
21 51
III —Black Theory in the Great Depression and Beyond, 1930–1949, Part I
86
IV —Black Theory in the Great Depression and Beyond, 1930–1949, Part II
117
V —Civil Rights vs. Integration and the Persistence of Art-Theatre Drama, 1950–1959
14