Egbert Austin Williams better known as Bert, was an African American performer during the late 19th and early 20th century. He was born in Nassau, Bahamas on November 12, 1874. He was the child of Frederick, who was a sailor and his mother Julia. When Williams was 11 he and his family moved to Riverside in southern California. While in Nassau, Williams encountered very little racism, southern California however was a much different story which troubled him deeply throughout his lustrous career. Although he faced racism throughout his career he still was extremely successful. By the time he died in March of 1922, he had broken down numerous racial doors that has had an everlasting impact on Broadway. He became a legend as a comedian, songwriter, singer, and dancer in American Musical Theater.
Bert Williams moved to San Francisco to attend college at the University of San Francisco in 1892. While in school Williams would write songs, and do impressions at local venues to earn some extra money. He met a man named George Walker, a fellow black artist, who was a young and talented performer. These two decided to put an act together, and to tell one’s story is to tell the others as well. Williams and Walker called themselves for a time, “The Two Real Coons”. They “worked in the minstrel tradition, originally created by Whites wearing blackface as a vehicle for demeaning humor aimed at African Americans” (BHS). Williams was able to turn this around however as he “avoided the racial stereotype as he transformed the sorrow of his race into the stuff of laughter” (Stempel 92). He would also find a way to tell a tale all races could share and relate to.
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Detriot Public Library . Bert Williams - Biography. n.d. 5 March 2014. .
Jas Obrecht. Bert Williams & George Walker: The First African-American Superstars. 2011. 3 March 2014. .
Mroczka, Paul. Broadway Scenes Remembered. 2 August 2013. 3 March 2014. .
Stempel, Larry. Showtime: A History of the Broadway Musical Theater. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2010.
The Gale Group. PBS. 1998. Research. 4 March 2014. .
Washington, Eric K. Bert Williams, Broadway and Harlem's once-renowned "Nobody" and everyman. Ed. Eric K. Washington. n.d. 4 March 2014. .
Gill, Glenda Eloise. No Surrender! No Retreat! : African American Pioneer Performers of Twentieth-Century American Theater. New York: St. Martin's, 2000. Print.
In Dialogue: Theatre of America, Harold Clurman said, “we make theatre out of life” (27), and it was precisely this view that motivated him to help create a uniquely American theatre. Clurman, considered one of the most influential directors of the modern American theatre, had a unique vision of what the American theatre could become. One of the founders of the quintessentially American troupe, the Group Theatre, Clurman was a contemporary of Elia Kazan and Lee Strasberg, and even married to Stella Adler for twenty years. At a ceremony honoring Clurman, Elia Kazan stated that Clurman’s “greatest achievement [was] himself” (Harold Clurman: A Life of Theatre). An important figure in our theatrical past, Clurman’s theories on theatre and directing require close attention. In this paper, I will first provide a brief biography of Clurman, second, examine his theories of theatre and directing, and lastly, I will explore his criticisms of the then-contemporary theatre, and draw conclusions to the current state of the Broadway theatre.
Two plays, twenty years apart helped to depict two very important periods in African American history. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, premiered in 1984, and Dutchman premiered in 1964 help to show the development of the black mind set in certain periods of history. Dutchman, written during the black arts period (1960-1975); helped to show how African Americans constantly fought to escape the classic stereotypes that they were associated with. Joe Turner’s Come and Gone, written for the Contemporary Period, told the story of how first generation black people after the signing of the emancipation proclamation, fought to find their identity, not only as black people but also religiously.
Carter G. Woodson: Negro Orators ansd Their Orations (New York, NY, 1925) and The Mind of the Negro (Washington, DC., 1926).
Like Robinson, these men paved the way for today’s players and are the reason that the best athletes in the world now play in the NBA.” (Dave Howell, NBA.com, Six Who Paved The Way, Page 1). African-Americans in basketball, more specifically the first 5 players, began to make people realize that African Americans were not foreign creatures, they were actual people. People also began to realize that African Americans make equally as significant contributions to the society and community as anyone else
After high school Williams began to attend college at Claremont Men's College where he majored in political science. It was while at Claremont he discovered acting. Williams began memorizing Jonathan Winter's (Williams' idol) records and taking lessons in improv. Soon Williams transferred to Marion College to study acting. He proved to be extremely gifted and was awarded a full scholarship to Julliard in New York City. At Julliard Williams studied under John Houseman and became best friends with Christopher Reeve. He started off in drama and was very promising. Williams worked as a mime and began practicing stand up to make extra money.
Tennessee Williams was born Thomas Lanier Williams in 1911. As a successful playwright, his career was greatly influenced by events in his life. He was noted for bringing the reader "a slice of his own life and the feel of southern culture", as his primary sources of inspiration were "the writers he grew up with, his family, and the South." The connection between his life and his work can be seen in several of his plays.
Although the black performing arts population had to take the road of survival to gain self satisfaction in the theater, it was not painless. For a long time, black people were not allowed on the stage; instead black actors were mocked by white actors in "black face." Black face was a technique where white actors would physically cover their face with black paint and act as a black character. It was from this misrepresentation of the "black actor" that the names tom, coon, mulatto, mammy and buck derived. According to Donald Bogle, none of the types were meant to do great harm, although...
Tennessee Williams is known for his ability to portray the unspeakable and force people to face their disputes in the most artful form. He is clearly a professional at one-upping everyday problems, but there are many different reasons why Williams decided to expose these real life issues to not only America, but the world. “A playwright is
Wells, E A. (2011) West Side Story Cultural Perspectives on an American musical. Maryland: Scarecrow Press, Inc.
1920’s Harlem was a time of contrast and contradiction, on one hand it was a hotbed of crime and vice and on the other it was a time of creativity and rebirth of literature and at this movement’s head was Langston Hughes. Hughes was a torchbearer for the Harlem Renaissance, a literary and musical movement that began in Harlem during the Roaring 20’s that promoted not only African-American culture in the mainstream, but gave African-Americans a sense of identity and pride.
Langston Hughes, born in February 1st, 1902, grew up in segregated America. His own ancestry was as mixed as that described in the poem. Both his great-grandmothers were enslaved African Americans and both his grandparents were white slave owners. Both of Hughes’ parents were of mixed race descent. Many of his family members were key figures in the elevation of blacks in society, and they impressed upon him the nobility of black people. Hughes had a rootless and often lonely upbringing, moving back and forth between family members’ homes. Hughes was a prominent leader of the Harlem Renaissance and referred to it as the period when “the negro was in vogue”.
Brockett, Oscar G., and Oscar G. Brockett. The Essential Theatre. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1976. Print.
Theatre has heavily evolved over the past 100 years, particularly Musical Theatre- a subgenre of theatre in which the storyline is conveyed relying on songs and lyrics rather than dialogue. From its origination in Athens, musical theatre has spread across the world and is a popular form of entertainment today. This essay will discuss the evolution and change of musical theatre from 1980-2016, primarily focusing on Broadway (New York) and the West End (London). It will consider in depth, the time periods of: The 1980s: “Brit Hits”- the influence of European mega musicals, the 1990s: “The downfall of musicals”- what failed and what redeemed, and the 2000s/2010s: “The Resurgence of musicals”- including the rise of pop and movie musicals. Concluding
Whitaker, Matthew C.. African American icons of sport: triumph, courage, and excellence. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 2008.