19 th Century American Drama

1. 19th Century American Drama

2. 19th Century American Drama • Early drama had been considered sinful • College of William and Mary - the site of perhaps the first accepted play in 1702 • 1716 – 1st playhouse built in Williamsburg, Virginia

3. 1778 – Continental Congress denounced stage shows because they “diverted the minds of people from . . . the defense of the country.” • 1st play worthy of consideration The Contrast by Royal Tyler (1787)

4. 19th Century – theatre blossomed with showboats in major cities – known as “Mississippi Playhouses” • “The Road” became a lucrative business • Touring companies successful for over 50 years until radio and movies

5. Three Major Types of American Theatre • Minstrel Shows – done in black face and featuring African American songs • Vaudeville – Variety show – clean for whole family • Melodrama – over-sentimentalism – plight of the poor heroine in the clutches of the villain

6. Eugene O”Neil (1888-1953) • Leading American dramatist of the 1st part of the 20th century • Plays were realistic and expressionistic and dealt with psychological truths • Emperor Jones

7. Another major contribution of American Theatre – Musical Comedy • Fredrick Lowe • My Fair Lady

8. Theatre Around the World Avant-garde theatre: “Theatre of the Absurd” • Samuel Becket • Waiting for Godot • Today’s drama expresses diversity and blending of culture through a redefining of past conventions