The Theatre Flashcards
Where was the cultural capital for Black America in the Antebellum period?
Philadelphia
What popular song is hidden in the 3rd movement of Still’s Afro-American Symphony?
“I Got Rhythm”
Who performed a famous concert at the Lincoln Memorial in 1938?
Marian Anderson
How does W.E.B. Dubois’ concept of double consciousness contribute to our understanding of black music?
We can understand black music as including approaches to music-making that are associated with the larger cultural context of African-Americans
What was Paul Robeson’s career derailed by?
Communist witch hunts
Even through black entertainers played many famous roles in the early- to mid-20th century integrated theatre productions, they were almost completely absent from what?
The preproduction process
What musical is “Old Man River” from?
Show Boat
Who spoke up in protest when Marian Anderson was denied a performance at Constitution Hall in Washington, D.C.?
Eleanor Roosevelt
Who is credited with reviving the African American musical play in the 1950s and early 1960s?
Langston Hughes
What kind of dialect do the Gershwins use in “Bess, You Is My Woman Now?”
A fake dialect passed down through the minstrel show
What did white colonists observe about people of African descent?
They were highly gifted musically
How did the Gershwins feel about black musicians, as evidenced by Porgy and Bess?
They insisted on using black artists for all the major characters
What is Show Boat most famous for?
Being the first interracial show on Broadway.
What Czech composer was teacher to many African Americans composers and musicians?
Antonín Dvorák
What musical reinterpreted The Wizard of Oz in terms of the black experience?
The Wiz
How do vaudeville shows and revues differ?
Vaudeville featured completely separate acts, while revues might have acts loosely connected
Which is an enduring controversy about Porgy and Bess?
Its use of racial slurs in the original text
How did Shuffle Along change the portrayal of black couples on stage?
Black characters could display affection on stage and song non-comedic love songs
How does Julie in Show Boat accidentally reveal that she has black ancestry?
She sings a song that includes blue notes
What is Scott Joplin’s opera Treemonisha about?
A teacher trying to inspire and enlighten her students
You are watching a production that has some singing and some dialogue. Are you watching a musical or an opera?
Musical
What did classical musicians of the Harlem Renaissance arrange many of?
Spirituals for the concert stage
Who songs “Old Man River”?
Paul Robeson
What is the phrase that describes play with a Biblical theme that featured gospel-style music?
Gospel musical
After Emancipation, most African-American composers concentrated on creating what?
Choral music for student singers
What are some of the difficulties in producing all-black musicals in the 1920s?
World War I left an uncertain economy, making black performances even riskier.
Whites fears black men after their return from World War I, thinking that they would continue to kill white men as they had done in the war.
Black casts were unable to find hotels to stay in.
What is Leontyne Price’s most famous role?
The Ethiopian princess in Aida
Which theatrical genre is mostly closely related to the minstrel show?
Vaudeville
Why might black vaudeville performers choose to wear blackface?
It operated as a mask that separated the character from the real person.
Whose famous sketch if of a mimed poker game?
Bert Williams
What is a derogatory term that refers to a black person. Who is seen as supporting the racist power structure?
Uncle Tom
What was unusual about William Grant Still’d Afro-American Symphony?
It includes a banjo with the traditional symphony orchestra
