The Colored Museum
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Critical Introduction Production History Textual Lineage Script Preparation Playwright Chronology Contextual Chronology |
Production History
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The production history of any play is important; knowing what previous theatres and artists have done with the same text may provide new insights to the play. It may also offer contrast to a new idea for the play. Below, the backgrounds of the productions of The Colored Museum are presented. Timeline of Other Productions This is a very quick overview of where and when this play has been produced, so even some of the smaller productions can be included.
Given the youth of the play, finding "important productions" for it is rather challenging. While there have been many productions, most of them were done by colleges or smaller theatres. In addition, there has been very little documentation of the premiere performance. This can be because it was adopted as a part of the New York Shakespeare Festival Public theater at the Susan Stein Shiva Theatre within the same year, or because the new play didn't attract as much attention when it was in New Jersey. However, because of this fact, the focus will be placed upon the production at the Public Theatre. The Public Theatre took on The Colored Museum shortly after its run at Crossroads Theatre in New Jersey. Brian Martin designed the "sleek all-purpose set", which resembled that "of an antiseptic modern museum". Specifically for the opening scene, where the slide show presents images of slavery, the museum is overwhelmed by the gruesomeness of it. The impersonal walls of something as stark and clean as a museum are broken in the very first scene1. "The various sketches and monologues are presented as a succession of museum "exhibits" on a glossy turntable, which efficiently brings the performers on and carries them off."2 It is interesting to note that a favorite device of both Piscator and Brecht -- the original political theater theorists -- was rotating sets. The most hailed male actor of the cast was Reggie Montgomery, who portrayed Miss Roj, The Kid, Guy, and Walter-Lee-Beau-Willy. Unfortunately, "during his Miss Roj piece Reggie Montgomery has twice been attacked by blacks who have come onstage from the audience."3 Wolfe explained that this was because the black community is fragmented, and not all black people accept queer culture. Vickilyn Reynolds was the most hailed female actor of the cast. She played Aunt Ethel, Mama, the Afro, and Topsy Washington. She was noted for her dance as Topsy as well as her smashing performance of Aunt Ethel in many reviews. The only specific mention of costumes was that of Miss Pat, who was played by Danitra Vance, who wore a "hot-pink stewardess outfit and a hideously perky grin"4. This suggests that the other costumes were very to-the-point instead of gaudy and/or surprising; for instance, "The Soldier with a Secret" probably wore an army uniform, while Aunt Ethel wore something that resembled Aunt Jemima or other cooking show hosts. Nearly all of the critics claimed that the focal point of the production was "The Last-Mama-on-the-Couch Play". This is an odd assessment, as the play is not a linear development with a climax; indeed, the different sketches all present different issues. Perhaps because that scene is the most metatheatrical, the longest, or has the best "entertainment value", it is given more weight by the critics. If anything, however, the focal point of the production would logically be "The Party", which ties the message of the entire play together. Historically, this play was labeled to be the first of its kind, especially for black American theater. Instead of having a plot that develops through a series of characters and scenes, Wolfe wrote a play that incorporated wildly different characters and widely different scenes to produce a message through a subtext and with a final "tying in" at the end. This was a new marker for theater, namely black American theater. Another important production recently took place at The Karamu House, which is the nation's oldest African-American cultural arts institution. This show was produced for their ninetieth anniversary. Like the production at the Public, the set design, this time by John Konopka, included a turn table. This hand-driven device was used for entrances and exits. In addition to the museum theme, Konopka also included images of black Americans and African masks on the walls5. Like the production at the Public, the only mentioned costume was that of Miss Pat, who again wore a hot-pink suit6. While hot pink is used, it is not the scripted costume; many of the costumers chose to keep the color but not the same article of clothing. (In the script, the skirt was hot pink, not the suit.) The Karamu production was a particularly important revival because it revisited the show on its twenty year anniversary and selected the play to celebrate the institution's ninetieth anniversary. This highlights the play's popularity, especially in the eyes of theater companies. Footnotes 1. Rich, "Satire by George C. Wolfe" 2. Richards, "'Colored': Crazy & Conflicted; 'Museum' Lampoons the Black Experience" 3. Kroll, "Zapping Black Stereotypes" 4. Rich, "Satire by George C. Wolfe" 5. Heller, "No-holds-barred satire blasts off at Karamu" 6. Heller, "No-holds-barred satire blasts off at Karamu" For more information on these footnotes, please see the Critical Bibliography and the Contextual Bibliography. |
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© Kylie 'drago' McCormick, Mount Holyoke College '08.
Information last updated May 14, 2006. Page last updated 3 October 2009. |
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