Theatre History Studies 2010 : Vol. 30: African and African American Theatre Past and Present

To mark the thirtieth anniversary of the Theatre History Studies journal, editor Rhona Justice-Malloy and the Mid-America Theatre Conference have collected a special-themed volume covering the past and present of African and African American theatre. Topics included range from modern theatrical trends and challenges in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and examining the history and long-range impact of Paul Robeson's groundbreaking and troubled life and career, to gender issues in the work of Ghanaian playwright Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, and the ways that 19th-century American blackness was defined through Othello and Desdemona. This collection fills a vacancy in academic writing. Readers will enjoy it; academics can incorporate it into their curriculum; and students will find it helpful and illuminating. Contents......Page 6 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Preface......Page 12 Poor “Black” Theatre: Mid-America Theatre Conference Keynote Address, March 7, 2009......Page 14 Hit-and-Run Theatre: The Rise of a New Dramatic Form in Zimbabwe......Page 27 Abject No More: Authority and Authenticity in the Theatrical Career of Rose McClendon......Page 55 How Does the Show Go On? Theatre for Development in Post-election Kenya......Page 78 The Unreported Miracle of Paul Robeson and The Miracle......Page 86 Mvett Performance: Retention, Reinvention, and Exaggeration in Remembering the Past......Page 96 “You Hip to Buffalo?” The Hidden Heritage of Black Theatre in Western New York......Page 115 Masculine Women, Feminist Men: Assertions and Contradictions in Mawugbe’s In the Chest of a Woman......Page 135 Understanding Paul Robeson’s Soviet Experience......Page 151 Ota the Other: An African on Display in America......Page 167 Oteller and Desdemonum: Defining Nineteenth-CenturyBlackness......Page 189 “Looking at One’s Self through the Eyes of Others”: Representations of the Progressive Era Middle Class in W. E. B. Du Bois’s The Star of Ethiopia......Page 200 Knowing Their Place: The Ulster Lyric Theatre, the Lyric Theatre, and the Northern Irish Theatre Scene......Page 215 Thinking about the Theatre—and Theatre Critics: An Interview with Robert Brustein, Conducted by Bert Cardullo, New York City, July 2008......Page 233 Book Reviews......Page 248 Books Received......Page 310 Contributors......Page 312 Annotation To mark the thirtieth anniversary of theTheatre History Studiesjournal, editor Rhona Justice-Malloy and the Mid-America Theatre Conference have collected a special-themed volume covering the past and present of African and African American theatre. Topics included range from modern theatrical trends and challenges in Zimbabwe and Kenya, and examining the history and long-range impact of Paul Robesons groundbreaking and troubled life and career, to gender issues in the work of Ghanaian playwright Efo Kodjo Mawugbe, and the ways that 19th-century American blackness was defined through Othello and Desdemona. This collection fills a vacancy in academic writing. Readers will enjoy it; academics can incorporate it into their curriculum; and students will find it helpful and illuminating "This established annual is a major contribution to the scholarly analysis and historical documentation of international drama. Refereed, immaculately printed and illustrated . . . . The subject coverage ranges from the London season of 1883 to the influence of David Belasco on Eugene O'Neill."-CHOICE