White People Do Not Know How to Behave at Entertainments Designed for Ladies and Gentlemen of Colour : William Brown's African and American Theater

In August 1821, William Brown, a free man of color and a retired ship's steward, opened a pleasure garden on Manhattan's West Side. It catered to black New Yorkers, who were barred admittance to whites-only venues offering drama, music, and refreshment. Over the following two years, Brown expanded his enterprises, founding a series of theaters that featured African Americans playing a range of roles unprecedented on the American stage and that drew increasingly integrated audiences. Marvin McAllister explores Brown's pioneering career and places his theatrical experiments within the broader context of American social, political, and cultural history. He reveals how each of Brown's ventures--the African Grove, the Minor Theatre, the American Theatre, and the African Company--explicitly cultivated an intercultural, multiracial environment. He also investigates the negative white reactions, verbal and physical, that led to Brown's managerial retirement in 1823. Brown left his mark on American theater by shaping the careers of his performers and creating new genres of performance. Beyond that legacy, says McAllister, this nearly forgotten theatrical innovator offered a blueprint for a truly inclusive national theater. Contents......Page 8 Acknowledgments......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 Notes......Page 198 1. Late-Night Pleasure Garden for People of Color: Noah's African Grove......Page 24 Whiteface Minstrelsy......Page 28 Black Dandys and Dandizettes......Page 35 Noah’s African Grove?......Page 39 Notes......Page 200 2. Hung Be the Heavens with Black: Toward a Minor Theater......Page 52 Major or Minor?......Page 54 Stage Europeans......Page 64 Notes......Page 204 3. American Taste and Genius: Building an American Theater......Page 80 The American Theatre......Page 83 Indio- and Euro-Constructed Stage Indians......Page 95 Staging Native Americas......Page 102 Notes......Page 208 4. Tom and Jerry Meets Three-Fingered Jack: The African Company's Balancing Act......Page 116 Manhattan’s Stage African Vogue......Page 118 Stage African Balancing Act: Tom and Jerry and Obi......Page 128 Notes......Page 214 5. In Fear of His Opposition: Euro-New York Reacts......Page 144 Political Assault: Constitutional Convention of 1821......Page 146 Cultural Assault: Shakespeare Closing of 1822......Page 150 Physical Assault: Summer Riot of 1822......Page 156 Metaphorical Assault: Written, Theatrical, Extratheatrical Blackface......Page 163 Notes......Page 220 Conclusion: To Be—or Not to Be......Page 180 Notes......Page 224 Bibliography......Page 226 A-B......Page 246 C-D......Page 247 E-H......Page 248 I-M......Page 249 N-R......Page 250 S-T......Page 251 V-Y......Page 252 An Exploration Of The Career Of William Brown, A 19th-century Free Man Of Colour, Who Pioneered Theatrical Spaces For Black New Yorkers, Hitherto Denied Access To Whites-only Venues. The Text Explores These Intercultural, Multiracial Environments And Investigates Negative White Reactions. Acknowledgments -- Introduction -- Late-night Pleasure Garden For People Of Color -- Noah's African Grove -- Hung Be The Heavens With Black -- Toward A Minor Theater -- American Taste And Genius -- Building An American Theater -- Tom And Jerry Meets Three-fingered Jack -- The African Company's Balancing Act -- 5. In Fear Of His Opposition -- Euro-new York Reacts -- Conclusion: To Be-or Not To Be -- Notes -- Bibliography -- Index. Marvin Mcallister. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [213]-231) And Index. Machine generated contents note: Acknowledgments ix Introduction 1 1. Late-Night Pleasure Garden for People of Color NOAH'S AFRICAN GROVE 11 2. Hung Be the Heavens with Black TOWARD A MINOR THEATER 39 3. American Taste and Genius BUILDING AN AMERICAN THEATER 67 4. Tom and Jerry Meets Three-Fingered Jack THE AFRICAN COMPANY'S BALANCING ACT 103 5. In Fear of His Opposition EURO-NEW YORK REACTS 131 Conclusion: To Be-or Not to Be 167 Notes 185 Bibliography 213 Index 233. FOR A MID-1980's GUEST appearance on NBC's Saturday Night Live, Eddie Murphy and comedy writer Andy Breckman created a satiric short film, White Like Me, in which Murphy disguises himself as a Caucasian complete with whiteface makeup, a greeting card vocabulary, a straight blond wig, tight buttocks, and an intensely nasal voice.