Description
Book SynopsisChallenging the widely accepted idea that Broadway was the white-hot creative engine of US theatre during the early 20th century, Katie Johnson reveals a far more complex system of exchanges between the Broadway establishment and a vibrant Black theatre scene in New York and beyond to chart a new history of American and transnational theatre.
Trade Review“
Racing the Great White Way is a fascinating and much-needed reconsideration of Eugene O’Neill’s vexing racial politics, as they play out in several productions and adaptations of his plays. Johnson's research is diligent, and the resulting analysis provides new insight into several notable performances and adaptations of signature O’Neill dramas. This book offers a rich examination on O'Neill's complicated imprint on early 20th Century cultural history.” —Jonathan Shandell, Arcadia University
“For O’Neill studies, this book could be a game-changer… important and pathbreaking in the historical discourse on racial representation beyond the theatrical. The study also opens the possibility of thinking through the agency of actors in other respects in O’Neill’s plays.” —William Davies King, University of California, Santa Barbara
Table of Contents
- List of Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- Chapter 1: The Emperor’s Remains
- Chapter 2: An Algerian in Paris
- Chapter 3: Broadway’s First Interracial Kiss
- Chapter 4: Racing Operatic Emperors
- Chapter 5: Racing the Cut: Black to Ireland
- Conclusion: What Remains?
- Bibliography
- Index
