The Theatre History Podcast

Broadway has a long and complex history, and in November of 2022 a new museum is opening that will allow visitors to explore that history. Curator Ben West joins us to introduce the Museum of Broadway and explain how it's bringing the theatrical past to life.

For anyone who's been following the news in 2022, a play about an Eastern European country's heroic resistance in the face of Russian invasion might sound timely. But as Dr. Thomas F. Connolly shows in this week's discussion of Robert E. Sherwood's "There Shall Be No Night," timeliness can be a tricky subject, perhaps especially in the context of live theatre.

The Classix project is working to, as they put it, "explode the classical canon through an exploration of Black performance history and dramatic works by Black writers." Two members of the Classix team – director Dominique Rider and dramaturg Arminda Thomas – join us to talk about their work and how they're sharing essential works from Black theatre history with new audiences.

It was the biggest hit on Broadway one hundred years ago – and yet it's largely forgotten today. Eric Grode joins us to talk about his recent New York Times article marking the centenary of Abie's Irish Rose, the hit comedy that, though it was riddled with stereotypes and reviled by critics, seemed like it just might be popular enough to run forever.

Kunqu is one of the cultural treasures of Chinese theatre. Today we're fortunate to be joined by Dr. Dongshin Chang, an expert on the art form. Dongshin will introduce us to the fascinating and musical world of kunqu.

The recent Tony-nominated Broadway revival of Ntozake Shange's for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf reflects a growing appreciation for a Black writer whose work gives voice to those who have been oppressed and marginalized because of their race and gender. But who was Shange, and what more do her theatrical works have to say to us today? Dr. Kim F. Hall of Barnard College joins us to explore Shange's life and work.

Shakespeare looms large over both the American and British theatre scenes. But his outsize influence means that we've long neglected a dizzying array of fascinating and brilliant theatre written by other early modern England dramatists. Rob Crighton and the Beyond Shakespeare Company are working to remedy this, and Rob joins us for this episode to discuss how they're trying to expand our awareness of the theatre of this era.

The ancient Roman comedies of Plautus have inspired playwrights from Shakespeare to Sondheim. But they've also been seen as grim reminders of the oftentimes horrifying world of ancient Rome, where violence and slavery were commonplace. Dr. Amy Richlin joins us to talk about her book Slave Theater in the Roman Republic, which explores how Plautus's plays gave voice to enslaved persons during this era.

The roles played by women in theatre in the United States have been varied, from playwrights and performers to critics and members of the audience. Now the Beinecke Library at Yale University is sharing some of the stories of these women in an exhibit called Brava! Women Make American Theater, which runs through July 3, 2022. Today we're joined by Dr. Melissa Barton. She's the Curator of Drama and Prose at the Yale Collection of American Literature, as well as one of the lead creators of the exhibit.

Charlotte Cushman was a fascinating figure in 19th-century American theatre: in addition to being the first female celebrity actress on the American stage, she was also a trailblazer who embraced her identity as a lesbian and made a name for herself in a male-dominated industry. Tana Wojczuk joins us to talk about Cushman, who's the subject of her new biography, "Lady Romeo: The Radical and Revolutionary Life of Charlotte Cushman, America's First Celebrity."