18th Century Theatre
The 18th century theatre » The beginnings of American theatre
The strongly Puritan sentiments of settlers in North America prohibited the development of theatre until the early 18th century, when a number of English actors arrived in the South and began staging plays in temporary venues. The first theatres were built in Williamsburg, Va. (c. 1716), and Charleston, S.C. (1730). By the mid-1730s a number of theatres had opened in New York, and in 1752 the first visiting company from London performed in Williamsburg.
Although there was no lack of enthusiasm for developing an indigenous American theatre at the end of the 18th century, the plays written and produced during that period proved lifeless and derivative, often little more than adaptations of English successes. Thomas Godfrey’s Neoclassical tragedy The Prince of Parthia (1767) is often considered the first play by
The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870 - 1920
The period 1870 to 1920 was a dynamic time of change in the United States. It was marked by massive European immigration and major population shifts between regions of the country, including migration from rural to urban centers that led to the dramatic growth of cities. During these fifty years, the nation's urban population increased from a total of less than ten million to more than fifty million people. Blue-collar and white-collar working people alike benefited from an increase in personal income and leisure time. Tourism developed as an American pastime, annual vacations became a national habit, and city dwellers began taking half-holidays on Saturday. Public amusements appealed to growing numbers of people from many walks of life.
Popular, live entertainment gained momentum in the late nineteenth century and reached a peak in the first decade of the twentieth. During the fifty-year period covered by this collection, minstrel shows were eclipsed by the unprecedented success of variety theater and an
The strongly Puritan sentiments of settlers in North America prohibited the development of theatre until the early 18th century, when a number of English actors arrived in the South and began staging plays in temporary venues. The first theatres were built in Williamsburg, Va. (c. 1716), and Charleston, S.C. (1730). By the mid-1730s a number of theatres had opened in New York, and in 1752 the first visiting company from London performed in Williamsburg.
Although there was no lack of enthusiasm for developing an indigenous American theatre at the end of the 18th century, the plays written and produced during that period proved lifeless and derivative, often little more than adaptations of English successes. Thomas Godfrey’s Neoclassical tragedy The Prince of Parthia (1767) is often considered the first play by
The American Variety Stage: Vaudeville and Popular Entertainment, 1870 - 1920
The period 1870 to 1920 was a dynamic time of change in the United States. It was marked by massive European immigration and major population shifts between regions of the country, including migration from rural to urban centers that led to the dramatic growth of cities. During these fifty years, the nation's urban population increased from a total of less than ten million to more than fifty million people. Blue-collar and white-collar working people alike benefited from an increase in personal income and leisure time. Tourism developed as an American pastime, annual vacations became a national habit, and city dwellers began taking half-holidays on Saturday. Public amusements appealed to growing numbers of people from many walks of life.
Popular, live entertainment gained momentum in the late nineteenth century and reached a peak in the first decade of the twentieth. During the fifty-year period covered by this collection, minstrel shows were eclipsed by the unprecedented success of variety theater and an