The African American Theatre Directory, 1816-1960 A Comprehensive Guide to Early Black Theatre Organizations, Companies, Theatres, and Performing Groups

Subjects:

• The Arts » Theater
• Multicultural Studies » Black Studies

Reviews:

• This is an excellent addition to the author's earlier works on African Americans in the American theater, including Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays (Greenwood, 1988). Here he offers a comprehensive guide to black theater organizations, theaters, groups, and so forth and brings to light an area of theatrical history hitherto underrepresented in most collections. The foreword, by Errol Hill...whets the appetite and provides a good introduction to the scope of African American theater in the United States; the eight pages of information resources will prove useful to future researchers...Recommended for academic libraries and theater collections in both academic and larger public libraries.
  —
  Library Journal
• The author used diverse sources to compile this comprehensive alphabetical directory that includes some 700 African American theatrical organizations, companies, and performing groups and spans the pioneer period of the early 1800s through the black theatrical revolution of the 1960s.... The only directory of its type, this book should be considered essential for all libraries serving African American theater students.
  —
  Choice
• The more than 600 entries here describe professional, semiprofessional, and academic stage organizations and theaters from their beginnings up to the dawn of the black theater movement in 1960. Coverage includes selected vaudeville and roadshow troupes, booking agencies, stock companies, and black units of the WPA Federal Theatre.... Libraries with strong collections in theater or African American studies will want a copy of this book... the reader looking for a history of African American theater during this period will find it provides a wealth of details...
  —Booklist/Reference Books Bulletin

Table of Contents:

• Foreword by Errol Hill
• Preface
• Contributors and Research Consultants
• The African American Theatre Directory
• Appendix A: Alphabetical List of Black-Oriented and Black-Controlled Theatres, Halls, and Performance Spaces
• Appendix B: Classification of Black Theatre Organizations, Companies, and Performing Groups by Type
• Information Sources
• Index of Names
• Index of Organizations and Theatres
• Index of Show Titles