Crash Course Theater: From Broadway to Off-Broadway

Introduction

• Host: Mike Rugnetta
• Topic: Transition from Broadway to Off-Broadway
• Reason for Shift: Limited theaters on Broadway (30-some theaters), not enough for avant-garde productions.
• Scope: Genres, styles, and troupes supported by Off-Broadway, including the Black Arts Movement.

Definition & Origins of Off-Broadway

• Historical Background: Continuation of the Little Theater movement.
• Main Theaters in History: Provincetown Players, Washington Square Players, Neighborhood Playhouse, Krigwa Players.
• Post-World War II: New theaters arose and movement named Off-Broadway.
• Technical Definition: Initially theaters outside Broadway Box (40th-54th Streets in Manhattan), later an Actors Equity designation for theaters with 100-499 seats in Manhattan.

Off-Broadway Mindset and Influence

• Philosophy: Against shallow, big-budget entertainment; supports ensemble-driven, noncommercial work.
• European and American Avant-Garde: Supported European avant-garde, developed American avant-garde, and works by queer writers and writers of color.

Significant Theaters and Troupes

The Living Theater

• Founded: 1947 by Judith Malina and Julian Beck.
• Early Works: Brecht, Cocteau, Pirandello.
• American Works: Jack Gelber’s "The Connection," Kenneth H. Brown’s "The Brig."
• Relocation to Europe: Due to tax issues; reinvented as a devised theater company.
• Significant Productions: "Paradise Now," "Mysteries and Smaller Pieces."
• Contribution: Origin of clichés about experimental theater.

Circle in the Square Theater

• Founded: 1951 by Jose Quintero.
• Early Days: Used former nightclub space, actors served drinks.
• Main Contributions: Revived European Avant-Garde, secured Tennessee Williams’ and Eugene O'Neill’s legacies.
• Notable Productions: 1956 revival of O'Neill’s "The Iceman Cometh."
• Influential Actors: Geraldine Page, Colleen Dewhurst, George C. Scott.

Joe Papp’s New York Shakespeare Festival and Public Theater

• Founded by: Joe Papp from Brooklyn.
• Mission: Shakespeare for everyone; started with free plays in Lower East Side church.
• Permanent Theater: Built in Central Park in 1962; free performances ongoing.
• Public Theater (1966): Transformed Astor Library into a theater.
• Famous Productions: "Hair," "A Chorus Line," "For Colored Girls…," "The Normal Heart," "Hamilton."
• Legacy: Diverse casts, championed queer writers and writers of color, theater as social force.

The Black Arts Movement

• Relation to Black Power Movement: Cultural wing.
• Roots: Far from Broadway, Free Southern Theater.
• Leaders and Works: Amiri Baraka ("Black Art" poem, "Dutchman" play).

Adrienne Kennedy’s "Funnyhouse of a Negro" (1964)

• Setting: Inside bedroom/mind of a young African-American woman named Sarah.
• Themes: Identity, racism’s impact, divided self.
• Unique Style: Personal anguish, surrealism addressing racial identity.

Emergence of Off-Off-Broadway

• Reason: Off-Broadway became commercial.
• Locations: Caffe Cino, Theater Genesis, Judson Poets Theater, La MaMa.
• Contributors: Joe Cino (Caffe Cino), Ralph Cook (Theater Genesis), Ellen Stewart (La MaMa).

Conclusion

• Next Topic: Poor Theater and the Theater of the Oppressed.
• Note: Off-Off-Broadway centers of experimentation and inclusivity.