barrel of love 

Barrel of Love was an amusement park ride in Coney Island. The ride was a slow revolving drum that caused people to bump into one another.

Developed by Thomas Edison in 1888 but more importantly used in 1897 at Coney Island. The Kinetescope is an early motion picture device and showed one minute films. Most popularly shown was "Little Egypt" a film about belly dancers which really captivated audiences because they were moving on the screen

The term Nickelodeon was popularized by Harry Davis and John P Harris when they opened their first small movie theater house in 1904 in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Nickelodeons were generally 15-20 minutes long and only cost a nickel to get in. Occasionally there would be an accompaniment playing along side with the film. Nickelodeons were in competition with Vaudeville houses and inevitably began to replace them because they were cheaper to produce.

New immigrants is a collective term that included a variety of races and peoples. It describes primarily Jews, Chinese, and Italians who migrated from their homelands to the United States. In the mid 1800s and early 1900s, Chinese performances were very popular amongst American viewers and they were intrigued and curious about the different culture and performance styles exhibited by these Chinese performancers. Similarly, Jewish theatre caught on during this time period. Fanny Brice for example was a popular Jewish actress and comedienne who appealed to a number of people and helped sell out theatres on a nightly basis. However, not all Americans liked the presence of these new immigrants and conflict arose often. White hoodlums battled with Chinese gangs in China towns, and some Jews were marginalized as well in New York City. New York City was the key area of interest for Jewish immigrants during the 1890s and early 1900s.

Racial formation is a social theory that says that one's race is not concrete but it is significantly influenced by external factors and social relations. Social aspects like the way in which certain actors behave at a theatre or how a particular dish is prepared for dinner can help define how a race is formed for example. This thinking argues race is not fixed, in fact it is always changing, and it always being affected on two levels: the micro level (individual identity) and the macro level (collective social structure).

An ethnopole is another name for an ethnic enclave. Chinatown during the 1880s through 1920s within the boundaries of San Francisco served as an ethnopole and an important one at that. For example, tourists would frequently take tours of gambling arenas, opium dens, and other criminal areas so that they could see how the Chinese conducted themselves. Often times, tour guides would stage a fight between two opposing sides or they would have a woman look as if she were affected by a certain drug to shock and surprise the tourists greatly.

Immigrant theatre is a comprehensive term and in a way it refers to the effect that new immigrants had on American society. For example, in the late 1870s when Italian immigrants came to New York City, the mass migration brought both the performers and the audiences necessary for entertainment. Italians created theatrical clubs as a way of alleviating stress as well. With respect to Yiddish theatre, many Americans enjoyed these performances. Fanny Brice was extremely popular as a multidimensional actress and she filled the house on a nightly basis. Similarly, Chinese theatre performances intrigued a lot of American viewers. Afong Moy for example sang in a very high pitched way “that was not pretty” yet many people came consistently to see how she dressed and how she sang in such a foreign and mysterious manner. Immigrant theatres were both a means of escape for the immigrants themselves and they also served as a place where the American viewer could learn about a new culture.

the derogatory term meaning a self important men. It means the big

shot who comes back to Italy after having made some money in the US. It is

a word in their native language word

used by Jews- criticize Jews who happily embraced American

consumer habits as a reflection of their saturation – adopt it. The

implications of it that the jewish immigrants who made money did not send

it back to the Ukraine they put it into education investments to their

families. Unlike the Italians who made it in the US would send home

accumulated capital, Jewish immigrants did not do so. Jews tended to be at

a slightly higher economic mobility than Italians. This has to do with

Jews in Europe. Since they were bard from land owners, they were more

integrated into the world of comers. To establish themselves in merchants

jobs. Many jews entered some form of the garment trade. And they used

their success to sustain impressive rates of occupational and social

mobility in their future.

Tour guides would take people on tours of

the opium dens. Within these dens were staged performances put on for the

tourist. They hired people to lay in the dens and pretend to be addicts.

And that these women that were there were either prostitutes that had to

get their fix before going to work or the other way around. this was part

of the tour that gave explanation as to why women where prohibited to

enter US. Creating a Chinese bachelor society in America. Another part of

the tour stop was that they had a staged police raid on the dens,

displaying the vise that took place.  These were all events that took

place for the entertainment of the tourists.

Jewish American singer, comedian, and actor. He is considered the first openly Jewish man to become an entertainment star in America and was known as "the world's greatest entertainer”. Many well-known singers were influenced by his music, including Bing Crosby Bob Dylan. In the 1930s, he was America's most famous and highest paid entertainer. Between 1911 and 1928, Jolson had nine sell-out Winter Garden shows in a row best remembered today for his leading role in The Jazz Singer, released in 1927. He also starred in a series of successful musical films throughout the 1930s. With his unique and dynamic style of singing black music, like jazz and blues, he was later credited with single-handedly introducing African-American music to white audiences. As early as 1911 he became known for fighting against anti-black discrimination on Broadway.  Al Jolson was the most famous performer to wear blackface makeup when singing.  Film reviewers saw the symbolism and metaphors portrayed by Jolson in his role as the son of a cantor wanting to become a "jazz singer

this was a way of keeping traditions and religion in movies and theater. Actors would perform both secular and sacred songs, and the secular performances in The Jazz Singer likened to a sacred performance. This was used, not to denigrate the sacred, but to elevate the secular. This form of theater showed there isn’t a trade off between assimilation and cultural heritage in theater.

Russian cantor born in 1882 and immigrated to the US in 1912. Received considerable fame for his musical ability, and well known within the US before he appeared in The Jazz Singer. Although he appeared as a cantor in the film, he refused to sing cantor songs because he believed that would desecrate the religion. Rosenblatt represented the emergence of Jewish heritage and performance in US culture and theater.

– Although it originated in Europe in the 1870s when it arrived in the US, it evolved into performances of Jewish immigrant experience. It influenced Jewish immigrants in two ways. First it allowed Jewish immigrants to hold onto their language and traditions as well as introduce it to other audiences. Second, it integrated them into commercial life. For example, it folded Jewish children into Western children culture. 

Well known American born Jewish actress who was made famous singing in the Ziegfield follies from1910 until the 1930’s. Her stage name was Fania Borach. She performed with a fake Yiddish accent.  She could make an audience laugh—as well as make them tear up when she sang “My Man”. She was popular from 1910 until her death in 1950’s

Jewish actor born in New York began singing for tips at a Coney Island  saloon. He performed with a lower east side dialect, performed humor about “dooping” someone else. He often played a Stock character of a Jewish shop keeper trying to sell a patron unnecessary things. He also starred in the Ziegfield Follies. He was popular in the early 20^th century.

1870s-1920s

Before vaudeville, the stage was still sexually saturated ad not suitable for women and children. The rise of vaudeville began entrepreneurs of the entertainment industry wanted to shift the audience demographics towards the middle class, in particularly, the women and family.  The middle class felt distinct from the concert saloon attendees and impresarios attempted to meet those needs by creating a variety show. Through the ritual of attendance and systems of promotion, vaudeville began to take its rise to popularity

Voix de ville which means “voice of the city” is a term borrowed from the French variety shows which were slightly racy and had urban cosmopolitan association.

1837-1908

Tony Pastor was originally a performer for Barnum. As an impresario, he doubled ticket sales by increasing the number of women attendees. Other than improving the quality of the content, to increase the women audience, he scheduled special matinees for women and gave away prizes. He moved to a new venue near the old Astor Place and separated the bar from the auditorium to direct the association of theater away from alcohol. In 1881, he moved the theater to Union Square and banned liquor from the theater completely. Tony featured the nine act bill in the variety show.

Impresario is a person who organizes and finances concert, plays or operas. Impresarios moved theater away to a new district near Union Square. In attempt to create a new type of popular entertainment, impresarios banned sexual favors and drinking from the theater.

The Broadway Variety Show is similar to vaudeville in that it consists of

multiple acts that appeal to a wide audience including women and children.

The difference between the variety show and vaudeville is that variety

shows took place in major houses with more than 500 seats (definition of

Broadway show).

Florenz Ziegfeld was an early Broadway impresario who is best known for

the Ziegfeld Follies and glorifying the American girl.  Ziegfeld's

productions focuses on the spectacle of the show with colorful settings

and extravagant costumes.  Ziegfeld eventually combined the nine-act with

the musical revue and produced "Showboat" at his theatre in 1927.

Florenz Ziegfeld produced the Ziegfeld Follies 1907 based on the French

Folies Begere.  Ziegfeld employed famous vaudeville stars and attracted

audiences with spectacular settings of color and light.  In addition,

Ziegfeld made his chorus of beautiful, extravagantly costumed "Ziegfeld

Tony Pastor created the Nine Act Bill when he realized he could make more

money if women attended the theater.  The Nine Act Bill created a variety

show that consisted of a dumb act (ex: animals), "settler" (settles

audience down), a comedy sketch, two "corkers" (finale of first half), a

re-entry act (juggling, acrobatic), a short dramatic play

(often about immigration), a big comedy act/"headliner" (ex: Cantor tailor

act viewed in class), "flash" (big finale) and finally a "chaser" (makes

people leave. This show could be run two to three times a day to make the

"The Book Musical"- Showboat was the first example of this,  which is what

is talked about with the American musical. It chooses a serious topic:

Edna Ferber novel about Mississippi showboat and turns it into a musical.

It wasn’t supposed to be such a sad story: miscegenation scene in the

first act, 8 leading characters interrelating with complex political plot.

Oscar Hammerstein chose not to get rid of the stories. Different from

operettas not only in ratio of acting and singing but also the first time

that there is a musical performance on stage with which the story is the

most important element of the production.  Spectacle, choreography,

costumes, and sets are there to support and move along or comment on the

relationship of the story rather than the other way around.

Showboat- Coming out of Ziegfeld's Follies, in 1927 Ziegfeld realizes that

everyone is doing more or less the same thing and produces a show that

changes course of American theater. Showboat lyrics are by Oscar

Hammerstein, music by Jerome Kern, and based of a book by Edna Ferber.  It

was a departure from musical comedies and operettas.  It focused on the

story and politics and used music and dance to help move the plot along.

Deals with themes of racism, miscegenation, and love. One of the first

American Musicals, known then and now for its socially relevant libretto.

Oscar Hammerstein II- (1895-1960) A lyricist and collaborative playwright

of the 20th century.  Changed the face of American Musical Theater (ie

Showboat) , made songs focus on the story and not the song, actor, or

spectacle.  He was socially minded. Hammerstein would pair with Richard

Rodgers in the mid 20th century (Oklahoma!, The Sound of Music). By the

19teens theaters were highly opulent. Hammerstein’s Olympia Music Hall

Broadway and 45th built by Oscar Hammerstein I, his grandfather made and

An American composer of popular music. He wrote numerous songs including “Ol’ Man River” and “Smokes Gets in Your Eyes.” Even though Kern exclusively wrote for musical theater and film, he influenced well to the jazz. His melodies have been adopted by jazz musicians to become standard tunes. During the time when American musical theatre became extremely productive in 1920s, Kern met Oscar Hammerstein II and wrote Show Boat in 1927.

It’s one of the greatest and well-known score of Jerome Kern and it was the most famous song from the Show Boat. The lyrics were written by Oscar Hammerstein II. Various versions of this song were performed over time by different artists.

He changed some lyrics of “Ol’ Man River” and performed it in the film version of Show Boat and on a stage in 1930s. [“niggers” to “Darkies”]

The Vertical cityscape began with the advent of skyscrapers in the late 1800s. Previously city’s had been judged based on their horizontal space as seen from a birds eye view.

The word “skyscraper” first appeared in a dictionary in 1891 and by the 1920s skyscrapers had come to dominate skylines in America, but remained an American phenomenon up until the 1960s. Electrical and architectural innovation allowed for the success of skyscrapers as commercial office buildings. The largest buildings by the end of the 19^th century were associated with the spread of communication: newspaper, post office and telegrams buildings.

The square that was renamed Times Square in 1904

Times Square opened at midnight on January 1, 1905 and was named for the New York Times. Times Square would later become the cultural epicenter of theater on Broadway, and represents the northward climb and expansion of newspaper and theater. 

Was born in NYC and began his career in advertising in a job as the Bill Poster. He was a stark believer in the power of outdoor advertising and was quick to exploit the new techniques of electric display. For example, in 1905, he designed a billboard for the Heather Bloom company flashing glimpses of a woman’s bare calf. This was not done by an actress but by a series of alternating lightbulbs

Opened in 1904. In 1984 NY had approved a referendum for building an underground mass transit line with public funds. The subway was faster as it had an unchallenged right of way and was also able to withdraw and move many people from the contested traffic above. This facilitated the growth of the city by increasing the distance and speed in which people could travel. Many of the early large apartment buildings were built in places only brought to the fabric of NYC due to the subway system

from gaslight to electricity 

The shift from gaslight to electrical lighting occurred during the period of 1885-1915.  Electrical lights ushered in a culture of spectacular lighting in American cities, where lights would take over the cityscape – indeed symbols of urbanization and nightlife, much more active, fun and exciting than Foster’s shady “New York by Gaslight”.  The transition to electrical lights, then, emerged in tandem with the creation of a distinctive American leisure culture, where people had time to go out on excursions in the city.  “Great White Ways” were created by the spectacular lights, and the light and colors of the cityscape, representing so much bustle and culture, were even meaningful substitutes for family or human companionship, as experienced in particular by the “women adrift”, who lived away from home in city apartments.

 baseball stadiums 

Baseball began in the 1830s as a sport, and was a dream in and of itself.  It embodied all the American ideals of anyone being able to achieve their dreams through hard work, although it was primarily a men’s sport (no boys or women) – and originally biased as White.  Regarding men, baseball emerged in Men’s Clubs as a fraternal sport. .  Although players were male, baseball managers attempted to attract female patrons, and make things more family friendly.  Baseball exploded as a spectator sport in the last 3^rd or 4^th of the 19^th century (1876-1910).  Baseball-watching became an effective form of collective experience of entertainment – and became a national pastime   It was an effective form of American Commercial Entertainment – just like the theater. Finally, baseball stadiums were inherently urban, as baseball schedules were connected to fixed-route mass transit systems.  These were important in getting people to and from the baseball games.  The Dodgers were named for people having to dodge trolley cars in order to get to the stadium.  

worlds fairs 

World’s Fairs began in Chicago (White City) in 1893.  Then, subsequent fairs emerged to imitate this, such as the World Fair of St. Louis (1904).  The world’s fairs allowed new trends, techniques, innovations and forms to grow.  55 million people had visited one of three big fairs at one point.  The fairs were playgrounds of urban entertainment – urban indeed, futuristic and obsessed with speed and spectacle.  They were eclectic, like Barnum’s museum theatres.  Also, the fairs were ways to show of feats of architecture.

coney island 

Coney Island was an island, originally park, in New York City that originated around the 1890s, and became very popular, billed as “Broadway with a  resort”.  Nine miles from Manhattan, the park allowed for enjoyment, fun and games with urban themes, while people could get away from the actual urban life they came from.  Until the 1870s, this place was mostly a site of recreation for the elite groups.  After this, more people came, including those from the Bowery.  Rides were developed, such as “Trip to the Moon”, as well as a simulated submarine ride, “Dreamland” (1902).  People at this time were more likely to spend time in places away from home – so the parks were a great place to escape.  It also inspired other parks, including Steeplechase Park in 1897, the first true amusement park in the U.S.  In 1901, Luna Park was constructed here, and contained many groundbreaking rides and served

Slumming

The act of going to an establishment that is a lower socio-economic than oneself motivated by curiosity or a desire for adventure.  For the purposes of this class an example of slumming would be the entrance of whiteman into Chinatowns in the late 1800’s to early 1900s.  For the most part whites attended opium dens as well used prostitutes for the majority of their slumming.  The presence of white people in the Chinatowns

Vice-district 

:  a neighborhood or a part of a neighborhood where businesses connected to the sex industry (sex shops, strip clubs, adult theaters etc.) exist. In some red light districts, prostitution may legally take place; other red light districts are known for their illegal prostitution scene.  For the purposes of this town  vice-districts were located in the Chinatowns across America.

Jacob Riis How the other half lives 

1890How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York (1890) was a pioneering work of photojournalism by Jacob Riis, documenting the squalid living conditions in New York City slums in the 1880s. It served as a basis for future muckraking journalism by exposing the slums to New York City’s upper and middle class.  During the 1880's many in upper- and middle-class society were unaware of the dangerous conditions in the slums among the poor immigrants. Jacob Riis, an immigrant himself who could not originally find work, hoped to expose the squalor of the 19th century Lower East Side of Manhattan. After a successful career as a police reporter he decided to publish a photojournal documenting these conditions using graphic descriptions, sketches, photographs, and statistics. Riis blamed the apathy of the monied for the condition of the New York slums, and assumed that as people were made more aware of these conditions they would be more apt to help eradicate them.

Charles Hoyt A trip to china town

(1891) A Trip to Chinatown is a musical comedy in three acts by Charles H. Hoyt with music by Percy Gaunt and lyrics by Hoyt, that became a silent film featuring Anna May Wong half a century later. In addition to the Gaunt and Hoyt score, many songs were interpolated into the score at one time or another during the run, as was fashionable for musicals of the era. The story concerns a widow who accidentally maneuvers several young suburban couples into a big city restaurant and brings romance to them and herself, as in Hello, Dolly! After almost a year of touring, the musical opened at Broadway’s Madison Square Theater on November 9, 1891 and ran for 657 performances, or just short of two years. This was the longest-running Broadway musical in history up to that time (although London had seen a few longer runs), and it held that record until Irene in 1919. The show was such a hit that several road companies played it throughout the country simultaneously with the Broadway production, and at one point a second company was even opened in New York while the original company was still performing on Broadway. The cast included Trixie Friganza and Harry Conor, who introduced "The Bowery".

Jewish Stars 

Jewish performers were sometimes rewarded for accentuating their “Jewishness” on stage, but generally were under an internal struggle of assimilation. It was unclear for Jewish actors whether they could or should pass as White Christians. Some, like Al Jolson, performed Blackface in order to paradoxically assimilate themselves as “white” American actors. In this case “Blacking up” was as a strategy to bring whites together. Jews’ entrance to the stage also marked a period of sacralization of the Theater in which, as we can see with the cantors in the Jazz Singer elevate the secular stage rather than denigrate the sacred.

Irving Berlin/Israel Baline 

Irving Berlin lived in Tin Pan Alley and was known to be the originator of ragtime music. Many of these songs were performed by Al Jolson and were performed in a Jewish manner. He was also responsible for writing many songs that became part of the “American Song Book”. His ragtime songs increased the demand for danceable music, and he wrote songs for the Music Box  and the Follies.

Tin Pan Alley 

The Passing show 

George Lederer 

(1874- 1922)

(1903)

Style of performance, staging situations and dialogue that are plausible in real             life. Set represents how the characters would actually live or be, natural lighting,             4^th wall, emerges as the dominant style in the last quarter of the 19^th century  

Verismilitude

(1921)

            Establishes the form of the negro revue. Influenced many things including the             Gershwins, and Zeigfield. Key to desegregating US theater. Sold out for 2 years.             Many “rip-off” shows follow in the early 1920’s. The Charleston is originated in             “Shuffle Along” 

Noble Sissle, Eubie Blake

Negro Social Drama

Dramatic form written intitially by white authors dealing with serious issues about             social ills that plaugue African American’s. Plays about lynching, poverty.             Characters were many times illiterate, hyposexualized, violent, or child like.             Black political leaders don’t like the style

(1923)

            Written by Nan Bagby Stephens. Play about black south church congrigation and             a rogue minister who hits on her. She outs him to the congragtion and she             demands that he be lynched. Closed quickly then re0pened 8 weeks later with an             entirely black cast. Marks the end of white actors in black face on stage with the             exception of a play within a play

Nan Bagby Stephens 

The Great Migration

·      1914-1950s migration of blacks from the rural south to the urban industrial north

·      mid teens, 20s, and years immediately following ww2

·      mostly went to Midwest like detroit, chicago, kansas city etc because they sought factory jobs, auto industry

Harlem Renaissance

·      Artistic and political movement emerging from harlem in the 1920s

·      Writers, poets, artists, entertainmers

o      Claude mccay, zora neal hurston, Langston Hughes, etc

·      “the new negroe movement”- in honor of a collection of writings of this name by alain locke

·      James Weldon Johnson- Autobiography of an Ex colored man

o      Published 1920 anonymously, then in 27 with his name

o      Novel, not an autobiography

o      His real life was actually different, not biracial/light skinned like the main character, had substantial formal education

o      Teamed up with his brother and wrote musicà naacp anthem Lift up your Voice and sing

§       Jazz music, early ragtime

·      Claim by black Americans to be white when they are moving within white society (like in autobio of ex colored man)

·      Race riots and lynchingsà red summer of 1919