RESOURCES by Vera V. Chernysheva, Lynda Hart, Jon D. Rossini, and
Stephen Watt, see Nicolás Kanellos, ed., Hispanic Theatre in the United States
(Houston: Arte Público, 1984); Kanellos, Mexican American Theatre: Then
and Now (Houston: Arte Público, 1984); John V. Antush, ed., Recent Puerto
Rican Theatre: Five Plays from New York (Houston: Arte Público, 1991);
Antush, ed., Nuestro New York: An Anthology of Puerto Rican Plays (New York:
Mentor, 1994); and topical entries in Bordman and Hischak and in Wilmeth
and Miller.- Throughout the history of American drama, African Americans, homosexuals,
Jews, and Asians have often been represented with demeaning stereotypes and
caricatures. Students could analyze one such portrayal from an older American
play and a depiction from a post-1970 work. Some possible pairings include
The Children’s Hour (1934), by Lillian Hellman, and Last Summer at Bluef ish
Cove (1980), by Jane Chambers, which deal with lesbianism; Abie’s Irish Rose
(1922), by Anne Nichols, and The Sisters Rosensweig (1992), by Wendy Was-
serstein, featuring Jewish characters; and John Luther Long’s Madame But-
terfly (1900) or Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein III’s Flower Drum
Song (1958) and Velina Hasu Houston’s Tea (1987) or Hwang’s M. Butterfly
(1988). How does each piece reflect its time? What cultural forces and inter-
vening dramatic texts led to changes in that group’s representation on the
stage? What stereotypes remain? Where? Why? To what extent does the use
of stereotypes versus more fully realized characterizations affect the quality of
the play? - Since 1970 many revues and musicals have celebrated the lives of noted Afri-
can American musicians, among them, Jelly Roll Morton, Eubie Blake, Bessie
Smith, and Fats Waller. Students could research the life and career of one
such musician, then, discuss the extent to which the stage biography accurately
presents that personality. They should analyze omissions and fabrications, rela-
tive to the facts, to determine their effects (positive and negative) on the stage
work’s picture of the individual.
RESOURCES
Criticism
Gerald Bordman and Thomas S. Hischak, The Oxford Companion to the American
Theatre, third edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 2004).
Extensive entries on people, plays, musicals, and special topics in theater
history.
Vera V. Chernysheva, “Latino Drama,” in Critical Survey of Drama, second revised
edition, 8 volumes (Pasadena, Cal.: Salem, 2003), VII: 3787–3791.
Concise history, discussions of playwrights and dramatic themes, and an anno-
tated bibliography.
John M. Clum, Still Acting Gay: Male Homosexuality in Modern Drama, revised
edition (New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2000).
Critical analyses of gay plays by American and British writers.