Theatres of Value explores the idea that buying and selling are performative acts and offers a paradigm for deeper study of these acts—’the dramaturgy of value.’ Modeling this multifaceted approach, the book explores six case studies to show how and why Shakespeare had value for nineteenth-century New Yorkers. In considering William Brown’s African Theater, P. T. Barnum’s American Museum and Lecture Hall, Fanny Kemble’s American reading career, the Booth family brand, the memorial statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, and an 1888 benefit performance of
Hamlet to theatrical impresario Lester Wallack,
Theatres of Value traces a history of audience engagement with Shakespearean cultural capital and the myriad ways this engagement was leveraged by theatrical businesspeople.
Tabella dei contenuti
List of Illustrations
Acknowledgments
Introduction: Deriving a Dramaturgy of Value
1. What William Brown Knew: The African Theatre and the Growing Threat of Legitimacy
2. The Value of a Name: P. T. Barnum’s American Dream
3. Taking the Reins: The American Reading Career of Mrs. Fanny Kemble
4. Both Booth’s Brothers: The Bulletproof Brand
5. Our American Shakespeare: The Central Park Statue and National Identity
6. Erasing the Lines: Editing the Wallack Benefit
Conclusion: The Dramaturgy of Value at Large
Notes
Bibliography
Index
Circa l’autore
Danielle Rosvally is Assistant Professor of Theatre at the University at Buffalo, the State University of New York. She is the coeditor (with Donovan Sherman) of
Early Modern Liveness: Mediating Presence in Text, Stage and Screen.
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