When did the minstrel show reach its peak?
Alternative Title: minstrelsy. Minstrel show, also called minstrelsy, an indigenous American theatrical form, popular from the early 19th to the early 20th century, that was founded on the comic enactment of racial stereotypes. The tradition reached its zenith between 1850 and 1870.
Who was the father of the minstrel show?
Minstrel show. The earliest minstrel shows were staged by white male minstrels (traveling musicians) who, with their faces painted black, caricatured the singing and dancing of slaves. Scholars usually distinguish this form of the tradition as blackface minstrelsy. The father of the blackface show was Thomas Dartmouth Rice,…
When was the first blackface minstrel show performed?
In 1844, only one year after the first performance of the Virginia Minstrels, a blackface minstrel troupe called the Ethiopian Serenaders played at the White House for the “Especial Amusement of the President of the United States, His Family and Friends.”.
Are there still black and white minstrel shows?
And blackface minstrel shows lived on in other parts of the world. One hundred years after minstrel entertainment began in London’s music-halls, the convention was revived on television in the form of The Black And White Minstrel Show.
What kind of music did the minstrel show play?
Although considered racist today, it was a popular form of entertainment in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many minstrel shows included jokes, ballads, comedic songs, soft-shoe numbers, and instruments like the banjo and the violin.
How many items are in the minstrel show collection?
The Minstrel Show Collection, 1831-1959 (bulk 1860-1940), contains 4,000 items documenting the form of entertainment known as the minstrel show and, to a much lesser extent, other entertainments that used blackface makeup.