Hello! This is our series of episodes on the history of Black contributions to theatre! These episodes are specifically meant for all ages (Our other episodes are NOT!)
Sources for these episodes include wonderful books such as Black Theatre USA, Black Theatre: Ritual Performance in the African Diaspora, The Black Mozart: Le Chevalier De Saint-Georges, as well as various news articles. This page will be updated as more episodes are added to this series!
Note: As this is covering the history of Black theatre, there will be sensitive topics such as slavery and racism, but we must be honest with history.
We’re back! And we’re going to be on your feed more than normal this month because it is Black History Month and K has a lot they want to cover!
In this episode, K gives Warren a crash course on different forms of Yoruban Rituals before they watch videos on Egungun and Gelede. They discuss the views from the book Black Theatre: Ritual Performance in the African Diaspora and K forgets how many days are in the month of February during a leap year!
K continues the discussion of the history of black theatre by covering a dark period of theatre history – minstrel shows, before going into some theatrical firsts for Black Americans. Learn about William Henry Lane (also known as Master Juba), a black man who got his start in minstrel shows before ultimately becoming the father of tap dance and find out about the African Grove Theatre: the first Black run theatre in America.
Promo: Black History Buff Podcast
In this episode, K and Warren discuss the amazing life of Ira Aldridge, alumni of the African Grove Theatre and an amazing tragic actor in his own right. Learn about Ira Aldridge’s accomplishments on the stage and listen to Warren’s recounting of the “One K Production” of Ira Aldridge’s adaptation of The Black Doctor.
Promo: Black History Buff Podcast
Today, K and Warren talk about the incredible life of William Wells Brown and discuss the play Escape or A Leap for Freedom. This is the debut of Warren’s screaming pillow and it is well Warren-ted!
Promo: A Ninth World Journal
In this episode, K and Warren explore the early history of Black musicals. Learn about Bert Williams and George Walker, Will Marion Cook (or, as K read while reading their notes, Mill Warion Cook – K holds a bachelor’s degree!), burlesque theatre, and more!
Promo: Black Girls Do Stuff Too
In this episode, K introduces Warren to historical pageants and Warren gets to witness the spectacular One K Production of Star of Ethiopia – a show that was normally performed by 300 – 1200 people! Learn a brief history about W E B Dubois and learn about this piece of theatre history that needs to come back in this episode of Tone Deaf!
Promo: The Bird Brain Podcast
Hoo boy, this one is a doozy, folks.
In this episode, K and Warren cover Angelina Weld-Grimke and her play “Rachel. This episode is a short one because this one hit a lot harder than K intended it to. If you are able to find a copy of this play to read, we strongly recommend it.
Promo: Witchever Path
In this episode, K and Warren discuss the play that launched a genre – Ruth Ada Gaines-Shelton’s Church Fight. It’s a shorter episode this time (not a lot to cover for this one) but it’s a nice bit of levity before we get into a little more difficult of a subject on Friday’s episode!
Promo: The Cut
Today, K and Warren discuss the Tragic Mulatto Trope before covering Langston Hughes and one of his few tragic plays, Mulatto. This episode is heavy and longer than some of our other Black History Month episodes but K had a lot to say and, well, as Pomegranates and Pitchforks says – “It’s Complicated.”
Promo: The Black Guy Who Tips
In this episode, K and Warren cover an early black musical, Harlem is Heaven. K introduces Warren to Bojangles, A certain cartoon mouse threatens them, and the couple discusses whether or not this show was a hot sensation or a hot mess.
Promo: Home Video Hustle
K and Warren watch the film Stormy Weather and Warren has to decide … does it live up to the hype? Will Warren’s knees hurt just watching the flashy dance moves of Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and the Nicholas Brothers? Will Warren find out who TLC was? All this and more will be answered in this episode of Tone Deaf!
Promo: Book of Lies Podcast
Taking all bets!!
K challenges Warren to a quiz to test his knowledge of what he has learned this Black History Month. Will Warren succeed in passing this test or will he be required to retake this part of the class? Tune in to the latest Tone Deaf to find out!
Promo: Handcuffed Podcast
CW: Discussions of the brutality of slavery in Pre-Revolution Haiti.
It’s Black History Month and K is back with some knowledge for Warren about Black contributions to theatre!
In our first installment of this year’s Black Theatre History series, K and Warren talk about Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-Georges. Learn about a man who fought to be the best at everything he did and find out why the French Republican Calendar is an absolute mess in this episode of Tone Deaf!
Promo: Black History Buff Podcast
In this episode K and Warren discuss the 1936 film The Green Pastures and come away from it very mixed. Is this a subversive piece of art or a product of it’s time? We also cover the late Rex Ingram and his contributions to the history of film and K gets us DCMA’d
Promo: Book of Lies the Podcast
In this episode K introduces Warren to Cabin in the Sky. Topics of discussion include obscure stereotypes that were unfortunately popular in the 40s, condescending white songwriters, the amazingness of Ethel Waters and Lena Horne, the origins of a very famous dance move, and more!
Promo: A Ninth World Journal
CW: Mentions of murder, rape, assault, and discussions of suicidal ideation
This episode is heavy. In this episode, K and Warren watch and discuss the Nambi E Kelley version of Richard Wright’s Native Son. Learn about the original Paul Green play adaptation, find out how many times Warren would have voted for Obama, and find out that it is ok to seek help if the thoughts get too dark.
Promo: The Bird Brain Podcast
K introduces Warren to Lorraine Hansberry’s masterpiece, A Raisin in the Sun. Along the way, learn about one of the greatest playwrights to ever live whose life was tragically cut short and learn that this is a Pro-Beneatha podcast!
Promo: The Courtship of Mona Mae
K introduces Warren to Charlie Fuller’s Pulitzer Prize Winning Play, A Soldier’s Play. K gushes about Black History Buff and One Mic Black History Podcast, a brief history of World War 2 is discussed, Warren gets on a Soapbox, and we try really hard not to break our “No Cursing” rule in this week’s Tone Deaf!
Promo: One Mic Black History Podcast
CW: Discussion of abuse, rape, and abortion
It’s time for another really heavy episode! This week, we cover Ntozake Shange’s choreopoem, for colored girls who have considered suicide/when the rainbow is enuf. K gets emotional and Warren tries to interpret poetry in this penultimate 2021 Black Theatre History episode!
In the last episode for this installment of our Black Theatre History series, K takes Warren on the whirlwind satirical look at Black Theatre and History, George C Wolfe’s The Colored Museum. Along the way, we see how wrong Warren is about what this show is about, K can’t say the word magnifique, Warren gets a 12 hour twitter ban, and we learn that we can never look at an egg the same way again in this episode of Tone Dea
This is a long one but we had a lot to say on it!
K introduces Warren to his second opera, George Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess. Along the way, we talk about an amazing Black opera singer, Anne Wiggins Brown, we discuss representation in theatre, and Warren writes a sequel.
This week we cover one of K’s all time favorite musicals to watch and be in, Once on This Island. We discuss two versions that K was in before watching the American Musical Theatre of San Jose’s production. Will Warren have the same fondness that K has for this musical?
We also discuss colorism, the importance of having an all-Black cast, Rosa Guy, and just how dark the original Little Mermaid was!
This week, we round out this February’s Black Theatre History series with a look at musical revues, Donald McKayle, and his 1981 revue, Sophisticated Ladies! We discuss jazz, modern dance, and Warren uses this episode to say “scat” more times than he has ever said it! It’s a toe tapping good time in this episode of Tone Deaf!