Irish on the Move - Performing Mobility in American Variety Theatre

A little over a century ago, the Irish in America were the targets of intense xenophobic anxiety. Much of that anxiety centered on their mobility, whether that was traveling across the ocean to the U.S., searching for employment in urban centers, mixing with other ethnic groups, or forming communities of their own. Granshaw argues that American variety theatre, a precursor to vaudeville, was a crucial battleground for these anxieties, as it appealed to both the fears and the fantasies that accompanied the rapid economic and social changes of the Gilded Age.

About the author

Michelle Granshaw is assistant professor of theatre arts at the University of Pittsburgh.

Summary

Argues that American variety theatre, a precursor to vaudeville, was a crucial battleground for anti-Irish anxieties, as it appealed to both the fears and the fantasies that accompanied the rapid economic and social changes of the Gilded Age.

Product details

• Authors: Michelle Granshaw
• Publisher: University Of Iowa Press
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback / Softback
• Released: 31.12.2019
• EAN: 9781609386696
• ISBN: 978-1-60938-669-6
• No. of pages: 288
• Series: Studies Theatre Hist & Culture; Studies in Theatre History & Culture
• Subject: Humanities, art, music > Art > Theatre, ballet