Although New York City continues to hold its reputation as the symbolic heart of American theater, much of today’s most innovative, risk-taking, and thought-provoking work is being produced far beyond Broadway, in regional theaters across the country. This reality is especially true when it comes to plays by African American writers. With only a handful of exceptions—most famously figures such as August Wilson and George C. Wolfe—Black playwrights often confront what has been described as a form of “commercial apartheid,” a systemic exclusion that keeps the majority of their works off the Broadway stage.

As a result, many African American theater artists have had little choice but to carve out their own spaces, building companies and performance venues independently in order to bring their stories to life. A powerful testament to this resilience is found in a wide-ranging anthology edited by the founder of the New Federal Theater, which highlights the contributions of Black-owned and Black-operated theater companies. The collection gathers works from eleven dramatists whose plays reflect both the diversity and the dynamism of African American theater.

Among the standout pieces are Jeff Stetson’s The Meeting, a poignant and imaginative drama that stages a fictional but emotionally resonant encounter between two towering figures of the Civil Rights era: Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. Equally compelling is Shauneille Perry’s creative reimagining of In Dahomey, the groundbreaking 1903 musical that marked Broadway’s first entirely Black production. Perry’s adaptation not only revives the historical significance of the original but also reinvents it for contemporary audiences, making it both a tribute and a transformation.

Together, these works illuminate the vitality of African American theater beyond the narrow confines of Broadway, celebrating a tradition that is at once self-sustained, boldly experimental, and deeply rooted in cultural history.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ Applause
• Publication date ‏ : ‎ July 1, 2000
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Format: Paperback
• Print length ‏ : ‎ 528 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1557832196
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1557832191
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6 x 1.18 x 9 inches
• Condition: Used Good

This is an Ex-library copy with some library stamps and stickers attached to the cover.

The interior pages are clean, unmarked, and unbent.

The National Black Drama Anthology: Eleven Plays from America’s Leading African American Theaters.

Drama & Play Anthologies, American Dramas & Plays, Theater