It's always loud in the balcony : a life in black theater, from Harlem to Hollywood and back / Richard Wesley.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Wesley, Richard, 1945- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Wesley, Richard, 1945-.

Wesley, Richard.

African American theater--History--20th century.

African American theater.

African Americans in the performing arts--History--20th century.

African Americans in the performing arts.

American drama--African American authors.

American drama.

African American dramatists--Biography.

African American dramatists.

History.

Genre:

History.

Autobiographies.

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xxvi, 228 pages ; 23 cm

Other Title:

It is always loud in the balcony

Place of Publication:

Guilford, Connecticut ; Lanham, MD : Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, [2019]

Summary:

"Richard Wesley was witness to a revolution. As both a celebrated participant and eager student of the Black Theater Movement in the late 1960s, he became part of a seismic force in American culture, breaking down barriers and helping to disrupt the cultural landscape. It's always loud in the balcony: a life in black theater, from Harlem to Hollywood and back is both history and memoir, tracing Wesley's roots from riot-torn Newark, New Jersey, across the rocky terrain of Harlem, and finally to Hollywood, where he became partners with Sidney Poitier, writing several successful films before returning to New York and the theater world -- a trip that Wesley has wryly characterized as 'black power to black establishment.' Wesley unfolds the history of black theater with love and precision, from the emergence of Amiri Baraka, and his own debut, the fiercely militant Black terror -- which landed him a deal with a legendary producer Joseph Papp -- through his moviemaking experience in Los Angeles, working with Bill Cosby and Richard Pryor, among others. Wesley lands on solid ground in the twenty-first century as an elder statesman, a happy witness to the great success of a new breed of black theater that includes the widespread success of Tyler Perry and Lin-Manuel Miranda's Hamilton, which brought hip-hop to Broadway. It's always loud in the balcony if the passionate, firsthand account of a crucial American art movement whose effects will be felt for generations to come." -- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

1 The Incubator p. 1

2 Shaping A Mind p. 11

3 The Babies Go Boom p. 25

4 Becoming p. 47

5 Home p. 63

6 Dark Clouds p. 75

7 The Bitter Months p. 85

8 Black Seeds Sprouting p. 101

9 Into the '70s p. 111

10 A Change Is Gonna Come p. 127

11 Staking a Claim p. 135

12 Suddenly, Downtown p. 149

13 New Territory p. 161

14 Black Lens p. 179

15 Who the Hell Are These Guys? p. 199

16 Don't Look Back p. 209.

Notes:

Includes index.

ISBN:

9781495072413

149507241X

OCLC:

1127181866