This study is a description of the popular theatre as it operated in North Carolina between the end of Reconstruction and the early 1920s. The emphasis of the study is on identifying towns which had a theatre (usually called an "opera house"), the number of theatres in each town, specifications for the theatre spaces, biographical information on managers, and types of attractions that played the theatres. One hundred and fifty-nine halls have been identified in eighty-two towns, and several thousand attractions have been accounted for. / The bulk of the work is a catalog of halls that can be inventoried from available sources, arranged alphabetically by town. Following the catalog, a chapter describes in detail the nature of the attractions presented during a sample season, 1904-05. A summary and evaluation of the characteristics of North Carolina theatre during the period completes the text. Appendices supply (A) information on plays presented by repertoire companies during the 1904-1905 season; (B) significant citations for North Carolina entries in the "Correspondence" column of the New York Dramatic Mirror, the leading theatrical newspaper of the period; (C) itineraries for selected companies for the 1904- 1905 season; (D) a preface from one of the theatrical directories of the period; and (E) illustrations, including photographs of several of the opera houses described in the catalog. An extensive bibliography of primary and secondary sources is included. / The primary conclusion drawn from the data is that the primary medium of popular culture during the period was theatre. The types of attractions that played opera houses reinforced the values, attitudes and beliefs of the audience, an essential function of popular culture. North Carolina theatres were typical stops on "The Road" during the Era of the Opera House, not attracting the top stars and highest-quality attractions, but providing a substantial quantity of popular entertainment to their audiences. As such, they were the primary loci for the dissemination of popular culture in their communities. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 56-12, Section: A, page: 4613. / Major Professor: John A. Degen. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1995.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_77621 |
| Contributors | Wilson, Paul Frederick., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 1336 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
Page generated in 0.0025 seconds