[2] Among antebellum melodramas, it was considered second in popularity only to Uncle Tom's Cabin (1852).[3]. What ensues is an upside down, topsy-turvy world where race and morality are challenged and intensified. Wahnotee appears, drunk and sorrowful, and tells them that Paul is buried near them. An Octoroon is a play written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins. Although she and her children were free, Picquet was stuck in New Orleans until Williams' brother gave her a portion of the proceeds from selling Williams' furniture. To settle his debts, the creditors made Cook sell his slaves, so at thirteen, Picquet was separated from her mother, who was sold to Colonel Albert Clinton Horton of Wharton, while Picquet went to New Orleans with Mr. John Williams. Mrs. Peyton informs her nephew George, who has just returned from Europe, that he is the heir to the Terrebonne estate. The Writer, an African American, stepped into the drama playing the roles of both its male white protagonist and antagonist. Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Devoid of any actual references to plot or the characters identity, the figure stands naked, chained and ready for sale to the highest bidder. Log in here. Minnies banter with Kacie Rogers Dido and bickering with Leea Ayers Grace provide choral commentary with a jaded Gen X twist. Those qualifications have much to offer, but what An Octoroon needs is an auteur whos alert to the way the tempo and visual composition of a scene can shape its meaning. [15] In his review for The New York Times, Ben Brantley called the play this decades most eloquent theatrical statement on race in America today.[16] The production transferred to Theatre for A New Audience's Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn and ran from February 14, 2015 to March 29, 2015. The word Octoroon signifies "one-eighth blood" or the child of a Quadroon by a white. Picquet was sold to Williams of New Orleans and her mother was sold to Texas. publication online or last modification online. However, we have dozens of other monologues that you can read. It concerns the residents of a Louisiana plantation called Terrebonne, and sparked debates about the abolition of slavery and the role of theatre in politics. An Octoroon begins with a prologue, in which a surrogate for the author, BJJ, introduces himself to the audience as a Black playwright, a label he doesnt fully comprehend. George does not care about her mixed racial ancestry and wishes to marry her, despite the illegality of a mixed-race marriage. The play was first produced in 1859, at the Winter Garden Theatre in New York City, and was both controversial because of its sympathetic and human portrayal of slaves before the civil war, and extremely popular from the moment it premiered. It contains elements of Romanticism and melodrama. But white cast members, offended by the unapologetic racism of their nasty slave-owner characters, dropped out. Zoe calls Dido Mammy, and she puts on a mammy character as they argue. Dora Sunnyside, the daughter of another local planter, falls in love with George. Female. This pocket Bluetooth printer lets you print your precious memories before they hit Instagram. By presenting characters in whiteface, blackface, and redface, Jacobs-Jenkins can look at "blackness and how to represent social constructs onstage that are so tied to a specific culture of nation. The group also discusses Zoe, who lives at the estate and is the judges illegitimate child, although Mrs. Peyton loves [her] as if shed been her own child (26). Decent Essays. George, upon arriving at the plantation from Europe, begins to fall in love with her. date the date you are citing the material. The Octoroon The Octoroon Play Writers: Dion Boucicault Monologues Sorry! Despite being physically separated, Picquet explains, "I often thought her prayers followed me, for I never could forget her" (p. 18). Word Count: 465. A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality study guides that feature detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, quotes, and essay topics. The Oxford English Dictionary cites The Octoroon with the earliest record of the word "mashup" with the quote: "He don't understand; he speaks a mash up of Indian, French, and Mexican." Another man called MClosky went through the courts and away went a thousand acres of Terrebonne to him. An Octoroon Austin Smith being dragged in this comedy by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins at the Polonsky Shakespeare Center in Brooklyn. New York, NY, SM for Poor Yella Rednecks Pete, George, and Dora acquaint themselves when Zoe enters to meet George. The last date is today's A photograph of a real murdered human contrasts with the original play's use of a photograph for justice.[4]. All Picquet wanted was to "get religion" (p. 22). Paulwith the mailbagsstops to take a photo of himself with Georges camera. Mary Elizabeth Braddon. To notify all her donors, in 1860, Louisa put a notice in the Daily Gazetter telling of her mother's safe arrival in Cincinnati. After she takes the liquid, Scudder enters and informs them of MCloskys guilt and the found letter, but it is too lateZoe is dying. Where larger, better funded theaters in Los Angeles have played it safe, the Fountain has made room for bold, boundary-breaking drama. The drama tells the moving story of Zoe, the mixed-race daughter of a rich Southern judge and plantation owner by his black paramour. At the time of its presentation at the annual exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts in 1868, Bell stood at the height of his career. The play is an adaptation of Dion Boucicault's 1859 abolitionist melodrama retold through Jacobs-Jenkins eyes. [2] In a 2018 poll by critics of The New York Times, the work was ranked the second-greatest American play of the past 25 years. In 1835, the year after his conversion, he was a junior preacher in Oswego County, New York after serving as an agent of the American Bible Society in New Jersey. Paul was beloved and also valuable, and so the whites want to find what has happened to him. "The Octoroon" tells the late of when In the deep south of 1850's USA, an octoroon is given her freedom by her white father but is later bought as a slave by the evil Jacob McCloskey. online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. The auction begins and MClosky aggressively bids on Zoe, winning her. caucasian southern mannered kind motherly genteel southern accent widow antibellum slave owner. In a far less theatrical sense, women in mixed-race relationships continued to suffer the combined opprobrium of state and society far into the 20th century. Zoe enters to say goodbye to Dora and George but faints and tells George to give her the poisonous liquid, claiming its a restorative (73). The term sensation drama caught on when Boucicault's The Colleen Bawn, adapted from Gerald Griffin's novel The Collegians, became a hit in 1860. [1] She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel Lady Audley's Secret, which has also been dramatised and filmed several times. Extremely popular, the play was kept running continuously for years by seven road companies. Zoe enters along with Mr. Sunnyside, a plantation owner, and his Southern belle daughter, Dora, who tells Zoe she is in love with George. Boucicault), transforms himself into the Native American character Wahnotee by smearing his face with red makeup. The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. Zoe heads out to the slave quarters to ask Dido for poison. "The Octoroon" tells the late of when In the deep south of 1850's USA, an octoroon is given her freedom by her white father but is later bought as a . Back at Terrebonne, Zoe returns but with a sad heart, as she knows that she and George can never be together. Although she claims its because someone is sick, she actually wants to use the liquid to poison herself. His parents, Solomon and Lydia Mattison, raised him and his eleven siblings in the Methodist Episcopal Church. The Greek Slave depicted a white woman, however, not a person of mixed race. Eveline becomes very fond of her and finally persuades her father to buy the Octoroon from her French owner. But how a work is produced matters too, and An Octoroon requires directorial sensibility and skill that arent always in evidence in Judith Morelands production. So, instead of giving up, he decides to play the white male roles himself. It is in this part of the narrative that Picquet is separated from Ramsey. In race-conscious societies, the prospect of racial mixture could threaten the precarious stability of the dominant order. Mattison wants everyone to understand that those we think of as "southern gentlemen" are the cause of the "deep moral pollution of the Slave States" (p. 51). Then Playwright and Assistant put on redface and blackface paint. Scudder tells them that all could be saved if George marries Dora, but says he knows that Zoe and George are in love. The men leave to fetch the authorities, but McClosky escapes. Lafouche comes to run the auction of the property and announces Zoe will be sold. Pete is Paul's grandfather. This play is set in Creole Louisiana, before the Civil War, on a plantation called Terrebonne. The most famous one is her first novel, Lady Audley's Secret 1862 , which won her recognition and fortune as well. Last Updated on June 19, 2019, by eNotes Editorial. Research Playwrights, Librettists, Composers and Lyricists. Log in here. Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon: or Inside Views of Southern Domestic Life (1861) is not so much a narrative as a series of Picquet's first-person answers to Mattison's questions, which seem to have transcribed verbatim, along with his own commentary. Take a look at our library of free monologues . 2023 eNotes.com, Inc. All Rights Reserved. He comes across a therapist who recommends adapting his favorite play, The Octoroon by Dion Boucicault, as a jumping off point out of his writer's block. BJJ clarifies that in the time of the play, a photograph was a novel/innovative/contemporary way for the plot to be resolved. [3], Jacobs-Jenkins recommends the play be performed with 8 or 9 actors,[4] with male characters played using blackface/whiteface/redface, and female characters portrayed by actresses that match the characters' race.[1]. Both Scudder and M'Closky claim to be in love with Zoe as well. Zoe also uses the same term unlike in the . Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. MClosky, meanwhile, has killed a young slave named Paul, and he tries to frame an Indian named Wahnotee for the murder. Paul's best friend, the Indian Wahnotee, discovers Paul's body; he can speak only poor English, however, and is unable to communicate the tragedy to anyone else. Dora then reappears and bids on Zoe she has sold her own plantation in order to rescue Terrebonne. It isnt pretty. MClosky enters, and upon seeing Paul sitting on the mailbag, he uses Wahnotees tomahawk to kill Paul. In the colonial societies of the Americas and Australia, a quadroon or quarteron was a person with one quarter African / Aboriginal and three quarters European ancestry. Theres something too straightforward in the approach to the staging, too oriented to the basic elements of storytelling to handle the dynamic shifts among parody, commentary and appreciation. Act IV takes place by Captain Rattss Steamer Magnolia, where Wahnotee has been captured. We don't currently have any monologues from The Octoroon . Boucicault's manuscript actually reads "Indian, French and 'Merican." In fact, the subject seems to have been suggested to Bell by the arrival on the London stage in 1861 of The Octoroon, a highly popular play first produced in New York two years earlier by the widely celebrated playwright Dion Boucicault. When George asks why, Zoe explains that she is an octoroon, and the law prevents a white man from marrying anyone with the smallest black heritage. Zoe reciprocates his feelings but says that they cannot be together, as she is an Octoroon and interracial marriage is illegal. [6], An Octoroon had a workshop production at Performance Space 122 from June 19 July 3, 2010, featuring Travis York, Karl Allen, Chris Manley, Ben Beckley, Gabe Levey, Jake Hart, Margaret Flanagan, Amber Gray, Mary Wiseman, LaToya Lewis, Kim Gainer, and Sasheer Zamata. Dora runs off crying, saying: I hate you both (52). Word Count: 361. Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street. A stereo photograph of the original allowed even those of modest means to view it with a convincing illusion of depth. MClosky, who everyone agrees is awful, falls in love with her, as does George, and Scudder is already in love with her. The Octoroon is appropriately considered a sensation drama, though it received the label retrospectively. Bartleby the Scrivener, A Tale of Wall Street. (Check schedule for exceptions.) Learning that the owner would free Ramsey for one thousand dollars, "she resolved to make the attempt at all hazards," which included "saving every penny she could" and "soliciting money" abroad (p. 36). He received his doctorate in dramaturgy and dramatic criticism from the Yale School of Drama. The group immediately calls for his lynching, but they agree to try him first. Jacobs-Jenkins himself took on the role of Br'er Rabbit and Captain Ratts.[14]. This money was enough to transport her and her family the way to Cincinnati. If there are two dates, the date of publication and appearance Three years later, in 1850, Louisa married Henry Picquet. land of the palmetto and the pine, From Blue Ridge Mountain down to Mexic's sea; Sweet with magnolia and cape jessamine, And thrilled with song,thou art the land for me! The Octoroon Summary. You're no negro" (p.43). Hiram Mattison, Louisa Picquet, the Octoroon: or Inside Views of Southern Domestic Life. Before long it was widely reproduced on a smaller scale as one of Mintons ceramic Parian-ware figurines, as well as in bronze replicas. During the early decades of the 19th century, she maintained an enduring liaison with the Kentucky politician Richard Mentor Johnson. [22], From May 18 to July 1, 2017 An Octoroon was performed at the Orange Tree Theatre in Richmond, London[23] in a production directed by Ned Bennett and designed by Georgia Lowe. This image is part of a weekly series thatThe Rootis presenting in conjunction with the Image of the Black Archive & Library at Harvard Universitys Hutchins Center for African and African American Research. Just as the men circle Wahnotee, getting ready to lynch him, Scudder finds that a nearby camera (which Wahnotee had broken, believing that it was a gun that killed Paul) took a picture of Paul and MClosky just as the latter was using a tomahawk to kill the former. Therefore, Mattison implores the reader to contribute to the cause if they "can sympathize with this daughter of affliction and victim of relentless oppression, and will rejoice in the opportunity of doing something to help alleviate her sorrow" (p. 48). online is the same, and will be the first date in the citation. The word octoroon signifies a person of one-eighth African ancestry. Already a member? Mrs. Peyton, for instance, refers to her slaves black ungainly faces (32) even as she extols her love for them, while Scudder speaks directly of the protection, forbearance, gentleness and other goods that show the critters the difference between the Christian and the savage (72). [6], The sensation scene of the original play is deconstructed in act four. He and Zoe admit to their love of each other; a heartbroken Dora leaves. McClosky intercepts a young slave boy, Paul, who is bringing a mailbag to the house which contains a letter from one of Judge Peyton's old debtors. A theater and a slave plantation in Louisiana, College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Mature Audiences, Regional Theatre. Salem Scudder, a kind Yankee, was Judge Peyton's business partner; though he wishes he could save Terrebonne, he has no money. THE OCTOROON 1 Hail! Join StageAgent today and unlock amazing theatre resources and opportunities. The tragic ending was used for American audiences, to avoid portraying a mixed marriage.[4]. A $300-million (minimum) gondola to Dodger Stadium? He then confesses his love for Zoe. In Mobile, Picquet describes her love interest with a "colored man more white than [she was]" (p. He gives it a try but quickly realizes that getting white, male actors of today to play evil slave owners is not an easy task. During this time, he wrote to Methodists in England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in an attempt to stamp out slavery from the Methodist Episcopal Church by circulating petitions to collect signatures. Later, Mattison returned to the Methodist Episcopal Church in Jersey City and remained with the congregation until his death on November 24th, 1868. An extremely beautiful young slave girl, who is treated like a member of the family, Zoe is kind, generous, and adored by every man who lays eyes on her. Shakespeare in the Woods 2023 Season The title of the play refers to a character named Zoe. The production ran from January 29 to February 27, 2016. This article uses the published version of An Octoroon, as well as the recording of a performance of the Sarah Benson-directed production, recorded June 6, 2014, and housed at the Theatre on Film and Tape Archive at the New York Public Library.I will also refer to instances from the Theatre for A New Audience production . Page 1. . The Octoroon was written by Dion Boucicault and was adapted from the novel The Quadroon by Thomas Mayne Reid. This shuffle of identities is insouciantly performed as a minstrel carnival. Except for her chains, she could pass for a conventional likeness of Venus, the classical goddess of love. Where: The Fountain Theatre, 5060 Fountain Ave., L.A.When: 7 p.m. Fridays-Mondays. The Octoroon Dion Boucicault 36-page comprehensive study guide Chapter-by-chapter summaries and multiple sections of expert analysis The ultimate resource for assignments, engaging lessons, and lively book discussions Access Full Guide Download Save The Octoroon Themes Racial Identification and Discrimination [] George, you may, without a blush, confess your love for the Octoroon (75). Gain full access to show guides, character breakdowns, auditions, monologues and more! Summary In 1828, Louisa Picquet (1828-1896) was born near Columbia, South Carolina to fifteen year old Elizabeth Ramsey, a quadroon slave, and John Randolph, Ramsey's white master, which made her an octoroon, or an individual with one black and seven white grandparents. Narrative context is dispensed with to focus on the essential plight of the victim, a process often leavening compassion with a less chaste voyeurism. The term octoroon is thankfully not in circulation anymore, and it is likely that the melodrama would have remained in historys dustbin were it not for Jacobs-Jenkins ambivalent curiosity. FreeBookNotes found 4 sites with book summaries or analysis of The Octoroon. Time & Place. The performers are in effect asked to simultaneously exist in two theatrical realms Boucicaults and Jacobs-Jenkins. Bachelor. The aesthetic effect of the figure is essentially theatrical, encouraging the strongly empathetic participation of the viewer with both form and meaning. He produced a huge number of plays of which the exact number is between 135 and 400 titles (Kosok,82). [9] Prior to the first performance, Alexis Soloski for The Village Voice published an email from cast member Karl Allen who wrote, "the play has transformed from an engaging piece of contemporary theatre directed by Gavin Quinn to a piece of crap that wouldn't hold a candle to some of the community theater I did in high school". This led Jacobs-Jenkins to see doubles and pairs in Boucicault's play, through relationships between characters e.g. Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information, Coming to an L.A. stage: Proof were in a golden age of American playwriting, Michael Ritchie will retire from Center Theatre Group and make space for a new voice, Hollywood writers strike over streaming pay after talks fail, Models and climate activists hit the streets to protest the star-studded 2023 Met Gala, Gordon Lightfoot, mournful Canadian singer-songwriter, dies at 84, Tim Bachman, founding guitarist of Bachman-Turner Overdrive, dies at 71. Their family included Henry's four year old daughter, Harriet, and Louisa's eight year old daughter, Eliza. Melodrama only magnifies the moral ludicrousness. Boucicault portrayed Wahnotee, and in his play Jacobs-Jenkins explores the connection between a person and their identity as artist. There are a number of slaves on the plantationPeter, Grace, and Dido to name a fewbut Paul, a thirteen year-old boy, is the most important to the plot. A Black playwright is struggling to find his voice among a chorus of people telling him what he should and should not be writing. After a strong start, the production loses its way rhythmically as the plot of The Octoroon is jauntily sketched. Being considered one-eighth black, she is called an "octoroon." The citation above will include either 2 or 3 dates. All scenes are property and copyright of their owners. [17], Company One Theatre in Boston co-produced the play with ArtsEmerson, directed by Summer L. Williams. [21] The limited season at Peet's Theatre is ran from June 23 to July 29, 2017.
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