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Profit, Race, and American Identity in the Nation's Capital: Arena Stage, 1950-2010

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Profit, Race, and American Identity in the Nation's Capital: Arena Stage, 1950-2010 City University of New York (CUNY) CUNY Academic Works All Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects 5-2015 Performing (Non)Profit, Race, and American Identity in the Nation's Capital: Arena Stage, 1950-2010 Donatella Galella The Graduate Center, City University of New York How does access to this work benefit ou?y Let us know! More information about this work at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/936 Discover additional works at: https://academicworks.cuny.edu This work is made publicly available by the City University of New York (CUNY). Contact: [email protected] PERFORMING (NON)PROFIT, RACE, AND AMERICAN IDENTITY IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL: ARENA STAGE, 1950-2010 by DONATELLA GALELLA A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy, The City University of New York 2015 © 2015 DONATELLA GALELLA All Rights Reserved ii This manuscript has been read and accepted for the Graduate Faculty in Theatre in satisfaction of the dissertation requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. April 15, 2015 Judith Milhous Date Chair of Examining Committee April 15, 2015 Jean Graham-Jones Date Executive Officer Marvin Carlson David Savran Kandice Chuh Supervisory Committee THE CITY UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK iii ABSTRACT PERFORMING (NON)PROFIT, RACE, AND AMERICAN IDENTITY IN THE NATION’S CAPITAL: ARENA STAGE, 1950-2010 by DONATELLA GALELLA Adviser: Professor Judith Milhous Theatre socially reproduces and contests economic, racial, and national hierarchies. There is a dearth of scholarship on U.S. regional theatre because of middlebrow anxiety and yet, for that very reason, regional theatre demands attention as a fitting example of the site of struggle over different forms of capital. Located in Washington, D.C., Arena Stage is the ideal case study for both the invention of viable non-profit theatre and the negotiation of race and national identity in the United States. Arguably the closest institution the U.S. has to a national theatre, the company was the first regional theatre to send a profitable new play to Broadway and now brands itself as the largest theatre devoted to “American Voices.” By capitalizing upon its location in the nation’s capital; staging racially liberal dramas; and developing institutional practices that help the institution to accumulate economic, cultural, and symbolic capital, the theatre has thrived for more than sixty years. My dissertation is a critical history of Arena Stage from 1950 to 2010 and consists of three thematic sections that focus on how the company produced non-profit practices, African/Caribbean/American drama, and U.S. identity. While the history chapters provide context and theoretical underpinnings from Pierre Bourdieu’s Field of Cultural Production to Michael Omi and Howard Winant’s Racial Formation in the United States, the case study chapters perform close readings of Arena Stage’s most successful productions that mark turning iv points: The Great White Hope (1968) inspired a trend toward Broadway transfers with attendant economic and symbolic capital; Raisin (1973), the musical adaptation of Lorraine Hansberry’s A Raisin in the Sun, staged a liberal yet safe black theatre; and the multiracial production of Oklahoma! (2010) opened the company’s new theatre center and symbolized a diverse, neoliberal nation. I draw from performance and American studies; sociology and critical race theory; archival materials; and interviews with artists and administrators. I argue that Arena’s viability has been largely due to the theatre’s progressive politics yet ultimate maintenance of hegemonic structures, namely of class, race, and nation. v ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am sincerely grateful to the many individuals and institutions that have supported my dissertation. The Graduate Center of the City University of New York has been a home for me. My mentors there have guided my approach to scholarship, teaching, and the field of power. I have been changed for the better. Since I entered the PhD Program in Theatre, Judith Milhous, my adviser, has offered generous mentorship and rigorous standards that have made me the scholar and teacher that I am and aim to be. She gave me permission to expand beyond my comfort zone of Early Modern England toward non-profit theatre, race, and U.S. identity. Her keen editorial eyes and critical questions manifested in dozens of comments and three-page-long letters for every one of my chapters that have vastly improved my writing. Through thoughtful advice and anecdotes, she has shown me how to play the game. David Savran’s course on Theatre and Popular Culture radicalized me. He introduced me to cultural hierarchy, systemic anti-black racism, and Pierre Bourdieu, and his influence permeates the arguments of this dissertation. Marvin Carlson’s sense of curiosity about the world and his attendant courses about everything inspire my own ambitions. Jim Wilson engaged me in myriad fascinating conversations about race and musicals that informed my own understanding. Keeping me and the Theatre Program on track, Jean Graham-Jones challenged my thinking. Administering the Segal Center, Frank Hentschker frequently programmed events that dealt with regional theatre and new U.S. plays. Daniel Gerould supported my very first piece of writing about Arena Stage and new play development, and I miss his presence in the department. From Kandice Chuh, I learned crucial lessons on navigating the academy and thinking otherwise, wondering about the conditions of possibility rather than taking what is for granted. The Graduate Center also awarded me several fellowships and grants that provided me with the funding and the time that I vi needed to research and to write: a one-year teaching fellowship at Brooklyn College, a two-year Graduate Center anniversary fellowship, a dissertation-year fellowship, and the American Theatre Research Grant (also known as the Martin Tackel Award). As Assistant Program Officer, Lynette Gibson facilitated my progress in the Theatre Program. With deep talks, long walks, telephone calls, my comrades at The Graduate Center created a supportive community for sharing survival strategies and scholarship. There are too many people to name, so let me say that I am thankful for my cohort and other colleagues in the Theatre and American Studies Programs. When I met Stefanie A. Jones, she completely upended my assumptions, making me more aware of intersecting axes of oppression and more appreciative of African American theatre. Friendship is magic. Emily Clark, Sissi Liu, Janet Werther, and Kayla Yuh have been especially encouraging during my journey through dissertation land. Thank you to Chris Eng, Melissa Phruksachart, and Frannie Tran for holding me accountable each week. I am obsessed with Chris and his theorizing of camp aesthetics and racial politics, probably because we are the same. Pamela Thielman and Maria Mytilinaki workshopped a chapter with me, and Eric Glover of Princeton University reminded me of the importance of documenting and historicizing artists of color when he gave me feedback on my musicals chapters. My conference presentations, teaching institutions, and research archives provided laboratories and materials for this dissertation. I presented parts of my dissertation at the conferences of the Association for Theatre in Higher Education, American Society for Theatre Research, Futures of American Studies Institute, and Harvard-Princeton Musical Theatre Forum. When I taught Theatre of Color at Baruch College and Social Themes in the American Musical at Eugene Lang College-The New School, I was able to articulate my thoughts on intersectional vii hierarchies seen in popular cultural productions, and my students taught me in turn. The librarians, administrators, archivists, and assistants at the Special Collections and Archives at George Mason University were tremendously helpful in locating and photocopying materials for me. I would not have written this dissertation were it not for Janine Sobeck, former literary manager of Arena Stage, who hired me as the dramaturgy intern in 2009. My summer working with the inspiring, intelligent members of the Artistic Development (ArtDev) team led by David Dower led me to study this particular regional theatre, ask big questions, and become engrossed by stories about people of color. Speaking with the artistic directors of Arena, Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, and Molly Smith, was an honor and an illuminating experience. I must also thank the many artists and administrators whose formal conversations with me informed my understanding of the theatre company and their roles therein: Kelly Renee Armstrong, Guy Bergquist, Faedra Chatard Carpenter, Edgar Dobie, Kyle Donnelly, David Dower, Jamie Gahlon, Alison Irvin, Cathy Madison, Laurence Maslon, Anita Maynard-Losh, Marvin McAllister, Mustapha Matura, Dan Pruksarnukul, Amrita Ramanan, Stephen Richard, Stacey Stewart, and Cheryl West. My parents Luigi and Jane Galella encouraged me to pursue doctoral study, which no one in our family had ever done before. They introduced me to the theatre nearly twenty years ago, and for that, I am ever grateful. In addition, my sister Serafina Galella Drucker has been very giving, especially in giving me Dante whose support and playfulness helped me on my journeys. My partner, Ross Wolfarth, has helped me in countless ways. If he had not lived in Arlington, Virginia, then I would never have applied
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