The Colored Museum Script

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Critical Introduction
Production History

The Colored Museum: Discussion/Analysis. Let's start today by examining your favorite scene or monologue from The Colored Museum. Take a few minutes to re-read the scene/monologue. Take 10 minutes to complete your comment. In the COMMENT section of this blog, please answer one of the following questions. Make sure you identify the monologues.

  • Read Book The Colored Museum Script and transformed audiences all over the country. Passionate and fearless, Shange's words reveal what it is to be of color and female in the twentieth century. First published in 1975 when it was praised by The New Yorker.
  • The Colored Museum Play; I absolutely LOVED this play. Firework sound effects free download3. Though I haven't seen this version, my high school performed it this year. Gauging from the audience's reaction, and my own, even for those not of African-American descent George Wolfe's work is a must read/must see for all!

Textual Lineage
Script Preparation
Playwright Chronology
Contextual Chronology

Media
Promotion
Critical Reception

Critical Bibliography
Contextual Bibliography

For Mount Holyoke's production of The Colored Museum, two of the scenes were cut: 'The Soldier' and 'Permutations'. There were also modifications to certain characters' sexes. While these were not dramaturgical decisions, it is important to explain this aspect of the production.

Pre-Casting Cuts
'Permutations' was cut because of the time limit; the show would have run past an hour and fifteen minutes. Instead of cutting down individual scenes, the directors instead chose to cut entire scenes. 'Permutations' was also far more complex and the directors were worried it would get lost to the audience. The colored museum script

'The Soldier' was cut also for time. The choice of cutting this piece probably dealt with audience; would the audience be as aware of the popular stereotypes associated with black soldiers?

Post-Casting Changes
No men tried out to work in this piece. This created somewhat of a problem; for instance, 'Miss Roj' had gender and sex roles included in it as a theme, which almost demanded a man.

The directors decided that they needed to work with the best people who tried out. The sexes of almost all the characters remained the same; the only roles that were changed were the two characters in 'Symbiosis' and one of the models in 'Photo Session'.

Because the woman cast to play Topsy also was cast to play Lala, the scene 'Lala's Opening' was swapped with 'Symbiosis' to give the actor a change to prepare for her next role. In addition, instead of having Lala's lines about her dream in the final scene with Topsy, the directors chose to have the Girl from 'Photo Session' say her lines from 'The world was becoming too much for us...'

© Kylie 'drago' McCormick, Mount Holyoke College '08.
Information last updated May 14, 2006. Page last updated 3 October 2009.
Chaneisha Booker
March 29, 2011
English 1B
“Git on Board”
·Miss Pat symbolizes the type of black people that decides to follow what the white man says in order to continue their lives without facing harm.
·The author is satirizing Miss Pat and racism because he portrays the scene as if it’s taking place on an airplane but it’s actually a slave ship. Miss Pat constantly plays the perky, happy “flight attendant” and her attitude belies the fact everyone aboard the ship is being taken to become slaves in Savannah, Georgia.

The Colored Museum Script Online

2.Themes and Conflicts.
·As the ship goes through a time warp, Miss Pat says that even though everyone will become slaves, the songs they sing and the battles they fight will eventually evolve into the development of Black culture that we have present today.
·The theme defines the identity of African-Americans because as Miss Pat flashes forward to say all of the things that will happen, black people has played a part in all of it and it reflects the way that they were slaves but now the culture has evolved into the new world.

The Colored Museum Script Pdf

·I also see the conflict of social forces such as oppression and white supremacy which I think will be represented throughout the entire play.
3.Allusions.
·The Middle Passage was the journey of slave trading ships from the west coast of Africa, where the slaves were obtained, across the Atlantic, where they were sold or traded for goods.
·The journey of “Git on Board” was referred to the Middle Passage where slaves will be taken across the Atlantic Ocean and they will eventually end up in Savannah.
·Two African American Cultural Allusions found were the Funky Chicken and James Brown.
·Two American Historic Allusions that I found was The American Revolution and the Civil War.
·Then I found some African-American Historic Allusions such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
The Colored Museum Script
4.Satire.
·The meaning of the quote “We value you” is unlike passengers thrown overboard on The Laughing Mary, the slaves are needed to be under the control of White Americans.
Museum
·The quote “Fasten your shackles” means that the slaves among the ship will not be able to rebel.
·Black people will be imprisoned by the force of oppression, continually under that authority of White Americans making them mentally shackled.