COLONIAL NORTH AMERICA
(1607-1754)
THEATRE IN NEW ENGLAND
EFFECTS OF PURITANISM
The fact that many colonies in New England were created as religious havens actually led theatre to have a slow start in New England. For example, to Puritans, theatre was seen as a sin because they associated pretending to be a character with the suspension of one’s moral accountability. They believed that playing a character could be used as an excuse for anything, even if it was forbidden or taboo.​
BEGINNING OF BROADWAY
The first theater in New York City opened in 1750 on Nassau Street, built by Thomas Kean and Walter Murray. This theater typically put on Shakespearean plays and ballad operas, which was very similar to what was popular in Europe.
This was the location of the Theater on Nassau Street, though the original theater was demolished in 1765. It was a two-story wooden building which held about 280 people, and in 1750 it put on The Beggar's Opera, the first documented performance of a musical.
THEATRE IN THE SOUTH
The first theater
This image shows the set up of an average theater in colonial North America. It is important to note that while there was separation between the different classes in terms of seating during this time period, all three classes went to the same types of shows, which would later change.
The first theater in colonial North America was established on the Palace Green in Williamsburg, Virginia. However, this was short-lived and soon replaced by a theater near the Capitol Building, which was built in 1751. Shows in this theater were put on by the “Company of Comedians from London, which put on the first professional theatrical performance in the colonies in 1752. Advertisements for these shows put an emphasis on the music, a trend which continued as the theater grew and the theater put on more shows with more stylized music. Music made up some of the most entertaining parts of a show, so the theater emphasized this to pull in more viewers.
Theatre culture
During this time, colonial theaters very closely resembled European theaters in that they were separated by class. Wealthier colonists sat in box seats, which were meant to be seen and admired by both the middle-class colonists on the benches in the pit and the poorer colonists in the “gallery”, or the balcony today. Additionally, shows followed the same pattern of presentation, with many additional smaller acts to go along with the main performance, and the two places showed very similar types of plays and entertainment. This was both because it was all that colonial troupes knew and because it was what audiences expected and wanted to see. In fact, many actors came to America planning only to stay until they gained some acting experience before returning to use this experience to get bigger roles in more prominent productions. Because of this, the quality of performances was very similar to smaller theaters in London and town theater - they weren’t on the same level as the top theaters in London such as Drury Lane and Covent Garden.
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Shows during this era were mainly just focused on being entertaining. For example, if theaters put on Shakespeare plays, they would often rewrite the ending so they ended on a happier note. They also made no attempts to be historically accurate with costumes - instead, actors just wore the most fashionable clothing they could afford. Plays became an increasingly popular way to spend time, drawing in everyone from poor farmers to influential political figures like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.