pt. 1. The city as theater : performativity and urban space -- The epistemology of the city -- Detecting, acting, and the hierarchy of the social body -- Crossing the Bowery : female slumming and the theater of urban space -- Eros and Americanization : the rise of David Levinsky, or the etiquette of race and sex -- pt. 2. Stages of identity : performing ethnic subjects -- Juggling identities : the case of an Italian American clown -- My other/my self : impersonation and the rehearsal of otherness -- The truth of racial signs : civilizing the Jewish comic -- Blackface, Jewface, whiteface : racial impersonation revisited
Summary
The turn of the twentieth century in New York City was characterized by radical transformation as the advent of consumer capitalism confronted established social hierarchies, culture, and conceptions of selfhood. The popular stage existed in a symbiotic relationship with the city and uniquely captured the contested terms of immigrant identity of the time. Street Scenes focuses on the intersection of modern city life and stage performance. From street life and slumming to vaudeville and early cinema, to Yiddish theater and blackface comedy, Esther Romeyn discloses racial comedy, passing, and ma
Bibliography
Includes bibliographical references (pages 213-261) and index
