George Wolfe The Color Museum Sparknotes

The play The Colored Museum is a pleasant change in pace, in how a play projects itself to the audience. I found that the interaction with the audience to be an exceptional manner to add humor to the play, which was made evident in the exhibits pertaining to the play. However, the theme is constantly present in each unique exhibit, although it would appear that each exhibit could stand on its own. The play is a satire on the stereotypes or clichés seen in African-American culture, both past and present, but at the same time there is some praise or a form of acceptance towards the same diverse heritage. Despite this inherent contradiction, the play does well to spark thought in the viewer on what was said and done and how it can be relatable

to one’s own tradition and morals.
The Colored Museum is a play that takes place throughout history. In the introductory and first sketch, although the temporary narrator is humorously acting as a flight attendant, the setting is set out to be in the colonial times, taking place in the 1600s. This is made evident by the references to slave ships, shackles, and otherwise the departure from Africa to colonial America. However, the rest of the play spans different time periods, with the common theme essentially being that it takes place in the past, never the present or a near future. For example, the sketch regarding the black soldier is suggested to occur during the Vietnam era, which spanned the 1950s and ended in the 1970s. This is apparent by the garb of the soldier, the weapon in his hand, and his mind-set towards his enemy. The sketch regarding the adult and his figurative yet literal “boy self” is thought to be after the 1960s, either in the 70s or the 80s as indicated by the former personal belongings of the adult. The only sketch where the time setting is left vague and ambiguous is the last one, with Normal Jean Simmons as it seems plausible that it may happen today, although only in a rural area. In the end, the variance in time periods for each sketch emphasizes that the theme the play is attempting to convey is universal and transcends time, that while you cannot blindly accept a heritage without understanding the struggles that are attached, you at the same time cannot deny them and act as if they don’t exist.
In the play, there are a variety of characters that for the most part, are played by six actors. The first character introduced, Miss Pat is intended to serve as a temporary narrator that points out a rough premise, and in essence the plot of the play. In the process, Miss Pat points out some of the stereotypes in African American culture with humor interwoven in between. She is polarizing character, as her tone comes off as condescending, which reflects itself in her actual dialogue. Nonetheless, she is an example of how the play shows how one can suppress their past, heritage, or culture as she often tries to play off the apparent beating of the drums and deny it from happening. Another character, Mama can be seen as a caricature of a black mother, overprotective of her adult son while at the same time incapable and unwilling to receive any backlash. It would appear that most characters are an exaggeration of some cliché, a stereotype in the African-American culture, or the embodiment of the desire to suppress said culture. The latter is evident in the character The Man, who alters his appearance, his mannerisms, and essentially erases his past as he mentions frequently to succeed in his era. His appearance is a striking contrast to his youth, which appears to him to plead him to reconsider throwing any connections pertaining to him regarding who he was, and the culture he grow up in. The interactions between them suggest that this occurrence, of adopting a façade is necessary to be successful, in the modern world (at the time) and that anything else would result in failure. It certainly pertains to the satire towards the ideology of doing whatever it takes to succeed, no matter the race or skin color; it is not an easy task to throw away everything that makes someone who they are. George C. Wolfe certainly makes it apparent that the characters give the impression of appearing unrealistic, but at the same time grounded in reality by their morals and reasons.
On that note, George C.

Wolfe, the playwright for the play is a playwright well experienced in the genre, having written for films and plays that have connections to his black heritage. George Wolfe was born in the United States in 1954, in Frankfort, Kentucky. He originally attended an all-black private school where his mother taught, then a public school for his high school years. Once George Wolfe graduated from high school, he later attended the historically black college, Kentucky State, transferring to Pomona College in California afterward. In either case, George Wolfe was pursuing his passion, the performing arts which he received a bachelor’s degree in after studying it for years. This would indicate that his plays had the potential to have been influenced and motivated by his upcoming and heritage. It would appear so, as one of his early works Tribal Rites, takes heavy cues from African culture. It is without any doubt that George Wolfe would connect his life with the themes in the Colored Museum, and be knowledgeable how to present it in a relatable and comprehensible manner to the

audience.
The play essentially focuses on the portrayal of African-American culture, the good, the bad, the exaggerated, and the suppressed. The overlapping theme would appear to be that while it is true that African-American culture is riddled with stereotypes and a fairly grim history, it does not signify that it is meant to be erased or forgotten, but accepted as it is, to learn from in order to improve upon it to set a better example for future generations. The stereotypes are prevalent in the play, and they seem destructive and impairing to the characters. For example, Lala sets a new persona, and as a result ends up causing harm to her family and her significant other. The bald woman suffers a nervous breakdown as she had focused her personality too often on her hairstyle, or rather would use her hair to dictate who she was and how she acted. The most evident example that I found memorable would be Miss Roj. Although his flamboyant and eccentric attitude would indicate a more progressive outlook in life, it is merely superficial and it becomes increasingly evident that it is intended to hide his pain, sorrows, and his true self. His dissociation with his background, by fabricating an outlandish one such as being extra-terrestrial is to prevent anyone from inflicting mental harm to him, from using his race and ethnicity as a potential insult. The way he reacts, when the façade is stripped away, shows his vulnerability whether he likes it or not, and he plays it off by snapping it away, as if he is in control of the situation and accepts it. The truth however, is that all the characters personify a characteristic that the characters would deny as it isn’t a positive or redeemable quality. The main thing to take from the character’s pain and anguish is that these traits are not made better by ignoring them, suppressing them, or covering them up. They have to be confronted. They are only truth if they are allowed to be unchallenged in the present. If they are confronted and rendered false in the present, then they will cease to exist as time progresses, being a tired cliché of the past. This theme is not limited to African-American culture, as it also connects with the audience, regarding the various stereotypes and prejudices seen in the diversity of all races.
If I would describe the diction/language in the play, I would say it is fairly dated and mostly exaggerated. It is dated in the sense that it appears unlikely that a person would speak in the stereotypical manner of a black servant of the early 1900s, like Aunt Ethel, or even like Miss Roj, and exaggerated as not everyone speaks in a stereotypical southern accent. The dialogue is emotional however, as it showcases anger, sadness, despite the language sounding humorous or comedic. This is true as a particular moment in the play may result in the audience’s laughter, only to have the next moment basked in silence. This contrast is deliberate, to convey the theme, as if the characters were truly happy with their situation and status in life, they would not be able to create a tense atmosphere with words alone. Take for example the exhibit featuring Normal Jean Simmons, or the girl who laid the giant egg. Her voice, her dialogue is intended to be humorous, poking fun at the rural life or farmers. However, the audience rarely laughs, as her situation ceases being funny when it becomes evident that there are heavy underlying messages to what she is saying. The fact that she accepts an egg that she deemed to be filled with all the traits that are deemed good but were thrown away seems to be hinting at something bigger. Even the idea that she was locked away for the act of laying an egg is suggesting a more tragic situation, a more serious one. That although the girl herself was capable of producing children, would they be accepted in society or would they be social-outcasts, thrown away like the traits they possess. The dialogue is what strengthens the play’s message, as it helps the audience pick up what the playwright intended to invoke.
Music is scattered evenly throughout the play, as its role is of grand importance. A couple of the songs used are intended to set the mood and to establish the time period of the time. Starting the exhibit involving Miss Roj with Aha’s “Take on me” playing in the background would indicate that the time period would be set in the 1980s. Although most instances of music or sounds references or alludes to black culture. The song, “My Girl” by the Temptations is rooted in black culture, as it is played by an all-black group that was popular at the time. Another example can be heard near the beginning of the play, the rhythmic beating of drums; of course the usage of drums has history in African-American culture, as it was used once as a form of communication and inspiration, without drawing the unwarranted attention of slave owners. When Miss Pat is speaking about the future of African-American culture, the sounds of bullet shots adds tension when the screen flashes images of black Americans that were considered community leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. were killed. The musical that was incorporated in the play , is intended to be over the top, to dissipate the tension the situation of a black man being shot by a cop, to devalue the severity of the circumstance by suggesting that nothing in the play is reality, it can fixed or changed if the situation arises. It adds a sense of surrealism, in a play that had previously immersed the audience in the premise, yet it doesn’t exactly hinder the pacing of the play. Nevertheless, the songs have some connection to culture, although it is not inherently obvious, and assists the play in setting the context of each individual exhibit.
The Colored Museum is not a very extravagant play, in the idea that it would appear to not be high-budgeted.

However, the clever and deliberate use of props, costumes, and the stage helps it establish its themes and context and set it apart from other plays. In the beginning, the props are set to evoke the setting of a slave ship. The chains surrounding the pedestal in the middle of the stage invoke the idea of being imprisoned, the images on the side depict slaves being shackled, and the basic idea how the living conditions were on the boat. In addition, the screens often depict vivid imagery of the time period, or historical figures of the time. The images along with the sound effects add to the atmosphere, as it makes a stronger statement than words alone. The costume choice is well-done, and they serve well to differentiate the actors from each other or the different characters. The man in shackles that was hidden underneath the cloth in the moving dolly gives off the appearance of the stereotypical slave. Considering Malik Proctor also portrayed the kid, the waiter, and Flo’rance, the audience does not focus on the actor but the character he is playing. The characters portrayed are differentiable as the costumes set them apart, aided by the tone and inflection in the way the characters speak and act. Having the characters being able to be told apart gives the play immersion, as it allows the audience to focus on what is happening, not why the actors are playing

multiple roles. The usage of costumes allows the play to function smoothly utilizing a limited cast, and in the end does little to hinder the continuity of the play and overall aids it.
Accept your heritage for what it is and how it had formed in the past, but do not reinforce the mistakes or the stereotypes and instead improve upon them for future generations.