Theatres of Value: Buying and Selling Shakespeare in Nineteenth-Century New York City (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781438498331)

Theatres of Value explores the idea that buying and selling are performative acts and offers a paradigm for deeper study of these acts--"the dramaturgy of value." Modeling this multifaceted approach, the book explores six case studies to show how and why Shakespeare had value for nineteenth-century New Yorkers. In considering William Brown's African Theater, P. T. Barnum's American Museum and Lecture Hall, Fanny Kemble's American reading career, the Booth family brand, the memorial statue of Shakespeare in Central Park, and an 1888 benefit performance of Hamlet to theatrical impresario Lester Wallack, Theatres of Value traces a history of audience engagement with Shakespearean cultural capital and the myriad ways this engagement was leveraged by theatrical businesspeople.

Author: Danielle Rosvally
ISBN-10: 1438498330
ISBN-13: 9781438498331
Publisher: State University of New York Press
Language: English
Published: 01/02/2025
Pages: 275
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.50lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 1.00d