Ch. 02: Minstrel Shows and Melodramas

Minstrel Shows: As American as Apple Pie and Slave Plantations

Beginning in the 1840s a uniquely American stage form was beginning to evolve – the minstrel show. The first authentically non-European stage form in America’s history, the minstrel show was triggered by American audience’s increasing fascination of ethnic culture, dialects, costumes, music, and – particularly – its humor. As early as the 1770s and 1780s ballad operas, puppet shows and stage performances were attempting to reflect the perceived ethnic humor and music of the German, Italian, Scottish and African-American cultures.