Background
Londré, Felicia Mae Hardison was born on April 1, 1941 in Fort Lewis, Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Daughter of Felix M. and Priscilla Mae (Graham) Hardison.
(The fifty-year period from 1880 to 1929 is the richest er...)
The fifty-year period from 1880 to 1929 is the richest era for theater in American history, certainly in the great number of plays produced and artists who contributed significantly, but also in the centrality of theater in the lives of Americans. As the impact of European modernism began to gradually seep into American theater during the 1880s and quite importantly in the 1890s, more traditional forms of theater gave way to futurism, symbolism, surrealism, and expressionism. American playwrights like Eugene O'Neill, George Kelly, Elmer Rice, Philip Barry, and George S. Kaufman ushered in the Golden Age of American drama. The Historical Dictionary of American Theater: Modernism focuses on legitimate drama, both as influenced by European modernism and as impacted by the popular entertainment that also enlivened the era. This is accomplished through a chronology, an introductory essay, a bibliography, and hundreds of cross-referenced entries on plays; music; playwrights; great performers like Maude Adams, Otis Skinner, Julia Marlowe, and E.H. Sothern; producers like David Belasco, Daniel Frohman, and Florenz Ziegfield; critics; architects; designers; and costumes.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/081085533X/?tag=2022091-20
( Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Henry Irving, Edwin Booth . ...)
Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Henry Irving, Edwin Booth . . . there was a time when they all played Kansas City. From star-studded engagements at ornate opera houses to risqué shows in Fourth Street honky-tonks, Kansas City was a cow town that wanted to civilize itself through the performing arts. And because it was a railway hub in the heyday of trouping, it opened its doors to America’s traveling performers. This book chronicles the “first golden age” of Kansas City theater, from the opening of the Coates Opera House in 1870 through the gradual decline of touring productions after World War I. Drawing on the recollections of renowned theater critic David Austin Latchaw and on newspaper archives of the era, Felicia Londré has gleaned long-lost nuggets of theater life—both the legitimate stage and popular fare—to create a fascinating account of a city and its theater culture. The Enchanted Years of the Stage is brimming with forgotten stories and historical illustrations that offer a new perspective on both the history of American theater and the humor and pathos of performers’ lives. It tells how James O’Neill once chased a messenger boy for ruining a big scene, while Louis James played practical jokes on fellow actors in the middle of Shakespeare performances; how police kept watch over the burlesque girls at the Folly to make sure their act wouldn’t reach the level of indecency allowed in St. Louis; how Orth Stein shot the manager of the Theatre Comique; and how Eddie Foy played his death scene in Kansas City—by dying there. Throughout the book, sidebars of Latchaw’s writing reflect the style and spirit of this bygone era. Offering a richer view of American theater than have accounts centered on New York, Londré’s book also yields a wealth of new insights into the social and political fabric of an emerging metropolis and testifies to the importance of the arts in the growth and reputation of a great city. By conveying the richness and complexity of road shows in Kansas City—a microcosm of the burgeoning national stage—she gives us a key piece in the mosaic that was American theater in a neglected but unforgettable era.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826217095/?tag=2022091-20
Londré, Felicia Mae Hardison was born on April 1, 1941 in Fort Lewis, Washington, District of Columbia, United States. Daughter of Felix M. and Priscilla Mae (Graham) Hardison.
Bachelor with high honors, University Montana, Missoula, 1962. Master of Arts, University Washington, Seattle, 1964. Doctor of Philosophy, University Wisconsin, Madison, 1969.
Assistant professor University Wisconsin at Rock County, Janesville, 1969-1975. Assistant professor, head theatre program University Texas at Dallas, Richardson, 1975-1978. Associate professor University Missouri, Kansas City, 1978-1982, professor theatre, 1982-1987, curators' professor, since 1987.
Women's chair in humanistic studies Marquette University, 1995. Dramaturg Missouri Repertory Theatre, Kansas City, 1978-2001, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival, 1990—2009. Guest dramaturg Great Lakes Theater Festival, 1988.
Member archives task force Folly Theatre, 1982-1983. Artistic advisor New Directions Theatre Company, 1983-1990. Honorary lecturer Middle-American State Universities Association, 1986-1987.
Member United States-The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics Joint Commission on Theatre Historiography, 1989. Mem.adv. board Contemporary World Writers, 1991. Lecturer universities Budapest, Pecs, Debrecen, Hungary, 1992.
Visiting professor Hosei University, Tokyo, 1993. Visiting scholar Wabash College, 2003, lecturer University Rouen, Caen, Paris, 2003. Geske lecturer University Nebraska, Lincoln, 2005, Charles N. Kimball Lecture, University Missouri, Kansas City, 2007.
Editorial board Brief Chronicles: An Interdisciplinary Journal Authorship Studies, since 2010.
(The fifty-year period from 1880 to 1929 is the richest er...)
( Sarah Bernhardt, Sir Henry Irving, Edwin Booth . ...)
("Amply illustrated... and... easily read and understood.....)
Honorary co-founder Heart of America Shakespeare Festival, board directors, 1991-2004, vice president, 2000-2004. Board directors Edgar Snow Memorial Fund, 1993-2002. Active UMKC Graduate Council, 2001-2004, academy standards committee College Arts and Sciences, 2001-2004.
Elected National Theatre Conference, 2001, trustee, 2004-2005, secretary, 2005-2008. Inductee, board directors College Fellows American Theatre, board fellow, 2000-2003, 09-, secretary board 2001-2003. Fellow Mid-American Theatre Conference (chair graduate research paper competition 1985).
Member Association Francaise des Études Americaines, American Society Theatre Research (executive committee 1984-1990, program chair 1995), Shakespeare Theatre Association American (secretary 1991-1993), International Federation for Theatre Research (delegate general assembly 1985), American Theatre Association (commission on theatre research 1981-1987, chairman 1984-1986), Theatre Library. Association, Dramatists Guild, Literary Managers and Dramaturgs American, Shakespeare Oxford Society, American Theatre and Drama Society (vice president 1995-1997, president 1997-1999), National League of America Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists association Women (vice president 2002-2004, president 2004-2006, board directors Kansas City-Westport branch), Association for Theatre in Higher Education (vice president for awards 2001-2003, Outstanding Teacher award 2001), International Al Jolson Society, Lewis and Clark Heritage Foundation, Athenaeum, Jackson County History Society (Education award 2007).
Married Venne-Richard Londré, December 16, 1967. Children: Tristan Graham, Georgianna Rose.