Post–World War II African American Theatre

Abstract

This essay examines African American plays during the post–World War II period. It highlights the focus of African American writing on the family theme and argues that African American drama is a dynamic art that has frequently functioned as a voice for and vehicle of social change. At the same time, this essay reveals how black playwrights in this period have discovered new arenas of expression while at the same time providing echoes of plays and experiences past. This essay explores some of the most notable plays during this period, which include Lorraine Hansberry’s A Rain in the Sun, George C. Wolfe’s The Colored Museum, August Wilson’s The Piano Lesson and Suzan-Lori Parks’s Topdog/Underdog.