The Apollo Theater
At the beginning of the 1900th century, the Apollo theater was built. This theater was located in Harlem New York. The Apollo theater was first named as Hurtig and Seamon’s New Burlesque Theater. The Apollo theater was purchased in the year 1928 by a man named Bill Minsky. As the city of Harlem “was rapidly becoming the largest urban black community in the nation”, Bill Misky renamed the theater as the 125th Street Apollo Theatre (2). During the year 1933 Fiorello La Guardia, the mayor of New York City, created a campaign against Burlesque and had the Apollo Theater shut down. A year later, Austrian immigrant Leo Brecher and former schoolteacher Frank Schiffman reopened the Apollo Theater. The Apollo theater was considered “a black-oriented theatre”(2). One of the very first black performances was a show called Jazz a la carte. Over the years, the theater would host ““amateur night”(2), during these nights, black performers would have their chance to perform their talents. Amanteur nights would give black people the chance to represent and express their culture. Ella Fitzgerald made her debut on November 2, 1934 (2). She was one of the first African Americans to perform on amateur night. Over the years, many other African American artist performed in amateur night. Some of the artist included Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn, and Bill Cosby. The Apollo Theater was a way for black performers to express their talent and culture, but Frank Schiffman, “ruthlessly exploited black artist and black patrons alike” (3). Frank Schuffman was a cofounder of the 125th Street Apollo Theater. Due to his exploitation of the black artist and patrons, Schuffman created a “monopoly” (3). This monopoly was also created due to the fact that “he was the only theatre manager in town to hire African Americans” (3). Frank Schiffman’s monopoly made it possible for him to provide “a constant source of revenue for black artists” (3), and allowed him to provide “entertainment to Harlem residents at prices they could afford” (3). In the year 1937, the Apollo theater becomes the “largest employer of black theatrical workers in the US” (1).
Citations
1) Admin, Wordpress. "Apollo History - Apollo Theater." Apollo Theater. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
2) Numbers, By The. "Apollo Theatre, The (1913– ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Apollo Theatre, The (1913– ) | The
Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
3) Ted, Fox. “Showtime at the Apollo”. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
4) "The New Negro Renaissance." The New Negro Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
1) Admin, Wordpress. "Apollo History - Apollo Theater." Apollo Theater. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
2) Numbers, By The. "Apollo Theatre, The (1913– ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed." Apollo Theatre, The (1913– ) | The
Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
3) Ted, Fox. “Showtime at the Apollo”. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.
4) "The New Negro Renaissance." The New Negro Renaissance. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 Nov. 2016.