Christina Ramsey

Performance Studies
Dr. Beck
29 March 2016
Colored Museum Play Paper

For my exploration into plays that deal with global issues/identity, I chose to look at
Colored Museum by George C. Wolfe. This play delves into African identity and how it has been
stripped and warped by American culture and racism. For this particular play, I would like to
discuss its themes and how they would impact an audience, particularly, white members of an
audience.
This play consists of an ensemble of two men and three women who are all African
American. The play takes you through a series of exhibits at a museum, which are all scenes
with very specific African American characters, including: Git on Board, Cookin with Aunt
Ethel, The Photo Session, Soldier with a Secret, The Gospel According to Miss Roj, The
Hairpiece, The Last Mama-on-the-Couch Play, Symbiosis, Lalas Opening, Permutations, and
The Party. Each of these scenes explores a different aspect of African American life in the 1980s.
This play satirizes much of African-American life through its use of stereotypes and dark humor.
A few of the scenes, however, also celebrate African-American life. This is one of those plays
where I am not sure if I should be laughing or weeping.
The use of satire in this play reminds me a lot of Princess Pocahontas and the Blue Spots,
which we discussed in class. Wolfe ensures that audiences of all races will be educated as well as
deeply uncomfortable. He uses satire and stereotyping particularly in his use of language and
grammar. For example, in the scene titled The Hairpiece, two wigs fight over which one of

them their bald owner will wear. These wigs are named Janine and LaWanda. For these
characters, Wolfe uses a lot of contractions. For example, Janine says the phrase I aint sayin
nuthin but the truth and refers to LaWanda as girl for most of the scene. Language like this in
American culture is often thought of as used primarily by African Americans. Stereotypes of
African Americans in our culture are oftentimes portrayed with the use of this type of language.
In doing this, Wolfe is portraying African American women as American media often portrays
them, pointing the finger back at American racism.
Wolke also does this through his use of typical African American behavior in the scene,
Cookin with Aunt Ethel. Aunt Ethel is described as a down-home black woman presenting a
cooking show. She sings a loud blues song as she cooks, adding ingredients to the pot such as:
survival, humility, rhythms, style, too much attitude, humor, salty language, and sadness. All of
these end up being the recipe for a batch of negroes as Aunt Ethel calls it. This scene portrays
older women as the character they are often stereotyped as. With the list of ingredients, it also
shows the audience exactly how white americans stereotype African Americans to a very specific
degree. This teaches the audience just how ridiculous it is that African Americans are stereotyped
so specifically and put into such a narrow box.
While those two scenes show the dangers of racism through satire, there are a few scenes
in this play that knock the stereotypes down and celebrate African American culture, especially
the last scene. The last scene follows a girl named Topsy Washington, who is vaguely described.
Throughout this scene Topsy knocks down the African American stereotypes, emphasizing the
fact that she is ever-changing and not confined to what people think she is.
A play like this is definitely one that will make a white audience feel uncomfortable. As
we discussed in class with Princess Pocahontas, it would likely be a situation where white

members of the audience may not understand every joke or may be too afraid to laugh, simply
because even the satire is heart-wrenching. This play is essential to the issues of identity in
global theatre because it will teach audiences to stop stereotyping and to finally celebrate other
races and cultures for their differences. It also teaches an African American audience that they
are not defined by the racism that surrounds them. Rather, their culture and history can be what
empowers them.