It is really interesting reading all these reviews about “Hamilton” being such a different and original form of theatre. Even if you have never heard of the play, after getting 16 Tony Nominations, I’m pretty sure everyone would want to see it now. “Hamilton” is now going to be taught in future theatre history courses, and will be used by newer productions on Broadway as an example. It really bugs to me to know that I might never get to watch it now since the ticket prices have gone through the roof.

This scavenger hunt was a lot more fun and interesting than I thought it would be. It was interesting to me because I was fascinated about how close some of the theatre landmarks are. Apparently I walk by some of them daily and I have no idea. The Astor Place Riots was the best part of this scavenger hunt because it seemed peculiar to me that people had riots over who was a better Macbeth. 

My group had split up into a group of 3 and a group of 2. The group of 3 headed uptown towards Times Square and Broadway, while me and my partner headed downtown towards Astor Place and Canal Street. Although it was raining, I have to say that my team (and all of the other teams) did a really good job of finding the theatre landmarks.

The only disappointment I had with this assignment was my unablity to explore the city more and find the rest of the stuff that we couldn’t find due to the time limit. Of course, I can’t be mad at that. It’s not like we could’ve spent the whole day trying to find all the stuff on the list.

Are the issues that the women in the play were facing, similar to what women are facing today? Would the plot of the play be the same if it were set in another country or time period?

Modernism, like most types of  theatre, I believe can be considered an avant-garde, or at the very least arises from it. Modernism is a kind of theatre that is considered “un-traditional.” Death of a Salesman is a very accurate example of modernism because we constantly are inside the mind of the main character of the play, Willy Loman.

Since avant-garde means “ahead of its time,” are there any recent works, whether in theatre, film, or music, that can be considered avant-garde?

When reading about how theatre had brought similar people and their ideas  together, it is really interesting to read about how the plays that were produced at the time, portrayed the ideas that were relevant to the setting of the era. Knowing this, are there any plays/movies/etc. that can possibly be portraying any issues or current events that we are facing today?

Why had melodrama mainly included more common people from the bourgeois than the previous play types that had usually included aristocrats and higher-level families and citizens?

It was my first time visiting the MCNY, and although I couldn’t visit any part of the museum besides the Yiddish Theatre exhibit, I was really intrigued and in awe of how elegant and fancy the museum was. From the Yiddish Theatre exhibit, there were many pictures and items that had caught my attention. One of my favorites was the stage and proscenium design for Kulturbund Production of Bronx Express from 1935. This was interesting to me because i thought it was fascinating to think about how they have preserved an 80+ year old piece of art. I was also amused by the picture of Frank Sinatra and his agent posing with posters of Yiddish stars Menasha Skulnik and Miriam Kressyn. This was interesting to me just simply because I am a huge fan of Frank Sinatra.

After learning about Ancient Greek and Roman theatre, and having knowledge and experiencing more modern Western kinds of theatre, it was quite interesting to view the Indian theatre known as “Kathakali.” One major difference between Kathakali and Western theatre is the use of makeup vs masks. Ancient Greeks wore masks during plays in front of large audiences whom most cannot see the reactions of the actors. Indian actors wore full-face makeup like the Japanese, but with much more color. Singing & dancing was definitely more used in Kathakali than used in modern Western theatre.

What was it about ancient Greek culture or tradition that had inspired most of the playwrights to write such detailed and imaginative stories like The Bacchae or Oedipus? What was is it about democracy or other political factors that was so common in many ancient Greeks tragedies?