Adventures in Theater History: Philadelphia · Peter Schmitz

Encore Episode: Philadelphia's "Negro Unit" of the Federal Theatre Project

April 14, 2024·51 min·5 clips

Discover how the Philadelphia Negro Unit of the Federal Theater Project challenged racial barriers in 1930s theater.

This encore episode explores the Philadelphia Negro Unit of the Federal Theater Project during the 1930s. Hosts include Jonathan Shandell, a professor and author of a 2022 article on the unit, and Jarrell Henderson, a theater director and scholar of Black theater history. The conversation focuses on three specific productions staged at the Walnut Street Theater. Jonathan Shandell details the unit's production of "Conjur' Man Dies," an adaptation of a Harlem Renaissance detective novel by Rudolph Fisher. He explains the FTP's national structure, which included separate "Negro Units" in 22 cities. The Philadelphia unit, led initially by a white director, staged this play in 1936. Shandell describes how the production added extensive musical numbers not present in the original novel. Jarrell Henderson analyzes the significance of staging a Black-cast mystery comedy, a genre rarity for the time, in a major venue like the Walnut Street Theater. The discussion covers the unit's subsequent play, "Sweet Land," a historical drama about Black migration. A key tension explored is the unit's struggle between presenting "folk" material expected by white FTP administrators and pursuing modern, urban stories. The hosts examine the 1937 production "Haiti," a play about the Haitian Revolution starring a young Canada Lee. "Haiti" was a major box-office success, running for months. Shandell notes that this commercial success did not translate to sustained institutional support or autonomy. Henderson highlights the irony of a government-funded project presenting a play about a slave revolution during the Depression. The unit's final production, a biblical play called "The Trial of Dr. Beck," is mentioned as a point of decline. An insightful claim is that the Philadelphia Negro Unit's output became increasingly conservative and less politically bold over its brief existence. A surprising detail is that the unit's first director was a white man from the Yale School of Drama. Henderson emphasizes the importance of recovering the specific artistic choices and labor of the Black performers and technicians involved. The tone is educational and conversational, blending historical analysis with theatrical expertise. The style is interview-based, with the host guiding two knowledgeable guests through a focused historical narrative. Listeners interested in Depression-era cultural history, federal arts programs, or overlooked chapters in American theater will find this compelling. Those seeking a broad overview of the entire Federal Theater Project may find the narrow focus on one city's unit too specific.

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