Chapter 9 - Spectacles of Whiteness from Adrienne Kennedy to Suzan-Lori Parks

Summary

Faedra Chatard Carpenter centers the representation of theatrical whiteness within her chapter through analyses of the plays of four playwrights: Adrienne Kennedy, Douglas Turner Ward, Lydia Diamond, and Suzan-Lori Parks. Although the dramas studied by Carpenter chronologically range from Funnyhouse of a Negro (1964) to The Bluest Eye (2006), which reveal a contemporary engagement with ideas of race and embodiment, the author opens her chapter by noting that critical whiteness studies has a long history within African American communities. She memorably writes, “black folks have been analyzing White folks for quite some time.” The novel contributions of her chapter are her emphasis on how the critical evaluation of whiteness by Black artists is part of African American theatre, and her reminder of the power of theatrical spectacle to engage with issues of race.