The Colored Museum is a play written by George C. Wolfe that premiered at Crossroads Theatre in 1986, directed by L. Kenneth Richardson. In a series of 11 “exhibits” (sketches), the revue explores and satirizes prominent themes and identities of African-American culture.
Credits from the Lortel Archives
The stage was designed to resemble a white-walled gallery where “the myths and madness of black/Negro/colored Americans are stored.” The walls contained a series of doors, small panels and revolving walls and compartments which allowed actors to retrieve key props and quickly transition from one exhibit to another.
Most of the music for the play was pre recorded. However, live drummer Ron McBee was used in the Git on Board, Permutations and The Party “exhibits.”
The Colored Museum premiered at Crossroads Theatre of New Jersey in 1986. Within six months, the play found a new home at the Public Theater in New York City. The Colored Museum was later performed at the Royal Court Theater in London, England, beginning July 29, 1987. and in a production by Talawa Theatre Company at the V&A 15–23 October 2011 .
"The Colored Museum simultaneously celebrates, satirizes and subverts the African-American legacy. Wolfe calls his play both, 'an exorcism and a party.' The Colored Museum explores contemporary African-American cultural identity, while, at the same time revisiting and reexamining the African American theatrical and cultural past. According to Wolfe, the legacy of the past must be both embraced and overcome."- Harry J. Elam, The Johns Hopkins University Press Theatre Journal
Theater scholar Jordan Schildcrout discusses "The Gospel According to Miss Roj" in terms of Afrofuturism and queer fantasies of empowerment, noting that "the very title of segment invokes the rhetoric of religious testament and proclaims Miss Roj as a prophet, one who has extraordinary—perhaps even supernatural—powers of insight and wisdom."
"George C.Wolfe says the unthinkable, says it with uncompromising wit and leaves the audience, as well as a sacred target, in ruins. The devastated audience, one should note, includes both Blacks and Whites. Mr. Wolfe is the kind of satirist, almost unheard of in today's timid theater, who takes no prisoners." – Frank Rich,
Git on Board: “Welcome aboard Flight 1619.” “Please check all baggage.” “You won’t be needing that where you’re going.” “Relax… we’re here to redefine you.” “Enjoy your trip into the New World.”
Cooking with Aunt Ethel: “Now don’t be shy, baby.” “We gonna cook up some history today.” “Mmm-hmm, that’s the flavor of suffering.” “Stir in all that pain… nice and slow.” “Don’t forget to smile for the camera.”
The Photo session: “Hold still. Don’t blink.” “Give me proud… prouder.” “Now smile like you mean it.” “Perfect. That’s the image we want.” “Let’s try that again, but prettier.”
Soldier with a Secret: “I know something they don’t know.” “Death is coming for all of us.” “I’m doing them a favor.” “Better I tell them than the bullets do.” “A secret can weigh more than a rifle.”
Miss Roj: “Baby, I am the night.” “You don’t scare me. I been scared before.” “I walk in here shining.” “This world wasn’t built for girls like me.” “Watch me blaze.”
Hair Piece: “Girl, I am the real you.” — The Straight Wig “Please. She knows she needs me.” — The Afro Wig “I give her options.” — Straight Wig “Natural is beautiful.” — Afro Wig “She can’t leave this house without choosing one of us.” — Stage direction dialogue between the wigs
Symbiosis: “You traded in Afro Sheen for mousse?” “I had to clean myself up… make myself presentable.” “I’m the you you was before you became the you you is.” "You can’t get rid of me that easy.” “You used to dance! Remember that?”
Last Momma on the Couch: “My baby… my beautiful black baby.” — Mama “Mama, I gotta go.” — Son “You ain’t goin’ nowhere.” — Mama “Lord, give me strength.” — Mama “I’m leaving this couch today.”
Lady In the Plaid: “I’m tired of carrying everybody’s baggage.” “I just want to be left alone.” “Everybody wants something from me.” “I’m not your history book.” “I just want some peace.”
Normal Jean Reynolds: “I just want to be special.” “People look at me, but they don’t see me.” “I was supposed to shine.” “They loved the idea of me— not me.” “I keep smiling. That’s what they want.”
Topsy Washington: “I makes revolution sound like dance music.” “I’m your worst nightmare… and your biggest fantasy.” “I’m the integration of the Black experience.” “Everything is possible in Topsy-turvy land.” “All the myths come true here.”