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rachelmatsuoka's review against another edition
4.0
This variety of scenes and monologues are so well-written and each pack a gut punch.
siwe's review against another edition
3.5
Sharp, funny and reflective with strong use of historical figures and references.
mariahdesiree_xx's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mpho3's review against another edition
4.0
I meant to read this before I saw the performance at Wayne State University's Hilberry, but the cast and direction were so good that reading it several weeks after the show, I'm all the more impressed. This is a work that contains some references that are a bit dated, yet as a whole it is exceedingly timely. Wolfe's not a man without opinion nor one without a valid point.
In 1995, [a: bell hooks|10697|bell hooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1229626374p2/10697.jpg] interviewed Wolfe for Bomb magazine. In the interview he said, "When The Colored Museum happened, all these mediocre Negroes who regard themselves as the guardians of black culture attacked me because they thought I was attacking black culture, that I was doing things in front of white people that shouldn’t be done. They didn’t understand my arrogance, my belief that the culture I come from is so strong it can withstand public scrutiny. I don’t view black culture as a fragile thing. There are unquestionably economic realities and, without a doubt, racism and the machinery of power and the crap that gets done to men and the crap that gets done to women—all of that stuff is very real. It affects us. But if Michael Jackson can mutilate his body—and still create, make sounds that come out of him which are ancient, vocally—some part of his spirit remains intact, has not been violated. It doesn’t matter that he’s singing, 'It don’t matter if you’re black or white.' Even as psychological and intellectual mutilations take place, as long as there’s still a cultural base, anything that anybody writes or says or does is strong enough to withstand these violations."
In 1995, [a: bell hooks|10697|bell hooks|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1229626374p2/10697.jpg] interviewed Wolfe for Bomb magazine. In the interview he said, "When The Colored Museum happened, all these mediocre Negroes who regard themselves as the guardians of black culture attacked me because they thought I was attacking black culture, that I was doing things in front of white people that shouldn’t be done. They didn’t understand my arrogance, my belief that the culture I come from is so strong it can withstand public scrutiny. I don’t view black culture as a fragile thing. There are unquestionably economic realities and, without a doubt, racism and the machinery of power and the crap that gets done to men and the crap that gets done to women—all of that stuff is very real. It affects us. But if Michael Jackson can mutilate his body—and still create, make sounds that come out of him which are ancient, vocally—some part of his spirit remains intact, has not been violated. It doesn’t matter that he’s singing, 'It don’t matter if you’re black or white.' Even as psychological and intellectual mutilations take place, as long as there’s still a cultural base, anything that anybody writes or says or does is strong enough to withstand these violations."
rovwade's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
janayagr's review against another edition
5.0
This addressed some pivotal issue in the Black community specifically, and America as a whole in relation to black culture. One of my favorites from my African American theatre class.
softcover_sarah's review against another edition
5.0
The "exhibits" of the Colored Museum are full of imagination, full of anger, full of passion, full of life. Altogether, they dramatize the struggle of Black life and identity-formation in the late 1980s, screaming for understanding, or for justice, for a freedom that's real, limitless, and all-encompassing. To read/watch this work is to take a fanciful journey through blackness, all of it's complexity and history and thwarted potential. You may cry, you will laugh, but mostly, you'll want to fly.
jenifataughtme's review against another edition
5.0
Satirical perfection. I could not have asked for more.
extemporalli's review against another edition
5.0
Brilliant, no-holds barred satire of racism and race relations in America. Wolfe's work is challenging, heartbreaking, and very funny.