Explore this Show
Overview
Synopsis
A poetic and symbolic investigation into one woman’s mind before her death, Funnyhouse of a Negro is perhaps Adrienne Kennedy’s most famous one-act play. In the upper rooms of a New York City brownstone, Sarah has created four different personas as a way to grapple with her own self-hatred: Queen Victoria, the Duchess of Hapsburg, Jesus, and Patrice Lumumba. With these four characters at her side, Sarah tries to make sense of her conception (from rape), her life without her parents, and the creeping insanity that she feels all around her. Also in the brownstone are her Landlady, a white woman who tries to talk to her, and Raymond, a Jewish poet interested in having a black girlfriend but not invested in Sarah’s well-being. Within this chaos are the images of Sarah’s mother and her father, Funnyhouse of a Negro is a macabre introspection of race and identity during the American Civil Rights Movement, sure to captivate and haunt audiences long after the curtain falls.
Show Information
- Book
- Adrienne Kennedy
- Category
- Play
- Age Guidance
- Mature Audiences (M)
- Number of Acts
- 1
- First Produced
- 1964
- Genres
- Drama
- Settings
- Contemporary, Fantasy/Imaginary, Unit/Single Set
- Time & Place
- Sarah's room, New York City, 1960s
- Cast Size
- medium
- Licensor
- Samuel French
- Ideal For
- College/University, Diverse Cast, Ensemble Cast, Professional Theatre, Regional Theatre, Theatre, Mostly Female Cast, Includes Young Adult, Adult, Mature Adult Characters, Medium Cast
Context
Adrienne Kennedy’s work is connected to the philosophies of the Black Arts Movement, a cultural aesthetic founded by the playwright Imamu Amiri Baraka. In this movement, officially dated from 1965 to 1975, artists captured the experience of black and African-American society in poetry, theatre, and other art forms. Notably, the Black Arts Movement sought to create an alternative perspective, something in response to and refutation of mainstream white culture.
Funnyhouse of a Negro
to read the context for Funnyhouse of a Negro and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Plot
A woman with pallid skin and long, wild black hair glides across the stage as if in a trance. She is in a white nightgown and carries a bald head in front of her, mumbling incoherently, and as she disappears from the stage the curtain opens to reveal The Negro’s room, decorated to be a type of macabre queen’s chamber with black ravens flying overhead. Two women, both dressed in royal gowns, sit together; they are Queen Victoria and the Duchess of Hapsburg, two of The Negro Sarah’s personas.
to read the plot for Funnyhouse of a Negro and to unlock other amazing theatre resources!Characters
| Name | Part Size | Gender | Vocal Part |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Lead |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Male |
|
|
|
Supporting |
Female |
|
Songs
A song with an asterisk (*) before the title indicates a dance number; a character listed in a song with an asterisk (*) by the character's name indicates that the character exclusively serves as a dancer in this song, which is sung by other characters.
Monologues
Scenes
Key Terms
Sorry! We do not currently have terms for this guide.
Videos
Quizzes
Sorry! We do not currently have quizzes for this guide.
Themes, Symbols & Motifs
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.
Quote Analysis
Sorry! We do not currently have learning modules for this guide.