Nickelodeons and Black vaudeville : the forgotten story of Amanda Thorp /

"Amanda Thorp was a theater entrepreneur influential in bringing Black vaudeville and early movie theaters to Richmond, Virginia, and more widely to the southeastern US. Thorp, a White woman, opened theaters and nickelodeons exclusively for Black patrons during a period of entrenched segregatio...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Wong, Kathi Clark, 1955- (Author)
Format: Book
Language:English
Published: Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2023]
Subjects and Genres:
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
LEADER 05217cam a22005538i 4500
001 9979149985303681
005 20230811221517.0
008 230228s2023 tnu b 001 0beng
010 |a  2023006217 
020 |a 9781621908029  |q (hardcover) 
020 |a 162190802X 
020 |z 9781621908036  |q (pdf) 
035 |a (OCoLC)1358748302 
035 |a (OCoLC)on1358748302 
040 |a LBSOR  |b eng  |e rda  |c DLC  |d OCLCF  |d QQR 
042 |a pcc 
043 |a n-us--- 
049 |a QQRA 
050 0 0 |a PN1998.3.T486  |b W66 2023 
100 1 |a Wong, Kathi Clark,  |d 1955-  |e author. 
245 1 0 |a Nickelodeons and Black vaudeville :  |b the forgotten story of Amanda Thorp /  |c Kathi Clark Wong. 
263 |a 2306 
264 1 |a Knoxville :  |b The University of Tennessee Press,  |c [2023] 
300 |a pages cm 
336 |a text  |b txt  |2 rdacontent 
337 |a unmediated  |b n  |2 rdamedia 
338 |a volume  |b nc  |2 rdacarrier 
520 |a "Amanda Thorp was a theater entrepreneur influential in bringing Black vaudeville and early movie theaters to Richmond, Virginia, and more widely to the southeastern US. Thorp, a White woman, opened theaters and nickelodeons exclusively for Black patrons during a period of entrenched segregation and outright opposition to Black patronage in the South. And though Thorp's mission was not expressly philanthropic, she nonetheless expanded access to early movies when demand for the silver screen had just begun to rival the theater business. Wong sheds light on Thorp's early life in Ohio, her travel to a culturally nascent Richmond, and her remarkable contributions to theater culture in the South"--  |c Provided by publisher. 
520 |a "In an era of online streaming, it may be difficult to recognize the importance of a woman who in 1908 established the first silent movie theater in Richmond, Virginia: the Dixie nickelodeon. But Amanda Thorp, an independent, self-made woman, was on the ground floor of a popular culture that would grow to be enormously influential in our modern era. In Nickelodeons and Black Vaudeville: The Forgotten Story of Amanda Thorp, Kathi Clark Wong's extensive archival research uncovers Thorp's impressive contributions not only to moviegoing and its growth in America, but also perhaps even more surprisingly, Thorp's support of early Black vaudeville in the Jim Crow South. Movie theater entrepreneurs like Thorp, who got her start at her Wonderland Theater in Bucyrus, Ohio, helped create our culture's insatiable appetite for film. But it was after she established the Dixie in Richmond, that Thorp-a White woman-also saw a market for providing Black-centric entertainment. She converted the Dixie to all-Black patronage and began to bring in scores of Black vaudeville acts. Later, she built the Hippodrome Theater, in the heart of Richmond's now-historic Jackson Ward, expressly for Black entertainment. Though she eventually left the field of Black entertainment behind, Thorp developed other movie venues in Richmond that brought in tens of thousands of (White) moviegoers over the years and which were widely admired for their elaborate trappings. Thanks to Wong's research, contemporary readers can now benefit from the story of Amanda Thorp, a woman who amidst severe gender role constraints not only claimed social capacity on the crest of a rapidly growing industry but also, almost inadvertently, contributed to the success of early Black vaudeville, a subject which thus far has not received the scholarly attention it deserves"--  |c Provided by publisher. 
504 |a Includes bibliographical references and index. 
505 0 |a It's okay for a girl to be smart -- Meet me at the Wonderland -- The best place she could find -- The cost of success -- Black vaudeville at the Hippodrome -- Life happens -- The theater beautiful. 
541 0 |c Purchase;  |a University of Tennessee Press;  |d 5-16-2023 
590 |a Pennsylvania Abolition Society Complimentary Collection 
590 |a Forrest Performing Arts Collection 
600 1 0 |a Thorp, Amanda,  |d 1863-1927. 
650 0 |a Motion picture theater owners  |z United States  |v Biography. 
650 0 |a Businesswomen  |z United States  |v Biography. 
650 0 |a Motion picture industry  |z United States  |x History. 
650 0 |a Vaudeville  |z United States  |x History. 
650 0 |a African American theater  |z United States  |x History. 
776 0 8 |i Online version:  |a Wong, Kathi Clark, 1955-  |t Nickelodeons and Black vaudeville  |d Knoxville : The University of Tennessee Press, [2023]  |z 9781621908036  |w (DLC) 2023006218 
852 0 0 |a Historical Society of Pennsylvania  |b Closed Stacks  |h PN1998.3.T486 W66 2023  |t 1 
983 |a 40031811850  |b 308011  |d Cloth  |g 1  |h cinyapp 
984 |a 28.66  |b 34.95  |d 755132  |e 20230726  |h USD 
985 |a Van Pelt  |b 31198074052221  |d YAP 
994 |a C0  |b QQR 
HLD 0 |b HSPLib  |c hspclosed  |h PN1998.3.T486  |i W66 2023  |8 22765119040003681 
ITM |r 22776494430003681  |b 1  |h 0  |g vanp  |9 31198074052221  |e vanp  |8 23776494420003681  |a book/seria  |q 2023-07-28 02:06:31 US/Eastern  |i PN1998.3.T486 W66 2023  |d VanPeltLib  |f VanPeltLib 
ITM |r 22765119040003681  |b 1  |h 0  |g hspclosed  |e hspclosed  |8 23765119020003681  |a book/seria  |q 2023-05-23 15:51:26 US/Eastern  |i PN1998.3.T486 W66 2023  |d HSPLib  |f HSPLib