All That Chat - re: The 1975 Tony Awards

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re: The 1975 Tony Awards
Last Edit: Singapore/Fling 08:18 pm EST 02/16/21
Posted by: Singapore/Fling 08:12 pm EST 02/16/21
In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - dbdbdb 11:55 am EST 02/16/21

Wow. And Roger Stone helped him book gigs. Honestly, if it wasn't dated 2000, I would absolutely believe it was written today. What I find more intriguing is that this article was written to accompany another, longer article assessing and defending Al Jolson's place in the culture, which was the front page story of the Sunday Arts Part 2 section. In 2000. Which was not that long ago, and was not the dark ages in terms of racial consciousness.
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re: The 1975 Tony Awards
Posted by: dbdbdb 11:08 am EST 02/17/21
In reply to: re: The 1975 Tony Awards - Singapore/Fling 08:12 pm EST 02/16/21

He is such a forgotten figure today that it's hard to grapple with what a major star he was. And as the Times coverage indicates, he continued to be fondly remembered long after his death. I grew up seeing some of his films on TV and even then I could never see the appeal. It's probably worth noting that, two years after the Times coverage, the bio-musical Jolson & Co. was produced at York Theatre Company. (I didn't see it, but I don't think blackface was employed.) A biography was published in 2007. Because of his outsized stardom and his place in film history, I imagine that there will be further attempts at reckoning with him. It would be interesting if a Black writer with a specialty in theatre history would tackle the subject.
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