Dutchman D-File
Production History
Overview
With the support of Edward Albee’s New York Playwrights Unit, Baraka wrote his first play, Dutchman, in 1964. The goal of this project was to produce “action theater” which would push the audience to political action. But woven into the fabric of the piece was Avant-garde stylistics. Dutchman was well received when it opened at The Cherry Lane Theater of Greenwich Village, as this theater was regarded as the hub of the Beat Avant-garde. The Play’s balance between style and its emphasis on myth, ritual and “emancipatory violence” strongly resonated with critics who gave the piece an Obie for Best American Play (Calihman and Early p5).
In its second run at Baraka’s Black Arts Reparatory Theater/School, which was founded by Baraka, the political anger of the piece eclipsed its stylistic elements. This production was directed by Baraka’s sister, Sondra Lee Jones and featured an entirely Black cast, Lula being played in white-face. It was taken out to numerous public places throughout Harlem where it was enormously successful with audiences but not with critics. Baraka commented: “When we performed Dutchman downtown, the white people gave it an Obie award. When we put it out on the street and showed it to black people, it suddenly became ‘anti-white’ and they pulled the money” (Calihman and Early, p 7).
In 1967 Baraka returned to a strongly stylized telling in his screenplay of Dutchman. Anthony Harvey was selected to direct it from his editing work on Dr. Strangelove. In the film version, a good deal of attention was paid to cinematography that did not move the plot. The New York Times complained, “at least five to 10 minutes of which must be devoted to shots of empty New York subway stations, with empty trains pulling in and pulling out.” Nonetheless, the film was nominated for a Golden Lion, the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival, and Shirley Knight, who played Lula, won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Following the film, there were not many productions of Dutchman in the U.S. between 1970-2000. But there was a good deal of interest internationally. Especially in countries with vibrant activist or revolutionary movements: Brazil, South Africa, Poland (Jakubiak pp 44 – 48).
Many of the more recent productions set the production in present day. For example, the 50th anniversary production from The National Black Theatre and the Classical Theatre of Harlem used modern costumes and Yale’s 2013 production gave Clay earbuds but did not necessarily specify a time period.
A common thread in recent productions is to break the fourth wall: The 2007 Cherry Street revival had the conductor walking up and down the aisles and the 2012 LA Artworks use of sound made the audience feel as if they were on the train. Some productions even tried to tie the work to current gender issues by having Lula played by a white man.
Because it is so short, Dutchman is often coupled with other one-act plays. Although the play was written to stand alone, what it is paired with certainly impacts the experience the audience takes away. When it opened it was paired with Arrabal’s The Two Executioners or Albee’s The American Dream (Calihman and Early p 4). The 1967 Hampstead Theater Club production coupled it with Saunders Neighbors. Even the film was paired The Battle of Algiers in its 1970 run in the United States. Some modern pairings include: The Burglar Who Failed by St. John Hankin, Lin-Manel Miranda’s short musical, 21 Chump Street, and TRANsit by Darren Canady.
In its second run at Baraka’s Black Arts Reparatory Theater/School, which was founded by Baraka, the political anger of the piece eclipsed its stylistic elements. This production was directed by Baraka’s sister, Sondra Lee Jones and featured an entirely Black cast, Lula being played in white-face. It was taken out to numerous public places throughout Harlem where it was enormously successful with audiences but not with critics. Baraka commented: “When we performed Dutchman downtown, the white people gave it an Obie award. When we put it out on the street and showed it to black people, it suddenly became ‘anti-white’ and they pulled the money” (Calihman and Early, p 7).
In 1967 Baraka returned to a strongly stylized telling in his screenplay of Dutchman. Anthony Harvey was selected to direct it from his editing work on Dr. Strangelove. In the film version, a good deal of attention was paid to cinematography that did not move the plot. The New York Times complained, “at least five to 10 minutes of which must be devoted to shots of empty New York subway stations, with empty trains pulling in and pulling out.” Nonetheless, the film was nominated for a Golden Lion, the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival, and Shirley Knight, who played Lula, won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival.
Following the film, there were not many productions of Dutchman in the U.S. between 1970-2000. But there was a good deal of interest internationally. Especially in countries with vibrant activist or revolutionary movements: Brazil, South Africa, Poland (Jakubiak pp 44 – 48).
Many of the more recent productions set the production in present day. For example, the 50th anniversary production from The National Black Theatre and the Classical Theatre of Harlem used modern costumes and Yale’s 2013 production gave Clay earbuds but did not necessarily specify a time period.
A common thread in recent productions is to break the fourth wall: The 2007 Cherry Street revival had the conductor walking up and down the aisles and the 2012 LA Artworks use of sound made the audience feel as if they were on the train. Some productions even tried to tie the work to current gender issues by having Lula played by a white man.
Because it is so short, Dutchman is often coupled with other one-act plays. Although the play was written to stand alone, what it is paired with certainly impacts the experience the audience takes away. When it opened it was paired with Arrabal’s The Two Executioners or Albee’s The American Dream (Calihman and Early p 4). The 1967 Hampstead Theater Club production coupled it with Saunders Neighbors. Even the film was paired The Battle of Algiers in its 1970 run in the United States. Some modern pairings include: The Burglar Who Failed by St. John Hankin, Lin-Manel Miranda’s short musical, 21 Chump Street, and TRANsit by Darren Canady.
List of Major Productions
Productions 1964 - 1992
● 1964 Opening at Cherry Lane Theatre
● 1965 The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School
● 1967 Film
● 1968 Brazil
● 1967 Hampstead Theater Club UK
● 1969 Warsaw Poland
Productions 1993 - 2019
● 2007 Revival at Cherry Lane Theatre
● 2013 Yale Cabaret
● 2014 The National Black Theatre and the Classical Theatre of Harlem on the play’s 50th Year Anniversary
● 2015 Woodie King Jr.’s The New Federal Theatre at Castillo Theatre
● 2016 at Penumbra Theatre Company (Amy saw this production)
● 2018 Secret Theater in NYC
● 2018 Theatre of War at the Tank NYC
● 2018 Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
● 2018 Greg Keller’s Dutchman-inspired play, Dutch Masters
● Feb 13-24, 2019 Nebraska Repertory Theatre
● 1964 Opening at Cherry Lane Theatre
● 1965 The Black Arts Repertory Theater/School
● 1967 Film
● 1968 Brazil
● 1967 Hampstead Theater Club UK
● 1969 Warsaw Poland
Productions 1993 - 2019
● 2007 Revival at Cherry Lane Theatre
● 2013 Yale Cabaret
● 2014 The National Black Theatre and the Classical Theatre of Harlem on the play’s 50th Year Anniversary
● 2015 Woodie King Jr.’s The New Federal Theatre at Castillo Theatre
● 2016 at Penumbra Theatre Company (Amy saw this production)
● 2018 Secret Theater in NYC
● 2018 Theatre of War at the Tank NYC
● 2018 Carnegie Mellon School of Drama
● 2018 Greg Keller’s Dutchman-inspired play, Dutch Masters
● Feb 13-24, 2019 Nebraska Repertory Theatre
Critical Reviews
- (1964) The Theater: ‘Dutchman’
- (1966) Leroi Jones’s ‘Dutchman’ in Exile
- (1968) ‘Dutchman’ Is Now at Aardvark
- (2007) Stage Review: ‘Dutchman,’ Cherry Lane Theatre, New York
- (2012) LA Review: ‘Dutchman’
- (2014) Dutchman Offers Powerful, Intimate Show
- (2015) Woodie King Jr.’s New Federal Theatre Launches Its Season-long Tribute to the Late Amiri Baraka With His Racially Polarizing Drama
- (2017) KC MeltingPot Tackles “Dutchman,” An Angry, Sadly Relevant ‘60s Response to Racism
- (2018) “Dutchman” At Secret Theatre (1 of 2)
- (2018) Boarding the Train with ‘Dutchman’ (The NoPro Review) (2 of 2)
- (2018) Theatre of War’s (Flying) Dutchman to Play The Tank
- (2018) A Random, Life-Changing Encounter on a Train in Dutch Masters