The Pekin: The Rise and Fall of Chicago's First Black-Owned Theater

by Thomas Bauman

In 1904, political operator and gambling boss Robert T. Motts opened the Pekin Theater in Chicago. Dubbed the "Temple of Music," the Pekin became one of the country's most prestigious African American cultural institutions, renowned for its all-black stock company and school for actors, an orchestra able to play ragtime and opera with equal brilliance, and a repertoire of original musical comedies.

A missing chapter in African American theatrical...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0252038363
• ISBN13: 9780252038365
• Release Date: April 2014
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press
• Length: 264 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.1" x 9.1"