The McNay Art Museum is celebrating America’s 250th anniversary with a unique exhibit that explores the nation’s history through the stage. ‘A People’s History: The American Experiment on Stage’ features a wide range of works, including material connected to ‘The Contrast,’ a 1787 production that was the first play written and produced by Americans on an American stage after the country gained independence.
Exhibit Highlights
Among the exhibit’s highlights are a large portrait of actor Marlon Brando and paper cutout designs by artist Robert Indiana for ‘The Mother of Us All,’ an opera that explores the women’s suffrage movement. The exhibit also includes ‘Uncle Fatso,’ a larger-than-life puppet from Bread and Puppet Theater in Vermont, a group known for using theater and puppetry to protest the Vietnam War and other issues.
The 900-square-foot exhibition is organized around the ideals of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness found in the Declaration of Independence. According to Remus Moore, assistant curator for the McNay’s Tobin Collection of Theatre Arts, the exhibit gives visitors a chance to consider both the past 250 years and what the country’s next 250 years could look like.
Original reporting: San Antonio, TX News (HLL/CB) — read the source article.
