Obi

Introduction: Obi, Aldridge and Abolition

Charles Rzepka, Boston University

Notes

¹ For a detailed account of the original Obi pantomime performance, its music, and its critical reception, see Hoskins.
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² This is according to the information contained in a Northampton playbill of 1830. See Marshall and Stock (89). The playbill mistakenly gives Murray the first initial "J."
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³ The information about Ira Aldridge provided in this esssay has been taken from the scholarly biography written by Herbert Marshall and Mildred Stock.
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⁴ Those who wish to obtain a copy of the entire dress rehearsal videotape should send a check for $10.00 to cover copying, postage, and handling to Professor Charles Rzepka, English Department, Boston University, 236 Bay State Road, Boston, MA 02215. The check should be made out to "Charles Rzepka."
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⁵ This performance was previewed in several Boston-area newspapers. See, e.g., The Boston Globe (July 6, 2000), p. E2; The Boston Herald (Friday, July 14, 2000), p. S13; The Bay State Banner (July 13, 2000), pp. 13, 16; and The Boston Phoenix ("Eight Days a Week" section, July 14, 2000), p. 5. See also the review of the performance by Barbara Rizza Mellin in the NAACP bi-monthly magazine, The New Crisis (September/October 2000), pp. 44-46.
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⁶ See Burroughs for a review of this performance.
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