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The Colored Museum
George C. Wolfe's iconic play on the black experience of the 1980s. The Colored Museum has electrified, discomforted, and delighted audiences of all colors, redefining our ideas of what it means to be black in contemporary America. Its eleven "exhibits" undermine black stereotypes old and new, and return to the facts of what being black means. " Mr. Wolfe is the kind of satirist who takes no prisoners. The shackles of the past have been defied by Mr. Wolfe's fearless humor, and it's a most liberating revolt!" - Frank Rich, The New York Times; "Brings forth a bold new voice that is bound to shake up blacks and whites with separate-but-equal impartiality. True satire." - Jack Kroll, Newsweek.
62 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1987
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
February 5, 2020
A funny fact about me, I am a lover of theater. I have been in about 4 plays and 1 musical. A local theater held auditions of this play a few years ago, and I practiced my lines and practiced my lines. And I knew I had it in the bag. The day of the audition comes, and my stomach was bothering me and I thought it was just butterflies. I get called in and I state my name, and just as I was about to start my lines I projectile vomited. I remember being mortified and I ran off stage. I ended up having the stomach bug, and that was the last time I set foot on stage.
The focus of this play was on what it meant to be black in what is described as contemporary America. Wolfe was a satirist, he used humor as the vehicle to drive home the message that surrounded the topics most would find uncomfortable to discuss. These exhibits that Wolfe creates in this play hold true to the anger, the life and the struggles that blacks experienced in the 1980’s. While Wolfes goal was to bring laughter around the racism and race relations in America, the underlying goal was to challenge and he did just that.
“So, hunny, don’t waste your time trying to label or define me…’cause I’m not what I was ten years ago or ten minutes ago. I’m all of that and then some. And whereas I can’t live inside yesterday’s pain, I can’t live without it.”
The focus of this play was on what it meant to be black in what is described as contemporary America. Wolfe was a satirist, he used humor as the vehicle to drive home the message that surrounded the topics most would find uncomfortable to discuss. These exhibits that Wolfe creates in this play hold true to the anger, the life and the struggles that blacks experienced in the 1980’s. While Wolfes goal was to bring laughter around the racism and race relations in America, the underlying goal was to challenge and he did just that.
“So, hunny, don’t waste your time trying to label or define me…’cause I’m not what I was ten years ago or ten minutes ago. I’m all of that and then some. And whereas I can’t live inside yesterday’s pain, I can’t live without it.”
December 5, 2021
I've no idea how this book got added to my shelves as early as it did. Lord knows my friends' list on this site has gone through some seismic changes in the last nine years, and even if the lack of evidence trail is due to one falling out or another, it might even be a case of a user going the full nine yards and deleting their account for whatever reason. All I know is, while visiting a used bookstore that's good for when I get the contemporary itch but is pretty tedious price point wise, this was a copy that fortunately struck enough of a chord in me for me to pick it up and double check that, yes, it was indeed on my to be acquired shelf. The fact that this work has such a discombobulated categorization on this site between its empty mess of a playwright page and its barely half way to a thousand ratings didn't help, as it took me a long while to realize that the Wolfe is Black and even longer, aka when I was midway through what was, for me, the most phenomenal section of this play, to figure out that he's queer. Why does all that matter, you ask? It matters because 'The Colored Museum' is the kind of material that is generated from a place of intimate knowledge that cishet whiteness can neither touch nor own, and the fact that it takes the antiBlackness, external and, often even more controversially, internal, of its time by the horns leaves it open to the more viciously undermining sides of "good" representation and political correctness. It's uncomfortable for both Black and white alike, but with the likes of hooks communing in comradery with Wolfe over the reception of this work of his, I'm comfortable in assuming this work, three decades after publication, still has much to say.
If you're a white person like me, there's no guarantee that any of this piece will work for you. For me, it started falling into place during the course of the display titled "The Gospel According to Miss Roj", where a Black Queen demonstrates exactly how he will not be pulled apart and boiled down into nice harmless chunks for white (gay) consumption. All credit for that particular comprehension of mine goes to the show Pose, yet another queer Black creation that I can resonate with in bits and pieces so long as I acknowledge my place. For, in this day and age, the status quo in the face of the chaos of online multiplicities has set down the dichotomy of "wholesome" and "problematic," and should a creative piece be put forward by anything that isn't a bloated hegemony, its cracks, its complications, its satire and its critical probing will suffer from baby-with-the-bath-water-itis on Twitter and Instagram, where fans descend en masse in gross harassment and vicious libel because the "bad" character wasn't "punished" enough for their "sins" or their pwecious bean gold star pairing didn't receive their just reward of becoming part of the canon. If that comes off as more than a tad puritanical Christianity for you, you're beginning to see how the reaction against Wolfe's work back when it came out in the late 1980's and the sanctimonious TikToks decrying a queer person as "oppressing" themselves today have their commonalities. What I'm trying to say with all that is, this book expects you to know a great deal about the Black culture of Wolfe's time and before, both the glorious transcendence and the banal conformity, the disinterred prophets and priestesses alongside the ingratiating survival mechanisms that haven't at all survived the transition to modern polite conversation, and cares nothing about how comfortable you are with seriously engaging with everything in between. So, rather than asking yourself, am I racist if I read this and positively rate it?, think about how the US may have elected its first Black president in 2009, but added Assata Shakur to its most wanted terrorists' list in 2013.
Knowing what the state of GRAmazon is like these days, I have next to no hope of Wolfe's author page being cleaned up and properly equipped any time soon. Until then, you'll have to believe me when I say that he's won multiple Tony's, one of which was for directing the first half of Angels in America, and that, for whatever reason, "The Colored Museum" is not listed among his contributions to Theater on Wikipedia. With a great deal of more contemporary directorial work under his belt, both in theater and in film, Wolfe isn't one of those who came out with one or two pieces in either the early or the late 20th c. and was thereupon lost to view forever more. I do have to wonder, though, whether he ever thinks of this piece of his, characterized as one of his "first major offerings," and whether he would ever be interested in bringing it back for another curtain call, whether on the stage or on the screen. The problem is, of course, the complete and utter lack of maturity that plagues most contemporary US media audiences/consumers, an issue that is more often than not, despite what is assured by many an academic/liberal bastion, exacerbated the higher one climbs the socioeconomic/cultural ranks. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that, this 21st century milieu is in desperate need of the conversation that a piece such as this would undoubtedly provoke. Whether the production would survive the dual forces of bulldozing capitalism and poisoning censorship long enough to instigate the conversation is what is uncertain.
If you're a white person like me, there's no guarantee that any of this piece will work for you. For me, it started falling into place during the course of the display titled "The Gospel According to Miss Roj", where a Black Queen demonstrates exactly how he will not be pulled apart and boiled down into nice harmless chunks for white (gay) consumption. All credit for that particular comprehension of mine goes to the show Pose, yet another queer Black creation that I can resonate with in bits and pieces so long as I acknowledge my place. For, in this day and age, the status quo in the face of the chaos of online multiplicities has set down the dichotomy of "wholesome" and "problematic," and should a creative piece be put forward by anything that isn't a bloated hegemony, its cracks, its complications, its satire and its critical probing will suffer from baby-with-the-bath-water-itis on Twitter and Instagram, where fans descend en masse in gross harassment and vicious libel because the "bad" character wasn't "punished" enough for their "sins" or their pwecious bean gold star pairing didn't receive their just reward of becoming part of the canon. If that comes off as more than a tad puritanical Christianity for you, you're beginning to see how the reaction against Wolfe's work back when it came out in the late 1980's and the sanctimonious TikToks decrying a queer person as "oppressing" themselves today have their commonalities. What I'm trying to say with all that is, this book expects you to know a great deal about the Black culture of Wolfe's time and before, both the glorious transcendence and the banal conformity, the disinterred prophets and priestesses alongside the ingratiating survival mechanisms that haven't at all survived the transition to modern polite conversation, and cares nothing about how comfortable you are with seriously engaging with everything in between. So, rather than asking yourself, am I racist if I read this and positively rate it?, think about how the US may have elected its first Black president in 2009, but added Assata Shakur to its most wanted terrorists' list in 2013.
Knowing what the state of GRAmazon is like these days, I have next to no hope of Wolfe's author page being cleaned up and properly equipped any time soon. Until then, you'll have to believe me when I say that he's won multiple Tony's, one of which was for directing the first half of Angels in America, and that, for whatever reason, "The Colored Museum" is not listed among his contributions to Theater on Wikipedia. With a great deal of more contemporary directorial work under his belt, both in theater and in film, Wolfe isn't one of those who came out with one or two pieces in either the early or the late 20th c. and was thereupon lost to view forever more. I do have to wonder, though, whether he ever thinks of this piece of his, characterized as one of his "first major offerings," and whether he would ever be interested in bringing it back for another curtain call, whether on the stage or on the screen. The problem is, of course, the complete and utter lack of maturity that plagues most contemporary US media audiences/consumers, an issue that is more often than not, despite what is assured by many an academic/liberal bastion, exacerbated the higher one climbs the socioeconomic/cultural ranks. Unfortunately, the fact of the matter is that, this 21st century milieu is in desperate need of the conversation that a piece such as this would undoubtedly provoke. Whether the production would survive the dual forces of bulldozing capitalism and poisoning censorship long enough to instigate the conversation is what is uncertain.
April 21, 2018
Stunning vignettes that feel as topical today as they must have in 1986, when the play was written. Brilliant parody of what it means to be African American.
I really didn't like the disparaging of women in one of the exhibits, however. It smacked too much of BlackMen'sRights.
I really didn't like the disparaging of women in one of the exhibits, however. It smacked too much of BlackMen'sRights.
August 4, 2009
THERE'S MADNESS IN ME AND THAT MADNESS SETS ME FREE.
July 31, 2019
I meant to read this before I saw the performance at Wayne State University's Hilberry, but the cast and direction were so good that reading it several weeks after the show, I'm all the more impressed. This is a work that contains some references that are a bit dated, yet as a whole it is exceedingly timely. Wolfe's not a man without opinion nor one without a valid point.
In 1995, bell hooks interviewed Wolfe for Bomb magazine. In the interview he said, "When The Colored Museum happened, all these mediocre Negroes who regard themselves as the guardians of black culture attacked me because they thought I was attacking black culture, that I was doing things in front of white people that shouldn’t be done. They didn’t understand my arrogance, my belief that the culture I come from is so strong it can withstand public scrutiny. I don’t view black culture as a fragile thing. There are unquestionably economic realities and, without a doubt, racism and the machinery of power and the crap that gets done to men and the crap that gets done to women—all of that stuff is very real. It affects us. But if Michael Jackson can mutilate his body—and still create, make sounds that come out of him which are ancient, vocally—some part of his spirit remains intact, has not been violated. It doesn’t matter that he’s singing, 'It don’t matter if you’re black or white.' Even as psychological and intellectual mutilations take place, as long as there’s still a cultural base, anything that anybody writes or says or does is strong enough to withstand these violations."
In 1995, bell hooks interviewed Wolfe for Bomb magazine. In the interview he said, "When The Colored Museum happened, all these mediocre Negroes who regard themselves as the guardians of black culture attacked me because they thought I was attacking black culture, that I was doing things in front of white people that shouldn’t be done. They didn’t understand my arrogance, my belief that the culture I come from is so strong it can withstand public scrutiny. I don’t view black culture as a fragile thing. There are unquestionably economic realities and, without a doubt, racism and the machinery of power and the crap that gets done to men and the crap that gets done to women—all of that stuff is very real. It affects us. But if Michael Jackson can mutilate his body—and still create, make sounds that come out of him which are ancient, vocally—some part of his spirit remains intact, has not been violated. It doesn’t matter that he’s singing, 'It don’t matter if you’re black or white.' Even as psychological and intellectual mutilations take place, as long as there’s still a cultural base, anything that anybody writes or says or does is strong enough to withstand these violations."
November 20, 2018
The theme is in the title, The Colored Museum. A museum is a place where static, unchanging artifacts from the past are displayed. The author is putting these stereotypical characters to a museum the author wants them placed them in the past and makes room for the future.
“I used to jump into a rage anytime anyone used to deny who I was, now all I got to do is give attitude quicker than light, and get on about the business of being me. Cuz’ I’m dancing to the music of the madness in me.”
A unique piece of work. I like it.
“I used to jump into a rage anytime anyone used to deny who I was, now all I got to do is give attitude quicker than light, and get on about the business of being me. Cuz’ I’m dancing to the music of the madness in me.”
A unique piece of work. I like it.
December 4, 2022
each act of this play has … it’s finger, on the beating pulse at the heart of some aspect of Black American experience. it is so clever even when it hurts, and so funny too, except when it’s not. exceptional stuff
+ im tripping because im certain i’ve seen exhibits from this play in person but i can’t remember where. “Permutations” specifically
+ im tripping because im certain i’ve seen exhibits from this play in person but i can’t remember where. “Permutations” specifically
July 3, 2020
Wow, this play was a handful (in a good way). Wolfe addresses African American stereotypes in a humorous yet eye opening way. This play was satire at its finest! Really enjoyed it, a must read for everyone!
July 2, 2010
Black satire at its best. Genius!
November 9, 2025
insanely good. the chaotic energy, the music, the outfits, the satire; all encompassing a vivid portrayal of the diversity of the black experience and the madness that comes from centuries of oppression. the play is a series of messages in 11 “exhibits” yet coalesces into one final message on the necessity of embracing and overcoming the past. love this play so much.
November 12, 2022
I’m of female gender, 56 and like all of us genetically mixed. Technically I’m beige,
and I wouldn’t pass a paper bag test.
I read about “THE COLORED MUSEUM PLAY” and had to find it-which intrigued me even more…
I’m menopausal so once I found a copy I purchased it immediately before it was swept away and added to my menopause memory’s file cabinet with the locked drawer, or the legal file box I’ve had since college or my ever elusive wish list pile. Once it arrived it was thin so I inadvertently put it in the to be opened later/bills pile! At the end of the month I opened it and thought “Hmph I’ll read it tomorrow” - and I stuck it on a shelf (1st in line), but it was so thin you really couldn’t see it-unless you were literally standing next to the bookcase up close and personal!
So today as I was piddling around I exclaimed when I noticed it, to myself & if I asked: “Lo & Behold, is that where I hid you?”
And so and me & my soul decided to read it as it was meant to - that is - to be performed. And so I did and I remain in my 6 character embodiment in my review….
{in my “Gone with the Wind” voice}
“And I do mean characters I thought to myself -
“I got this” and then discovered I was in a time warp continuum and was being pulled into each page as the words flowed with such resonance I wanted to stop to cry to admire to take a pause-but it was not written with an intermission so how and
even why could I not respect the hours of
re-remembering, castings, those opening nights in March, October & November!
I experienced an experience-the evocative feelings as I feel the words on the tip of my tongue yet they are elusive - I am a respectful fanatic of the craft and hope that everyone reads this masterpiece of a play.
It touches you, your origin and your ancestry.
and I wouldn’t pass a paper bag test.
I read about “THE COLORED MUSEUM PLAY” and had to find it-which intrigued me even more…
I’m menopausal so once I found a copy I purchased it immediately before it was swept away and added to my menopause memory’s file cabinet with the locked drawer, or the legal file box I’ve had since college or my ever elusive wish list pile. Once it arrived it was thin so I inadvertently put it in the to be opened later/bills pile! At the end of the month I opened it and thought “Hmph I’ll read it tomorrow” - and I stuck it on a shelf (1st in line), but it was so thin you really couldn’t see it-unless you were literally standing next to the bookcase up close and personal!
So today as I was piddling around I exclaimed when I noticed it, to myself & if I asked: “Lo & Behold, is that where I hid you?”
And so and me & my soul decided to read it as it was meant to - that is - to be performed. And so I did and I remain in my 6 character embodiment in my review….
{in my “Gone with the Wind” voice}
“And I do mean characters I thought to myself -
“I got this” and then discovered I was in a time warp continuum and was being pulled into each page as the words flowed with such resonance I wanted to stop to cry to admire to take a pause-but it was not written with an intermission so how and
even why could I not respect the hours of
re-remembering, castings, those opening nights in March, October & November!
I experienced an experience-the evocative feelings as I feel the words on the tip of my tongue yet they are elusive - I am a respectful fanatic of the craft and hope that everyone reads this masterpiece of a play.
It touches you, your origin and your ancestry.
January 2, 2016
Overall, this play is quite good. I enjoyed all the metaphors in the play. A few of the parts in the play were a little confusing, but I have a feeling that the more I let them sit and think about it, the more I will understand them. New ideas will most likely come as I am able to think about the play. These are good things.
Reading the play, though, it seems like mounting the play would be a legal nightmare because of all the songs used in it! The songs are used - they are no parodies, so that would require a lot of permission from ASCAP/BMI.
Reading the play, though, it seems like mounting the play would be a legal nightmare because of all the songs used in it! The songs are used - they are no parodies, so that would require a lot of permission from ASCAP/BMI.
October 1, 2023
I love a good novel, but reading this play was so refreshing and creative. So much emotion and life and experiences in so few pages. Now I'm watching the stage play and the words are jumping off the pages I just read. Respect to the author and the actors who breathed air into this piece of art 💐 I don't fully agree or maybe understand all the perspectives in these stories but I appreciate them. And I stumbled across the famous talking wig head scene...I recognized it immediately and I had no idea it was apart of this collection!
July 31, 2019
an absolutely fantastic and deep investigation into stereotype, opportunity, history, and community. kickass funny, but when you laugh, you're always feeling a stab of something else, too, just how it's supposed to be with subjects like slavery, civil rights, and stressed interracial relations when they're experienced within the genre of farce.
brilliant. obsessed. love. get to see it on stage soon!
brilliant. obsessed. love. get to see it on stage soon!
June 7, 2013
The Colored Museum is a series of scenes that depict different characters in each scene as if it were an exhibit to demonstrate what it means to be African American in the United States from slavery until the 1980’s. George C. Wolfe takes the functions of literature to add depth to particular stories in the past giving the reader a new perspective to understanding history.
November 18, 2013
Provocative, exciting, hilarious...had me thinking how I'd stage it as I read it because it grabbed my imagination and had it running away the whole time I was reading. I was also struck by the Miss Roj section, as it features a black drag queen, reading and snapping away in an evocation of the east coast drag scene, a la "Paris is Burning."
March 24, 2019
Quite a fun and interesting read. Wolfe manages to use humor in his satire of black stereotypes without erasing their humanity or becoming preachy. He pokes fun not only at the attitudes of other towards black people but also of the attitudes taken by black people themselves in response to the pressures put upon them. Definitely worth reading or watching.
February 27, 2013
What a fantastic play! It was hysterical, but it also brought to mind some very important issues in African-American history and theatre, as well as American theatre in itself.
March 15, 2017
I love this play. The isolationist tactics that Wolfe uses throughout, especially the throttling satire, wrench readers out of their comfort zone and into the issues present in each exhibit.
April 12, 2018
I originally wasn’t too hot on this play, until I saw a video of it being preformed! Absolutely amazing and really deep.
March 20, 2024
phenomenal
June 21, 2021
Love the theatricality in this play - the mise-en-scene, the larger than life characters and dynamic vignettes. There’s a lot to unpack here about being black in America, and Wolfe tells these stories with humor, passion, flamboyance, rage, satire, wit, and a bit of “madness”.
July 8, 2025
Really enjoyed this! A critically well-thought out and abysmal look at how world history (mainly America) has treated the Black community. Stripping them of their blackness in many ways, and putting those on display that have tried to resist against that.
May 30, 2017
Brilliant, no-holds barred satire of racism and race relations in America. Wolfe's work is challenging, heartbreaking, and very funny.
December 24, 2017
Satirical perfection. I could not have asked for more.
December 14, 2018
Interesting exhibits, exploring the range of black identity.
October 22, 2019
some of these are weird as hell but some of these skits are amazing
people should read/perform this play more
people should read/perform this play more
March 2, 2020
Hilarious! And sad. Would love to see this on a local stage. I think it would do well.
October 6, 2020
5 Word Reviews:
Poignant in the best way
Poignant in the best way
November 17, 2020
Colorful. Satirical. Gets into it. I’d love to see this on stage.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews