Brooks Barry McNamara (1937–2009) was an American theater historian, professor, and contributing editor of ''
The Drama Review
''TDR: The Drama Review'' is an academic journal focusing on performances in their social, economic, aesthetic, and political contexts. The journal covers dance, theatre, music, performance art, visual art, popular entertainment, media, sports, ...
''.
Life
McNamara was born in
Peoria, Illinois
Peoria ( ) is the county seat of Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and the largest city on the Illinois River. As of the United States Census, 2020, 2020 census, the city had a population of 113,150. It is the principal city of the Peoria ...
. Upon graduation from
Knox College, he pursued a Master of Arts degree at the
University of Iowa
The University of Iowa (UI, U of I, UIowa, or simply Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is org ...
. Following military service, McNamara earned his
PhD in theater arts at
Tulane University
Tulane University, officially the Tulane University of Louisiana, is a private university, private research university in New Orleans, Louisiana. Founded as the Medical College of Louisiana in 1834 by seven young medical doctors, it turned into ...
where Richard Schechner was a professor and editor of the ''Tulane Drama Review'' (TDR). After earning his PhD, McNamara taught theater history in the Drama Department at the
University of Delaware
The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...
, between 1966 and 1968.
At Tulane, Schechner had crystallized a set of principles to describe
environmental theater. McNamara illustrated many of them in his set design for his Delaware academic colleague, William Bruehl's production of ''
Faustus''.
Meanwhile, Schechner and TDR, renamed "The Drama Review," relocated in 1967 to NYU where he became a Professor in the Graduate Drama Department. In the fall of 1968, McNamara also became ja professor at NYU's Graduate Drama Department. In 1969, Schechner directed "Makbeth," a version of Shakespeare's "Macbeth." For this production, McNamara designed "The Makbeth Maze." The two, along theatre designer Jerry Rojo, co-authored "Theatres, Spaces, Environments: Eighteen Projects" (1975).
McNamara was instrumental in the transformation of that NYU Department into the
Performance Studies
Performance studies is an interdisciplinary academic field that uses performance as a lens and a tool to study the world. The term ''performance'' is broad, and can include artistic and aesthetic performances like concerts, theatrical events, ...
Department, which was officially launched in 1981. He founded the archives of
Shubert Theatre in 1976 and served as director for 20 years. McNamara's research, writing, and curatorial pursuits resulted in numerous publications, exhibitions, productions, and archival collections. His life work spans the areas of theatre history, popular entertainments, public celebrations, and New York performance history. After retiring in 1996, McNamara remained professor emeritus of performance studies and director emeritus of the Shubert Archive.
In later life, McNamara was diagnosed with sporadic
cerebellar ataxia
Cerebellar ataxia is a form of ataxia originating in the cerebellum. Non-progressive congenital ataxia (NPCA) is a classical presentation of cerebral ataxias.
Cerebellar ataxia can occur as a result of many diseases and may present with symptoms ...
. He died in
Doylestown, Pennsylvania
Doylestown is a borough and the county seat of Bucks County in Pennsylvania, United States. It is located northwest of Trenton,
north of Center City, Philadelphia,
southeast of Allentown, and southwest of New York City.
As of the 2020 cen ...
, of pneumonia on 8 May 2009.
Books
* ''The New York Concert Saloon: the Devil's Own Nights''. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002.
* ''Gower Champion Dance and American Musical Theatre''. With David Payne-Carter and Stephen Nelson. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1999.
* ''Day of Jubilee: The Great Age Of Public Celebrations In New York, 1788-1909: Illustrated From The Collections Of The Museum Of The City Of New York''. New Brunswick, N.J.: Rutgers University Press, 1997.
* ''Inside the Minstrel Mask: Readings In Nineteenth-Century Blackface Minstrelsy''. Edited with Annemarie Bean and James V. Hatch. Hanover, NH: Wesleyan University Press, 1996.
* ''The Merry Muldoons and the Brighteyes Affair''. New York: Orchard Books, 1992.
* ''The Shuberts of Broadway: A History Drawn From The Collections Of The Shubert Archive''. With the Shubert Archive. New York: Oxford University Press, 1990.
* ''Edwin Booth's Legacy: Treasures From The Hampden-Booth Theatre Collection At The Players''. Selected and organized by Raymond Wemmlinger and Brooks McNamara; catalogue by Raymond Wemmlinger and Brooks McNamara; with contributions by Robert A. Carter, José Ferrer and Paul Myers.
ew York Hampden-Booth Theatre Library, 1989.
* ''Plays from The Contemporary American Theater''. New York: New American Library, 1988.
* ''The Drama Review: Thirty Years of Commentary on The Avant-Garde''. Edited by Brooks McNamara and Jill Dolan. Ann Arbor, Mich.: UMI Research Press, c1986.
* ''American Popular Entertainments: Jokes, Monologues, Bits, and Sketches''.
st Ed.New York City: Performing Arts Journal Publications, 1983.
* ''Step right up''.
st ed.Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday, 1976.
* ''Theatres, Spaces, Environments: Eighteen Projects''. Co-authored with Jerry Rojo and Richard Schechner. New York: Drama Book Specialists, 1975.
* ''The American Playhouse in the Eighteenth Century''. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1969
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:McNamara, Brooks
New York University faculty
1937 births
2009 deaths
University of Delaware faculty
Tulane University alumni
University of Iowa alumni
Knox College (Illinois) alumni
20th-century American historians
American male non-fiction writers
Historians of theatre
Writers from Peoria, Illinois
20th-century American male writers
Deaths from pneumonia in Pennsylvania
Academic journal editors
Historians from Illinois