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Little Italy, The Italian-American Immigrant Theatre of New York City &
The Italian-American Immigrant Theatre of New York City (NEW BOOK)
by Emelise Aleandri
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MORE THAN ONE HUNDRED YEARS OF LOCAL HISTORY BROUGHT TO LIFE
IN OVER TWO HUNDRED DELIGHTFUL, PHOTOGRAPHS
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LITTLE ITALY Book Description:
Often separated from other immigrants because of their language, Italian immigrants to New York City in the 1880s formed communities apart from their new neighbors. They tended to think of themselves collectively as a small Italian colony, La Colonia, that made up part of the demographics of the city. In each of the five boroughs, Italians set up many colonie. Several of them dotted Manhattan in East Harlem, the West Village, what is now SoHo, and the downtown area of the Lower East Side, straddling Canal Street, which still identifies Manhattan's Little Italy, the best-known Italian neighborhood in America. Little Italy is made up of stunning photographs culled from numerous private and public collections. It begins with the first phase of immigrants to Lower Manhattan in the early 1800s, including political and religious refugees such as Lorenzo Da Ponte and Giuseppe Garibaldi. In the 1870s, more and more Italian immigrants settled in Little Italy. As the neighborhood grew up around the former Anthony and Orange Streets, New York's first "Little Italy" emerged. The tumultuous history of the Five Points area, the "Bloody Ole Sixth Ward," and many faces and memories from the Italian newspapers L'Eco d'Italia and Il Progresso Italo-Americano are also included in this long-awaited pictorial history.
Author Bio: Dr. Emelise Aleandri is an actress, author, and historian who has known and loved Little Italy since she began her studies about the area as a student. The photographs she has chosen and her research and interviews provide riveting stories of this much loved old neighborhood.
Italian-American Theatre (Books)
Italian-American theatre sprang to life in New York City
shortly after waves of Italian immigrants poured into this country in the
1870s. The mass migration brought both the performers and the audiences necessary
for theatrical entertainment. Hungry for recognition, support, and social
exchange, the men and women from Italy formed amateur theatrical clubs as
one way of satisfying emotional needs. By 1900, the community had produced
the major forces that created Italian-American theatre of the ensuing decades.
In The Italian-American Immigrant Theatre of New York City, author Emelise
Aleandri regenerates the excitement of the stage through striking photographs,
programs, and other memorabilia generously loaned by families of the theatre
community. She follows the fortunes of the earliest nineteenth-century companies
and introduces those that arose in the twentieth century. Within these pages
are scenes of comedy, tragedy, vaudeville, and radio, featuring stars such
as Mimi Cecchini, Guglielmo Ricciardi, Concetta Arcamone, Antonio Maiori,
Rita Berti, Farfariello, and Olga Barbato.
