50books_poc | The Colored Museum, by George C. Wolfe

This is not a book, specifically, but a play, written by Wolfe in 1985. It's a raw, edgy exploration of a multitude of topics.

There was a production of this play at my undergrad college while I was there, and I was the stage manager/prop queen/thundermaker (I got to beat on a big piece of metal and it sounded like thunder; It was *really* cool). Of course, I didn't really "get it" at the time, but I learned a lot from this play and the experience of working with an all-POC cast as a non-POC person.

Google books preview of "Cookin' With Aunt Ethel"

books.google.com/books

and a study guide from a production done in 2006:

209.85.173.132/search

An excerpt from the study guide:

"That summer, [1986], The Colored Museum began its early run in the Public Theater. Although the critics loved the show, many patrons were offended by the controversial topics expressed in the play. Wolfe won the Dramatists' Guild's Elizabeth Hull-Kate Warriner Award for the best play dealing with social, religious or political topics. Following the run of The Colored Museum, Director [Joseph] Papp invited Wolfe to be the Public Theater's resident director."

and, last but not least, a vid. (the sounds isn't so great, but it's just as funny as I remember.)