Ira Aldridge Research Paper

Ira Frederick Aldridge was born on July 24, 1807 in New York. However, his birthplace remained questionable until 40 or so years ago. It has also been listed as Senegal(Africa), and Maryland. However conclusive evidence was found in the 1950s that he was born in New York. Included in this evidence are his British Naturalization papers and Death Certificate. His father was Reverend Daniel Adlridge , a straw vendor and preacher in "Old Zion". His mother was Lurranah. Ira grew up in a house on what is now West Broadway in New York City. He attended the African Free School No.2, which provided free education for Black children. The African Free School was established in 1787 on Cliff Street with one classroom for 40 children. After it was burnt
It was a sensational success. The audience could Covent Garden Playbill feel every beat of his heart. However, some of the more dignified classes found it most displeasing with their racist remarks that his speech was slurred and did not properly represent English. As soon as his Covent Garden engagement was over, he was invited by the Surrey theater to perform. The Surrey theater was one of the more important of the minor theaters in London. Ira Aldridge's first performance there was on April 22, 1833. On May 10th of that year he received a white part and even though they did all sorts of things to make him look white, it didn't work because it seemed that his inspiration came from his color. Proof of his greatness was in 1933 when Aldridge filled in for Edmund Kean, a renowned actor as Othello when he fell ill. The next 20 years of Ira Aldridge's career is a blur of tours, provinces and performances. It is not very well known in specifics what he did these twenty years. The African American Review in the Fall ‘94 edition quotes the researchers at Indiana State University who say the
Dublin called his style "The perfection of acting." Germany prtrayed him as "The greatest of all actors." Danzig said that his Othello, Shylock and Macbeth "Left him without a rival in the theater." Poland referred to his Othello as exactly how Shakespeare meant him to be portrayed. In France he represented " for the first time a hero of tragedy speaking and walking like a common mortal, void of exaggeration either in posture or exclamation". A critic in Russia said he was "the greatest thing in nature." After over twenty five years of experience, an English critic who previously scorned Ira Aldridge for playing white roles adamantly