There are three principal through-lines among the hundreds of other currents of thought, culture, and politics in The Colored Museum: a cultural, historical and social portrait of African-Americans as recognized/desired by the majority white culture; a critique of black theatre and entertainment practices; and African-American self-perception at the end of the twentieth century. None of these currents can be tidily wrapped up into a single truism, slogan, or “theme.” With this in mind, three images, words, and ideas repeat themselves again and again throughout the text: colored/complexity/contradiction.

The show is loud, angry, abrasive, poignant, joyful, exuberant, and most importantly, contemporary. It features elements of satire, parody, caricature (including blackface), pervasive racism and sexist stereotypes complimented by Brechtian and postmodern theatrical conventions. The design for this production featured an empty black box performance space painted entirely white, with isolated, spare playing areas.