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Big White Fog - A Production of the Court Theatre

A research guide focused on UChicago Library materials that support further learning about the play, Big White Fog.

Related Guides

Theodore Ward and the Federal Theatre Project

Big White Fog was written by Theodore Ward, an African American playwright and author whose works were actively staged during the 1930s through the late 1960s. The play was first performed in April 1938 at The Great Northern Theatre in Chicago.

Big White Fog is a product of the Federal Theatre Project, which provided employment for theatre professionals who would otherwise be unemployed during the Great Depression. The Federal Theatre Project was a program funded by the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the government agency created by Franklin D. Roosevelt to create jobs and provide economic relief to thousands of Americans. 

Black and White photo from April 1938 production of Big White Fog at the Great Northern Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

 

The photo above is from the 1938 production of the play at the Great Northern Theatre in Chicago, Illinois. It shows the moment when Victor Mason, a central character in the play, receives the degree of Garveyite at a reception.

Photo credit: Works Progress Administration - Federal Theatre Project/Library of Congress, Federal Theatre Project Collection. https://hdl.loc.gov/loc.music/eadmus.mu995001

Play Summary

The play is set in the Washington Park neighborhood of Chicago (a neighborhood adjacent to Hyde Park) and centers its story around the Masons, a family of African Americans who made their way to Chicago as part of The Great Migration. The family is disappointed that their move from the south has not delivered on promises of greater financial success or an improved way of life. The play follows the Mason family as they negotiate various difficulties that ultimately resolve in a tragic ending.

Theodore Ward

"Theodore Ward." Entry, Chicago Literary Hall of Fame

The Playscript