Matt on Baker and Sante
February 13, 2018, by Matt
After reading both Baker’s A Glance at New York and Sante’s “The Lights,” I was struck by how A Glance at New York offers a history of downtown Manhattan and the Bowery in more ways than one. Not only does the play give readers a glimpse into the culture of the Bowery in the mid eighteenth century, but it also reveals New York’s fascination with itself.
I read A Glance at New York before I read Sante’s chapter in Low Life, and I’m glad that I did it that way. A Glance at New York was somewhat confusing during my first read through, and “The Lights” acted as a helpful translator to describe the relevance of the locations mentioned, terms said, and the time period in which it was set. Terms like “b’hoys” and “g’hals” and characters like Mose confused me at first, but Luc’s chapter was helpful in providing detailed context.
Written in 1848, A Glance at New York follows the adventures of George, a man from Albany, through New York, as he is tricked and cheated out of money at every turn by downtown locals. Although this is a piece of fiction and a comedic melodrama, I think that A Glance at New York offers significant insight into certain downtown cultures at the time. There certainly must be some truth to the rough and tough, con-man society of the Bowery as described by Baker, and this paints an interesting image of downtown New York in 1848.
Separate from the plot, A Glance at New York, as a work of dramatic literature, can reveal much about the society at the time of its performance. I’m not sure if this play was wildly successful or popular, but its low-brow, relatable nature suggests that plays on the Bowery were meant to be humorous shows for the masses to enjoy. These shows poked fun at the rowdy nature of the area, and it’s illuminating that these were the types of plots that audience members wanted to see.
My favorite thing about reading these texts in conjunction concerns the passage in which Luc discusses how the plays on the Bowery, especially A Glance at New York, show how New York has always been fascinated and entertained by itself. A Glance at New York opened on the Bowery in 1848, the exact time and place in which the play takes place. The play was clearly meant to be a humorous melodrama about the audience itself. It was intended to be something that everyone watching could laugh about and relate to in their own way.
I think that this is so interesting because this sentiment still rings true today. Stories about New York City are so dominant today in American media, due to the fact that New Yorkers, who produce much of the country’s media, are so fascinated by the city that they live in. In the era of Baker and the Bowery, Luc says that “New York’s fascination with itself was first explicitly realized on the stage.” This fascination has since transformed onto film and television screens, and it continues to loom large in the American psyche.