Charles M. Barras

Biography

Charles M. Barras wrote and produced theatrical works that helped usher in a new era for American entertainment, most famously through the sensational success of The Black Crook. His imaginative melding of melodrama, music, and spectacle delighted audiences and expanded the possibilities of the stage.

Though he faced the vicissitudes of show business, his innovations lived on in the vibrant pulse of New York theatre, and he now rests among the monuments of Green-Wood Cemetery.