戏剧是近代中国社会最为普及的一项娱乐活动。晚清到民国时期，芜湖的戏剧表演事业发展很快，诸多地方剧种进入芜湖。然而同一时期，本土戏却乏善可陈。经济的进步在社会变迁中扮演了重要的角色。从1877年开埠通商，到1882年镇江七浩口米市迁来，再到1898年米捐局设立，芜湖经济飞速发展，从一个默默无闻的小县区转而成为安徽省近代最重要的地区之一。经济的进步有力地推动了芜湖戏剧文化事业的发展，表演场合由赛会酬神扩展到平常百姓家的“堂会”，表演目的由自娱自乐发展成为正式的商业性演出。经济因素之外，外来人口对近代芜湖戏剧文化发展也有一定影响。太平天国战争结束后芜湖人口锐减，外地人纷纷移入，开垦田地，发展生产。光绪年间芜湖开埠、迁来米市、设立米捐局，亦吸引了众多外地人口以及各种戏剧的表演者。外来人口大批涌入不仅极大地补充了这里的劳动力而且塑造了外来文化在芜湖社会中的强势地位。芜湖戏剧文化体现了经济对于文化的强大效力，同时也揭示了外来人口在芜湖社会变迁中的双重作用。外来人口带来了劳动力和财富，在芜湖社会中占据了重要地位，一定程度上促进了社会进步。另一方面，外来人口以一种与生俱来的本位意识各自团结在一起，对“第二故乡”不存在狐死首丘的乡土依恋，着意于眼前的利益，一旦局势不利就迅速转移。于是，外来人口势力在为芜湖社会发展提供助动力的同时，也成为其发展道路上的隐忧，这是富于人口流动的地区在面临现代化的历史挑战中，需要单独面对的一个重大问题。芜湖的社会构成又反馈到文化上，戏曲的表演逐渐忽视了教育功能而转向一味取悦观众，急功近利之风弥散；外来势力撤走以后造成的财富流失和高失业率，也导致了观众层次和品味的下降，整个社会文化继而更加媚俗化。

Drama is one of the most popular entertainments among the masses. From Late Qing to Republican China, owed to various kinds of dramas influenting into Wuhu, Wuhu dramas developed quickly, while Wuhu had little indigenous dramas. The economy’s thriving promoted the performance and also attracted more actors to join in. The social culture was influenced by the economy’s development and as well as immigrants. Because 90 percent of the inhabitations perished during the Taiping Rebellion, numerous immigrants came to supply their place. After 1877 Wuhu became a treaty port and important market, more and more people moved here to earn their living. Those immigrants played an important role in the regional changes. The population of the immigrants was large. They forcedly interfered with the local affairs of Wuhu. However, the immigrants gathered according to their native lands and paid more attention to their own groups’ benefit than local construction. Immediate interests were preferred by them. The effect exerted by the social structure which changed the transformation of the region in turn transformed the behavior and cultural understandings of the residents, which reflected on dramas was that the taste and estate of the audience were lower than before. The performances would like to please blindly rather than instruct the people. The performance of dramas was also more and more vulgar.