Black on Stage: Theater Through the 1960s
Izzy’s Student Ambassador Weekly Check-In: This past week I spent time working on my last blog post and on Tuesday the other student ambassadors and I participated in a weekly meeting to gain greater insights about what the expectations are for the structures and content of our blog posts. Some of the search terms that I considered and utilized through initial research for this topic on Black Theater in the 1960s and prior after being inspired by interviews that I came across included: “Theater” + “France,” “Shuffle Along,” “Uptown… Its Hot,” “Frank Silvera,” “Harry Belafonte,” “Walter Nicks,” “Donald McKayle,” “Maurice Bejart,” “Gregory Hines,” “Maurice Hines,” “Lloyd Richards,” “Lorraine Hansberry,” “The American Negro Theater,” and “New Lafayette Theatre.” Through following along with various interviews, search terms, and doing research about the history of Black Broadway productions I spent time preparing for this blog post. My goal is to improve my blog posts week by week and continue to learn how to create blog posts that showcase the beauty and variety of the Digital Archive.
HistoryMaker Nancy Wilson, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/nancy-wilson-41
HistoryMaker Billie Allen, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/billie-allen-41
Frank Silvera was one of the most important Black performers of the early decades of the 1900s. He was described by a number of HistoryMakers including HistoryMaker Billie Allen (1925-2015), who was an actress and stage director who performed in “The Wiz,” and HistoryMaker Nancy Wilson (1937-2018), who won numerous Grammy Awards. HistoryMaker Allen notes that, “Frank Silvera was a wonderful actor… Who knew about theater, who knew about technique, who knew about structure. And also he could play many roles… he could be Mexican, he could be Italian, he could be Latino, he could be black, he could be white, he could be anything.”[5] Silvera was so iconic that there was a famous writer’s workshop named after him, “This playwriting workshop. This Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop, which we met every Monday night…. and read a new play. [HistoryMaker] Lloyd Richards was very much involved in critiquing and being a dramaturge. And furnished a professional cast, I directed a lot of the readings, participated in some of the reading. And was one of the founding members, we work very hard, it was wonderful, it was just such a necessary step to move plays ahead.”[6] Note how HistoryMaker Allen highlights that Silvera’s ambiguity allowed for his flexibility of various roles across racial and ethnic categories. Speaking of the impact of Silvera HistoryMaker Wilson notes, “he could act, and he was just this marvelous man who gave me the kind of insight I needed… to bring forth what I was doing on stage with just the lyric, with just the spoken word. And he was able to make me understand that you don't need acting lessons, you act on stage every night, that's what you do. He just put it all together for me.”[7]
European cities, namely Paris, were key sites of Black theater internationally in the years prior to and during the 1960s. HistoryMaker Sylvia Waters (1940-) a director of the Alvin Ailey Repertory Ensemble, notes of her time in Europe in the 1960s, “Well, I was on an extended tour, or extensive and extended tour with 'Black Nativity' [Langston Hughes] that starred Marion Williams and the Stars of Faith for seven months and touring all over Europe, we were in Paris two or three times performing at the Champs-Elysees [Theatre des Champs-Elysees, Paris, France]”.[1] She describes the culture and environment of Black theater in Europe, “‘I really loved going from country to country and all of the different cultures and languages and people that were experiencing, I mean, for instance in Vienna [Austria] we were in the Theater an der Wien, which is the theater which I learned later that premiered Beethoven's [Ludwig van Beethoven] 'Ninth Symphony' ['Symphony No. 9 in D minor’]… we performed in a lot of opera houses, especially in Italy, a lot of wonderful theaters and the audience was always enthusiastic and they loved… the gospel music and the Christmas story and that sort of thing.”[2] HistoryMaker Arthur Mitchell (1934-2018), was the first Black permanent member of a big ballet company, New York City Ballet, in 1955. HistoryMaker Mitchell also describes the environment of performing in Europe, “when we went to Russia, oh Jesus. That was amazing. Because… they had never seen a black man do anything classic. When New York City Ballet went, I had a success like you can't imagine. I mean really it was phenomenal.”[3]
HistoryMaker Sylvia Waters, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/sylvia-waters-41
HistoryMaker Arthur Mitchell, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/arthur-mitchell
Harlem as a neighborhood was another major location for Black theater, it was a hub of Black performers, performance groups and theater ensembles. HistoryMaker Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (1936-), won an Academy Award for best supporting actor in “An Officer and a Gentleman.” He informs that The New Lafayette Theater in Harlem was very significant, built deeply meaningful community and is not centered enough: “The New Lafayette Theater has a hell of a story that people should remember,…the story of Canada Lee and Rex Ingram and those particular people, earlier, before the American Negro Theater, which was Sidney Poitier, [HM] Harry Belafonte and those particular people… that was quite a society up there in Harlem, the Harlem Renaissance time where culture was at its optimum. And you know about Paul Laurence Dunbar and Langston Hughes and Countee Cullen and the original, Adam Clayton Powell, Sr., and Marcus Garvey and Hubert Julian and Bojangles [Bill "Bojangles" Robinson], Lena Horne, Billie Holiday, Cab Calloway [Cabell "Cab" Calloway] and Count Basie [William "Count" Basie], ad infinitum… What a rich, rich, rich period. I came up during the end of that era, so Sugar Hill was still kind of in place, and I got a taste of it… It got me deep in the middle of the devotion of my craft, taking it from them and carrying it on. All those who are still alive, I must thank them for that contribution in my life. All those who are gone, they're still here, I want to thank them also.“[4]
HistoryMaker Louis Cameron Gossett Jr., The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/louis-cameron-gossett-jr
Some noteworthy moments in Black Broadway history prior to and during the 1960s include:
“Shuffle Along” (1921)
HistoryMaker Julian Marvin Swain (1924-2011), who formed the Co-Op Trio, remarks, “Well, as a young man, one of the few people that I really, really looked up to… Paul Robeson… he had so many talents and for him to come along when he came along when was indescribable, because you know he was in 'Shuffle Along' way back then you know, and it was hard back then, and it's still hard to get in, be in the arts, period… it's hard for white people in the arts, but it's doubly hard for black people.”[8]
“A Raisin in the Sun” (1959)
When asked, “Why do you think 'Raisin [in the Sun]' was such a special piece? You know, why is it good American theater?”[9] HistoryMaker Lloyd Richards (1919-2006), director of “A Raisin in the Sun,” responded, “It's good American theater because it's well-written drama…. the characters… are defined and definite and have depth… and it is not just a play about black life. It's a play about the striving… for manhood, of a young man and the achieving of manhood, which is… not bestowed as much as acknowledged by his family, you know, and which is a thing that permits him to be what he is and can be, and is. And it's, it's something that people can relate to from any culture. And that's what they saw in it… black audiences certainly… white audiences too… they saw the struggle of a family 'cause many families have similar struggles.. And this is what good art is about. It focuses on one element, but it's resonance is unlimited… it's about aspiration.”[10]
“Hello Dolly” (1967)
HistoryMaker S. Pearl Sharp (1942-), who was in the chorus of Pearl Bailey’s “Hello Dolly,” specifies, “We opened in Washington [D.C.] in November of '67 [1967] or late October and opened on Broadway in November of '67 [1967], the Pearl Bailey company… why did we have to have an all-black company? Why not have an all-black company? But we made history because we were the… first all-black company on Broadway since maybe Eubie Blake or something, you know.”[11]
HistoryMaker Julian Marvin Swain, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/julian-marvin-swain-40
HistoryMaker Lloyd Richards, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/lloyd-richards-39
HistoryMaker, S. Pearl Sharp, The HistoryMakers, https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/s-pearl-sharp-40
Notes:
[1] Sylvia Waters (The HistoryMakers A2010.108), interviewed by Harriette Cole, October 24, 2016, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 3, story 2, Sylvia Waters describes her time in Paris, France
[2] Sylvia Waters (The HistoryMakers A2010.108), interviewed by Harriette Cole, October 24, 2016, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 2, tape 3, story 4, Sylvia Waters talks about her role in 'Black Nativity'
[3] Arthur Mitchell (The HistoryMakers A2016.034), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, October 5, 2016, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 7, story 6, Arthur Mitchell describes the Dance Theatre of Harlem's international tours
[4] Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. (The HistoryMakers A2005.086), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 30, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 9, Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. describes his relationships with fellow actors in the theater
[5] Billie Allen (The HistoryMakers A2007.142), interviewed by Larry Crowe, April 16, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 7, Billie Allen recalls the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop
[6] Billie Allen (The HistoryMakers A2007.142), interviewed by Larry Crowe, April 16, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 7, Billie Allen recalls the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop
[7] Nancy Wilson (The HistoryMakers A2007.328), interviewed by Merri Dee, November 15, 2007, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 6, Nancy Wilson remembers Frank Silvera
[8] Julian Marvin Swain (The HistoryMakers A2005.075), interviewed by Larry Crowe, March 23, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 3, story 3, Julian Marvin Swain gives advice to African Americans who aspire to be artists
[9] Lloyd Richards (The HistoryMakers A2001.064), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, September 11, 2001, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 6, Lloyd Richards evaluates the appeal of 'A Raisin in the Sun'
[10] Lloyd Richards (The HistoryMakers A2001.064), interviewed by Julieanna L. Richardson, September 11, 2001, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 5, story 6, Lloyd Richards evaluates the appeal of 'A Raisin in the Sun'
[11] S. Pearl Sharp (The HistoryMakers A2005.110), interviewed by Larry Crowe, April 27, 2005, The HistoryMakers Digital Archive. Session 1, tape 4, story 6, S. Pearl Sharp describes performing in Pearl Bailey's 'Hello Dolly' in 1967
