Black Americans in MT Final

Purlie!

About a dynamic preacher who returns to Georgia to claim an inheritance that will enable him to open his own church (1970)

What is Purlie based on?

The play “Purlie Victorious” written by Ozzy Davis (1961)

Melba Moore

Purlie, Hair, Timbucktwo

Debbie Allen

American dancer, actress, choreographer, director, producer, singer, former member of presidents committee on the arts and humanities

The Wiz

Highly successful Wizard of Oz adaptation by Ken Harper. Geoffrey Holder won best costumes and choreography. Went on to have a movie starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson (1974)

Ben Vereen

jesus Christ Superstar, Pippin

Ain’t Misbehavin’

Considered a musical revue, celebrating the music of Fats Waller (1978)

Eubie!

Homage to Eubie Blake, the composer of Shuffle Along, starring the Hines Brothers (1978)

Gregory Hines

Born in 1946, American dancer, choreographer and singer. Began tapping at two years old and was trained with his brother Maurice by the Nicholas Brothers

Dreamgirls

A musical based loosely on the lives of the supremes, originally starring Cheryl Lee Ralph, Jennifer Holliday, Loretta Devine (1981)

Cheryl Lee Ralph

Born december 1956- american actress and singer known for her role as deena in dreamgirls, abbott elementary, moesha, wicked

Jennifer Holliday

American actress and singer, she was in Your Arms Are Too Short To Box With God (gospel musical), recording artist

Loretta Devine

born 1949, known for Greys Anatomy, Dreamgirls

Sarafina!

Set during the Sowedo Riots of 1976, 200,000 black students protested that they had to use Afrikaans in schools, written by Mbongeni Ngema (1988)

Afrikaans

A language derived from a form of Dutch brought to the cape by protestant settlers 

What was NYC like in the 1990s?

Before the 90s, Nyc was known for sex shops, crime, and peep shows, but disney bought Times Square in a 99 year deal and has been cleaning it up since.

Once On This Island

My Love, My Love by Tosa Gye - novel that is the source material

Jelly’s Last Jam

About Jelly Roll Morton , Set at the Jungle Inn, which was a lowdown club somewhere between heaven and hell on the night of Morton’s death, The numbers are an inquisition into his life

Who wrote Jelly’s Last Jam

book by George C. Wolfe music by Susan Berganhead

Bring In Da Noise Bring In Da Funk

Musical revue drawing from hip hop and tap dance (1995)

Crowns

Adapted from the book by Michael Cunningham, gospel musical starring Lillias White and Janet Hubert (2002)

Lillias White

won Obie for Romance in Hard Times, original replacement for Effie in Dreamgirls and also Hades in Hadestown

janet Hubert

american film actress and dancer known for playing Aunt Viv in Fresh Prince of Bel Air, won NAACP award

The Color Purple

About a black woman named Celie, covers her relationships and how she learned from her female friendships. (2005)

Notable Stars of the Color Purple

Cynthia Erivo, jennifer Hudson

Who wrote the original Color Purple novel

Alice Walker

Caroline Or Change

Animals take on human characteristics in this musical

FELA

About Fela Kouti, the king of Carribean Afrobeats. Produced by Jay Z and Will and Jada Pinkett Smith (2009)

Tyler Perry

produced 24 films, 20 stage plays, 17 television shows

Charlie Smalls

Born 1943, composed the Wiz

Luther Henderson

Born 1913, composed Jelly’s Last Jam , contributed to over 50 broadway productions and collaborated with Duke Ellington

Kirsten Childs

Born 1952, Lyricist for The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin

Lynn Nottage

Born 1964, Contributed to the book of MJ the Musical and has written many plays

Dominique Morriseau

Wrote “Aint Too Proud”, as well as many famous plays

Katori Hall

Born 1981, contributed to Tina and wrote the play The Mountaintop

Clarke Peters

Born 1952, wrote Five Guys Named Moe

George C. Wolfe

Born 1952, director of Shuffle Along, The Wild Party, Bring in Da Noise, Caroline or Change, most recent Gypsy revival

A Strange Loop

tony award winning and pullitzer prize winning musical by Michael R jackson. metafictional, nontraditional, experimental, and non linear (2022)

Themes of A Strange Loop

self loathing, intersectionality in identity, the black church and sexuality, artistic creation, racism, fetishization, familial expectations

Passing Strange

Written by STEW (Mark Lamar Stewart). Rock musical with proshot filmed by Spike Lee

How are STEW’s harvard classes described”?

A Hot House of Fun

Key Elements of Passing Strange

narrator/creator hybrid, metatheatricality and metafiction, punk rock and soul fusion, collaborative fluidity, passing through identities, the real vs artificiality, staging and concert atmosphere