|
Hallelujah, Baby!
''Hallelujah, Baby!'' is a musical with music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Adolph Green and Betty Comden, and a book by Arthur Laurents. The show is "a chronicle of the African American struggle for equality during the irst half of the20th century."Chastang, Carol"Review: 'Say Hallelujah!'" seeingblack.com, January 7, 2005 The musical premiered on Broadway in 1967 and made a young Leslie Uggams a star. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical. Synopsis Georgina is a talented, beautiful and ambitious African American woman, determined to have a career. Overcoming many obstacles, she rises to stardom. She makes her way through the Great Depression, World War II, and the beginning of the civil rights movement. Her mother advises her to "keep her place" as a maid on a South Carolina estate, but Georgina negotiates the blocks to stardom from her negative and opportunistic mother. She encounters the racism that pervades society and show business. Two men vie for Georgina's attenti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jule Styne
Jule Styne (; born Julius Kerwin Stein; December 31, 1905 – September 20, 1994) was an English-American songwriter and composer best known for a series of Broadway musicals, including several famous frequently-revived shows that also became successful films: '' Gypsy,'' '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes,'' and '' Funny Girl.'' Early life Styne was born to a Jewish family in London, England. His parents, Anna Kertman and Isadore Stein, were emigrants from Ukraine, the Russian Empire, and ran a small grocery. Even before his family left Britain, he did impressions on the stage of well-known singers, including Harry Lauder, who saw him perform and advised him to take up the piano. At the age of eight, he moved with his family to Chicago, where he began taking piano lessons. He proved to be a prodigy and performed with the Chicago, St. Louis, and Detroit Symphonies before he was ten years old. Career Before Styne attended Chicago Musical College, he had already attracted the att ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martin Beck Theatre
The Al Hirschfeld Theatre, originally the Martin Beck Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 302 West 45th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, it was designed by G. Albert Lansburgh in a Moorish and Byzantine style and was constructed for vaudevillian Martin Beck. It has 1,404 seats across two levels and is operated by Jujamcyn Theaters. Both the facade and the interior are New York City landmarks. The Al Hirschfeld's auditorium and stage house share a design for their facade. There is a double-height arcade with cast-stone columns at the base of the theater. The eastern section of the arcade contains the auditorium entrance, the center section includes a staircase with emergency exits, and the western section leads to the stage house. Red brick is used for the upper stories of the facade. Albert Herter, a muralist who frequently collaborated with Lansburgh, oversaw much of the interior design. A square ticket lobby is directly ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tony Awards
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Midtown Manhattan. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton and are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel. The rules for the Tony Awards are set forth in th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marilyn Cooper
Marilyn Cooper (December 14, 1934 – April 22, 2009) was an American actress known primarily for her work on the Broadway stage. Life and career Born in New York City, Cooper made her Broadway debut in 1956 in the chorus of '' Mr. Wonderful''. Next she was in the chorus of a revival of ''Brigadoon''. In 1957, she played Rosalia, a Sharks girl who wants to go back to Puerto Rico ("Puerto Rico, you lovely island"), in the original Broadway production of ''West Side Story''. In 1959, she went on to create the ensemble role of Agnes, the leader of the Hollywood Blondes, in the original Broadway production ''Gypsy''. Before leaving the show, she briefly understudied the title role of Louise and played the part for one performance without having had an opportunity to rehearse Act 2. In 1962, she graduated to a leading role, playing the ingenue in ''I Can Get It for You Wholesale'', opposite Elliott Gould and Sheree North (the show marked Barbra Streisand's Broadway debut at age ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Lillian Hayman
Lillian Irene Hayman (July 17, 1922 – October 25, 1994) was an American actress and singer. Career Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Hayman graduated from Wilberforce University with a BA before she began her career in the Broadway theatre. She won the 1968 Tony Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Musical, playing the mother of Leslie Uggams's character in the play '' Hallelujah, Baby!''. This performance attracted the casting agents for ''One Life to Live'', who cast her as Sadie Gray. Hayman played Sadie Gray from 1968 until 1986. Hayman briefly left the cast of ''One Life to Live'' to appear in the primetime musical comedy series ''The Leslie Uggams Show''. She also appeared in the 1971 Broadway production of the Kander and Ebb musical ''70, Girls, 70''. Hayman's ''One Life to Live'' option was not renewed in 1986 by then-executive producer Paul Rauch. According to co-star Ellen Holly's 1998 memoir, ''One Life: The Autobiography of an African American Actress'', Hay ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Barbara Sharma
Barbara Sharma (born September 14, 1938, Dallas) is an American actress and dancer of the night clubs, stage, television, and film. She began dancing at age 4 and professionally at age 9, dancing in nightclubs in Miami and Havana, Cuba. As a dancer she had a close working relationship with Bob Fosse, working as a lead dancer in his company for five seasons. She is best known for creating roles in the Original Broadway productions of several prominent musicals during the 1960s, including Rosie in '' Sweet Charity'' and Mary in ''Hallelujah, Baby!'', and as a regular performer on ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1970-1972. She also portrayed Shelley Sealy as a main cast member of the short lived TV series ''Glitter'' in 1984-1985, and performed the recurring roles of Mrs. Recinos on ''Becker'', Mrs. Douglas on ''Frasier'', Amanda Wilkerson on ''Chico and the Man'', and Myrna Morgenstein in '' Rhoda''. She frequently appeared in commercials from the 1950s to the 2000s, including comm ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Hooks
Robert Hooks (born Bobby Dean Hooks; April 18, 1937) is an American actor, producer, and activist. Along with Douglas Turner Ward and Gerald S. Krone, he founded The Negro Ensemble Company. The Negro Ensemble Company is credited with the launch of the careers of many major black artists of all disciplines, while creating a body of performance literature over the last thirty years, providing the backbone of African-American theatrical classics. Additionally, Hooks is the sole founder of two significant black theatre companies: the D.C. Black Repertory Company, and New York's Group Theatre Workshop. Biography Early life The youngest of five children, Hooks was born in Foggy Bottom, Washington, D.C. to Mae Bertha (née Ward), a seamstress, and Edward Hooks who had moved from Rocky Mount, North Carolina with their four other children, Bernice, Caroleigh, Charles Edward "Charlie", and James Walter "Jimmy". Named Bobby Dean Hooks at birth, Robert was their first child born up north ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Allen Case
Allen Case (born Alan Case Lavelle Jones, October 8, 1934 – August 25, 1986) was an American television actor most noted for the lead role of Deputy Clay McCord in NBC-TV's '' The Deputy'' (1959–1961) opposite series regular Henry Fonda, who received top billing, but appeared far less frequently than Case. Early years Case was born in Dallas, Texas. His parents were retail clothiers Casey Jones and Nadine Allen Jones. He attended Southern Methodist University, but left in his junior year. Career After he left SMU, Case sang on a television program in Dallas, and then toured in musicals. Following those experiences, he traveled to New York to audition for the ''Arthur Godfrey's Talent Scouts'' program. Case signed a contract with Columbia Records in 1955, and performed on the first studio cast recording of the Gershwins' musical ''Oh, Kay!'' He starred in his first Broadway show, ''Reuben, Reuben''. He also toured with musicals, including ''South Pacific,'' ''Damn Yankees' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tharon Musser
Tharon Myrene Musser (January 8, 1925 – April 19, 2009)Notice of Tharon Musser' death, ''Live Design Online'', April 19, 2009 was an American lighting designer who worked on more than 150 Broadway productions. She was termed the "Dean of American Lighting Designers" and is considered one of the pioneers in her field.Martin, Dougla "Tharon Musser, Stage Lighting Designer, Dies a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Irene Sharaff
Irene Sharaff (January 23, 1910 – August 16, 1993) was an American costume designer for stage and screen. Her work earned her five Academy Awards and a Tony Award. Sharaff is universally recognized as one of the greatest costume designers of all time. Background Sharaff was born in Boston to parents of Armenian descent. She studied at the New York School of Fine and Applied Arts, the Art Students League of New York, and the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in Paris. Career After working as a fashion illustrator in her youth, Sharaff turned to set and costume design. Her debut production was the 1931 Broadway production of ''Alice in Wonderland'', starring Eva Le Gallienne. Her use of silks from Thailand for ''The King and I'' (1951) created a trend in fashion and interior decoration. Howe, Marvine"Irene Sharaff, Designer, 83, Dies; Costumes Won Tony and Oscars" ''The New York Times'', August 17, 1993 Sharaff's work was featured in the movies ''West Side Story'' (Academy ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
William And Jean Eckart
William and Jean Eckart were a husband-and-wife team of theatre designers in the 1950s and 1960s. They designed sets, costumes, and lighting for many productions, including ''Mame'', ''Here's Love'', ''Damn Yankees'', ''Once Upon a Mattress'', ''The Fig Leaves Are Falling'', and '' The Golden Apple''. History William Eckart was born October 21, 1920, in New Iberia, Louisiana and died on January 24, 2000, in Dallas, Texas, aged 79. His wife Jean was born on August 18, 1921, in Glencoe, Illinois and died on September 6, 1993, aged 72. The couple received three Tony Award nominations: for Best Scenic Design of a Musical for ''Fiorello!'' and Best Musical (as producers) for ''Once Upon a Mattress'' in 1960 and for Best Scenic Design for ''Mame'' in 1966. The couple taught at Southern Methodist University , mottoeng = " The truth will make you free" , established = , type = Private research university , accreditation = SACS , academic_affiliations = , religious_affili ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peter Matz
Peter Matz (November 6, 1928 – August 9, 2002) was an American musician, composer, arranger and conductor. His musical career in film, theater, television and studio recording spanned fifty years, and he worked with a number of prominent artists, including Marlene Dietrich, Noël Coward and Barbra Streisand. Matz won three Emmys and a Grammy Award and is best known for his work on Streisand's early albums as well as for his work as the orchestral conductor and musical director for ''The Carol Burnett Show''. Biography Peter Matz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on November 6, 1928, to Louis N. Matz and Alice (née Krieger) Matz. He studied Chemical Engineering at the University of California, Los Angeles, but after playing woodwinds in local dance bands to support himself, he soon realised that music was his real vocation. After graduating Matz spent two years in Paris studying piano and music theory. In 1954, he returned to New York and acquired a job as a rehea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
