|
James Wigfall
James Wigfall (1942–1978) was an African-American theater artist best known for his early contributions to La MaMa ETC and his role as the Cowardly Lion in the Broadway theatre, Broadway musical ''The Wiz''. Career Wigfall appeared in several of the earliest productions staged at La MaMa—including in two separate productions of ''The Maids'' (1964 and 1972) and Tom Eyen's ''Three Drag Queens from Daytona'' in 1973. He explained his reason for wanting to reprise ''The Maids'' in 1972 to a reporter from the ''New York Daily News'' as being related to "the political aspects of the play." He believed ''The Maids'' was "about love and hate and self-hate". He later appeared on Broadway in several roles, including as The Cop/The Bishop in Julian Barry's ''Lenny'' at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre (1971–1972), and as the Cowardly Lion alongside Stephanie Mills in ''The Wiz'' at the Majestic Theatre (Broadway), Majestic Theatre and Broadway Theatre (53rd Street), Broadway Theatre ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
La MaMa ETC
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club (La MaMa E.T.C.) is an Off-Off-Broadway theatre founded in 1961 by Ellen Stewart, African Americans, African-American theatre director, producer, and fashion designer. Located in Manhattan's East Village, Manhattan, East Village, the theatre began in the basement boutique where Stewart sold her fashion designs. Stewart turned the space into a theatre at night, focusing on the work of young playwrights. La MaMa has evolved during its fifty-year history into a world-renowned cultural institution. Background Stewart started La MaMa as a theatre dedicated to the playwright and primarily producing new plays, including works by Paul Foster (playwright), Paul Foster, Jean-Claude van Itallie, Lanford Wilson, Sam Shepard, Adrienne Kennedy, Harvey Fierstein, and Rochelle Owens. La MaMa also became an international ambassador for Off-Off-Broadway theatre by touring downtown theatre abroad during the 1960s.Bottoms, Steven J. ''Playing Underground: A Critical ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Broadway Theatre (53rd Street)
The Broadway Theatre (formerly Universal's Colony Theatre, B.S. Moss's Broadway Theatre, Earl Carroll's Broadway Theatre, and Ciné Roma) is a Broadway theater at 1681 Broadway (near 53rd Street) in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1924, the theater was designed by Eugene De Rosa for Benjamin S. Moss, who originally operated the venue as a movie theater. It has approximately 1,763 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. The Broadway Theatre is one of the few Broadway theaters that is physically on Broadway. The Broadway's facade was originally designed in the Italian Renaissance style and was made of brick and terracotta. The modern facade of the theater is made of polished granite and is part of the office building at 1675 Broadway, completed in 1990. The auditorium contains an orchestra level, one balcony, and box seats. The modern design of the auditorium dates to a 1986 renovation, when Oliver Smith redecora ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1978 Deaths
Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd government). * January 6 – The Holy Crown of Hungary (also known as Stephen of Hungary Crown) is returned to Hungary from the United States, where it was held since World War II. * January 10 – Pedro Joaquín Chamorro Cardenal, a critic of the Nicaraguan government, is assassinated; riots erupt against Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Somoza's government. * January 18 – The European Court of Human Rights finds the British government guilty of mistreating prisoners in Northern Ireland, but not guilty of torture. * January 22 – Ethiopia declares the ambassador of West Germany ''persona non grata''. * January 24 ** Soviet Union, Soviet satellite Kosmos 954 burns up in Earth's atmosphere, scattering debris over Canada's Northwest Territories. ** ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Martha Swope
Martha Joan Swope (February 22, 1928 – January 12, 2017) was an American photographer of theatre and dance. Early life and education Born in Tyler, Texas, she studied at Baylor University in Waco, Texas, before becoming a student at the School of American Ballet in the 1950s. Career Her photography career started in 1957, when Jerome Robbins invited her to photograph rehearsals for '' West Side Story''. Soon afterwards, Lincoln Kirstein hired her as the first official photographer for the New York City Ballet. She photographed figures in the dance world including George Balanchine, Michael Bennett, Joe Papp, and David Merrick. She was known for taking photos onstage while posed in the fourth position. She documented over 800 productions in her lifetime. To her, rehearsals were "where you see the creativity and the interchange, how it grows to what it comes to be onstage". She stopped taking photos when she retired in 1994, saying that "now I think it's somebody else's ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jet (magazine)
''Jet'' is an American weekly digital magazine focusing on news, culture, and entertainment related to the African-American community. Founded in November 1951 by John H. Johnson of the Johnson Publishing Company in Chicago, Illinois, the magazine was billed as "The Weekly Negro News Magazine". ''Jet'' chronicled the civil rights movement from its earliest years, including the murder of Emmett Till, the Montgomery bus boycott, and the activities of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. ''Jet'' was printed from November 1, 1951, in digest-sized format in all or mostly black-and-white until its December 27, 1999, issue. In 2009, ''Jet'' expanded one of the weekly issues to a double issue published once each month. Johnson Publishing Company struggled with the same loss of circulation and advertising as other magazines and newspapers in the digital age, and the final print issue of ''Jet'' was published on June 23, 2014, continuing solely as a digital magazine app. In 2016, Jo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Betty Ford
Elizabeth Anne Ford (; formerly Warren; April 8, 1918 – July 8, 2011) was the first lady of the United States from 1974 to 1977, as the wife of President Gerald Ford. As first lady, she was active in social policy and set a precedent as a politically active presidential spouse. Ford also served as the second lady of the United States from 1973 to 1974 when her husband was vice president. Throughout her husband's term in office, she maintained high approval ratings and was considered to be an influential first lady. Ford was noted for raising breast cancer awareness following her 1974 mastectomy. In addition, she was a passionate supporter of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA). As a supporter of abortion rights and a leader in the women's rights movement, she gained fame as one of the most candid first ladies in history, commenting on the hot-button issues of the time, such as feminism, equal pay, the Equal Rights Amendment, sex, drugs, abortion, and gun control. Surveys of hist ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times Magazine
''The New York Times Magazine'' is an American Sunday magazine Supplement (publishing), supplement included with the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times''. It features articles longer than those typically in the newspaper and has attracted many notable contributors. The magazine is noted for its photography, especially relating to fashion and style. Its puzzles have been popular since their introduction. History Its first issue was published on September 6, 1896, and contained the first photographs ever printed in the newspaper.The New York Times CompanyNew York Times Timeline 1881-1910. Retrieved on 2009-03-13. In the early decades, it was a section of the broadsheet paper and not an insert as it is today. The creation of a "serious" Sunday magazine was part of a massive overhaul of the newspaper instigated that year by its new owner, Adolph Ochs, who also banned fiction, comic strips and gossip columns from the paper, and is generally credited with saving ''The New York Times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Gruen
John Jonas Gruen (born Jonas Grunberg; September 12, 1926 – July 12, 2016) was an American art critic, art historian, author, photographer, and composer.Mark Segal, "John Jonas Gruen", ''The East Hampton Star'', August 4, 2016 Early life and education Jonas Grunberg was born Enghien-les-Bains, France, the youngest of four sons, to Abraham Grunberg who was initially a diamond dealer later became a travel writer, and Aranka Dodeles. The Jewish family moved to Berlin, Germany, in 1929; when the Nazis came to power in 1933, they fled persecution to Milan in 1933. The family once again moved in 1939 when they left for New York City to flee from Italian Fascism. Grunberg chose the name "John Jonas Gruen" in an attempt to Americanize himself. He learned how to speak English from Hollywood films. Gruen graduated from the High School of Commerce in New York City. Initially he attended City College of New York. Then, in an effort to assimilate, he sought attendance at what he thought ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital media, digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as ''The Daily (podcast), The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones (publisher), George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won List of Pulitzer Prizes awarded to The New York Times, 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national "newspaper of record". For print it is ranked List of newspapers by circulation, 18th in the world by circulation and List of newspapers in the United States, 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is Public company, publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 189 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ellen Stewart
Ellen Stewart (November 7, 1919 – January 13, 2011) was an American theatre director and producer and the founder of La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club. During the 1950s she worked as a fashion designer for Saks Fifth Avenue, Bergdorf Goodman, Lord & Taylor, and Henri Bendel. Early life Ellen Stewart's place of birth is either Chicago, Illinois or Alexandria, Louisiana. This uncertainty stems from Stewart's reticence to reveal details of her early life. As an observer wrote, "Her history is somewhat difficult to sort out—indeed it takes on a legendary quality—since on different occasions she gives different versions of the same stories." Stewart said that her father was a tailor from Louisiana and her mother was a teacher, and that they divorced during her youth. Around 1939, Stewart may have become the second wife of Larry Lebanus Hovell (August 10, 1910October 1963), a Chicago waiter who was a native of Alexandria, Louisiana, though it is possible they never wed lega ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom O'Horgan
Tom O'Horgan (May 3, 1924 – January 11, 2009) was an American theatre and film director, composer, actor and musician. He is best known for his Broadway work as director of the hit musicals ''Hair'' and ''Jesus Christ Superstar''. During his career he sought to achieve a form of "total theater" described by ''The New York Times'' as "wittily physical", and which earned him a reputation as the "Busby Berkeley of the acid set". Biography Early years Born in Chicago, Illinois, O'Horgan was introduced to theater by his father, a newspaper owner and sometimes actor, who took him to shows and built him footlights and a wind machine. As a child he sang in churches and wrote operas, including one entitled ''Doom of the Earth'' at age 12."Tom O'Horgan, 84, Director of ''Hair'', Is Dead" by Douglas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Majestic Theatre (Broadway)
The Majestic Theatre is a Broadway theater at 245 West 44th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1927, the theater was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in a Spanish style and was built for real-estate developer Irwin S. Chanin. It has 1,681 seats across two levels and is operated by The Shubert Organization. Both the facade and interior are New York City landmarks. The facade is designed in a Spanish style with golden brick, terracotta, and stone and is divided into two sections. The western portion of the facade contains the theater's entrance, with fire-escape galleries and a terracotta pediment above. The eastern portion is the stage house and is topped by archways. The auditorium contains Adam style detailing, steep stadium seating in the orchestra level, a large balcony, and an expansive plaster dome. Due to the slope of the seats, the rear of the orchestra is one story above ground. An interior leads to a large staircase, which c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
.png "Click for more on -> New York Times")
