John Henry (play)
''John Henry'' was a 1940 original Broadway musical based on the 1931 novel '' John Henry'' by Roark Bradford. The libretto was written by Bradford with music composed by Jacques Wolfe. Paul Robeson starred in the title role with Ruby Elzy as Julie Anne. Other prominent members of the cast included Joseph Attles, Josh White, Musa Williams, and Bayard Rustin. The show played at the 44th Street Theatre in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ... from January 10, 1940 to January 15, 1940. Songs ;Act I * "I'm Singing About a Man" - Blind Lemon * "How Come I'm Born Wid a Hook in My Hand" - John Henry * "All the People on the Levee" - John Henry and Chorus * "Ya Gotta Bend Down" - Blind Lemon and Chorus * "How Come I'm Born Wid a Hook in My Hand (Reprise ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jacques Wolfe
Jacques Leon Wolfe (April 29, 1896 – June 22, 1973) was a Romanian-born American songwriter. Wolfe was born into a Jewish familyH. F. Woods, Geoffrey T. Hellman, Harold Ross, and Clifford Orr, “Another Composer”, September 9, 1933, ''The New Yorker'' in Botoşani, Romania. His family emigrated to New York when he was a very young child. He displayed musical talent as a youngster and, at 16, he entered the Institute of Musical Art, now known as Juilliard School. During World War I, he was stationed at Governor’s Island, where he played clarinet in a military band. Transferred south, Wolfe made his first direct contact with African-American music. He was fascinated with the genre and did extensive research on the history of black folk songs and spirituals. He became inspired to write his own music based on the style. His spirituals and “work songs” became very popular in sheet music form in the early 1930s. In 1934 Wolfe collaborated with poet Langston Hughes to wri ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Roark Bradford
Roark Whitney Wickliffe Bradford (August 21, 1896, Lauderdale County, Tennessee — November 13, 1948, New Orleans, Louisiana) was an American short story writer and novelist. Life He attended University of California, Berkeley, and served as a first lieutenant in the Coast Artillery during World War I. He married Lydia Sehorn, divorcing her in July 1933 after having only son Richard Bradford. He then married Mary Rose Sciarra Himler, also a writer, in Carlsbad, New Mexico. He was night city editor for the New Orleans ''Times-Picayune''. Bradford continued to produce well-received work during the 1930s and early 1940s. He served in the U.S. Naval Reserve Bureau of Aeronautics Training during World War II. In 1946, he accepted a position as visiting lecturer in the English department at Tulane University in New Orleans. On November 13, 1948, he died of amoebiasis, believed to have been contracted while he was stationed in French West Africa in 1943. His cremated remains were ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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John Henry (novel)
''John Henry'' is a 1931 novel by Roark Bradford and illustrated by woodcut artist J. J. Lankes, based on the African-American folk hero of the same name. It was made into a Broadway play and later a musical featuring Paul Robeson in the title role and Ruby Elzy Ruby Pearl Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943) was an American operatic soprano. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor. Family and early life Elzy ... as Julie Anne. Quotes *"Show me the machine I can beat it" References * See also * ''John Henry'' musical {{John Henry 1931 American novels Novels by Roark Bradford Harper & Brothers books ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Broadway Theatre
Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''Theatre'' as the proper noun in their names (12 others used neither), with many performers and trade groups for live dramatic presentations also using the spelling ''theatre''. or Broadway, are the theatrical performances presented in the 41 professional theatres, each with 500 or more seats, located in the Theater District and the Lincoln Center along Broadway, in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Broadway and London's West End together represent the highest commercial level of live theater in the English-speaking world. While the thoroughfare is eponymous with the district and its collection of 41 theaters, and it is also closely identified with Times Square, only three of the theaters are located on Broadway itself (namely the Broadwa ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Libretto
A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the text of major liturgical works, such as the Mass (liturgy), Mass, requiem and sacred cantata, or the story line of a ballet. ''Libretto'' (; plural ''libretti'' ), from Italian, is the diminutive of the word ''wiktionary:libro#Italian, libro'' ("book"). Sometimes other-language equivalents are used for libretti in that language, ''livret'' for French works, ''Textbuch'' for German and ''libreto'' for Spanish. A libretto is distinct from a synopsis or scenario of the plot, in that the libretto contains all the words and stage directions, while a synopsis summarizes the plot. Some ballet historians also use the word ''libretto'' to refer to the 15 to 40 page books which were on sale to 19th century ballet audiences in Paris and contained a ve ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Paul Robeson
Paul Leroy Robeson ( ; April 9, 1898 – January 23, 1976) was an American bass-baritone concert artist, stage and film actor, professional football player, and activist who became famous both for his cultural accomplishments and for his political stances. In 1915, Robeson won an academic scholarship to Rutgers College. While at Rutgers, he was twice named a consensus All-American in football and was the class valedictorian. He received his LL.B. from Columbia Law School while playing in the National Football League (NFL). After graduation, he became a figure in the Harlem Renaissance with performances in ''The Emperor Jones'' and '' All God's Chillun Got Wings''. Robeson performed in Britain in a touring melodrama, ''Voodoo'', in 1922, and in ''Emperor Jones'' in 1925. In 1928, he scored a major success in the London premiere of ''Show Boat''. Living in London for several years with his wife Eslanda, Robeson continued to establish himself as a concert artist and starred ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Ruby Elzy
Ruby Pearl Elzy (February 20, 1908 – June 26, 1943) was an American operatic soprano. She appeared on stage and in films. She recorded on albums before her death in her 30s from surgery to remove a benign tumor. Family and early life Elzy was born in Pontotoc, Mississippi, and educated at Rust College, the Ohio State University (graduating in 1930) and the Juilliard School (graduating in 1934). At Juilliard she was a pupil of Lucia Dunham. Her sister Amanda Elzy (died 2004) was a prominent educator after whom Amanda Elzy High School in Greenwood, Mississippi is named. Their mother Emma Elzy (died 1985, aged 98) was a teacher and prominent member of the Methodist church, in whose memory the Mississippi Conference of the United Methodist Church presents an annual Emma K. Elzy award. Ruby had two sisters, Amanda and Beatrice Wayne and one brother, Robert. Their father Charlie abandoned the family when Ruby was five. Professional accomplishments Elzy entertained at the White ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Joseph Attles
Joseph Attles (April 7, 1903 – October 29, 1990) was an American character actor of the legitimate theater, vaudeville and motion pictures. He was born in James Island, South Carolina, United States on April 7, 1903. He died on October 29, 1990. Theatre *''Tambourines to Glory'' *'' John Henry'' - 1940 *''Porgy and Bess'' *''Jericho-Jim Crow'' *''King Lear'' - 1969 *''The Last of Mrs. Lincoln'' - 1973 *''Bubbling Brown Sugar ''Bubbling Brown Sugar'' is a musical revue written by Loften Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta LeNoire and featuring the music of numerous African-American artists who were popular during the Harlem Renaissance, 1920–1940, including Duke ...'' - 1977 Filmography External links * * * 1903 births 1990 deaths Male actors from South Carolina American male film actors American male stage actors 20th-century American male actors 20th-century American male singers 20th-century American singers {{US-film-actor-1900s-stub ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Josh White
Joshua Daniel White (February 11, 1914 – September 5, 1969) was an American singer, guitarist, songwriter, actor and civil rights activist. He also recorded under the names Pinewood Tom and Tippy Barton in the 1930s. White grew up in the South during the 1920s and 1930s. He became a prominent race records artist, with a prolific output of recordings in genres including Piedmont blues, country blues, gospel music, and social protest songs. In 1931, White moved to New York, and within a decade his fame had spread widely. His repertoire expanded to include urban blues, jazz, traditional folk songs, and political protest songs, and he was in demand as an actor on radio, Broadway, and film. However, White's anti-segregationist and international human rights political stance presented in many of his recordings and in his speeches at rallies were subsequently used by McCarthyites as a pretext for labeling him a communist to slander and harass him. From 1947 through the mid-1960s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Musa Williams
Musa may refer to: Places *Mūša, a river in Lithuania and Latvia * Musa, Azerbaijan, a village in Yardymli Rayon * Musa, Iran, a village in Ilam Province *Musa, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Iran *Musa, Kerman, Iran * Musa, Bukan, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Musa, Maku, West Azerbaijan Province, Iran *Musa, Pakistan, a village in Chhachh, Attock, Punjab, Pakistan *Musa (crater), an impact crater on Saturn's moon Enceladus *Musa (Tanzanian ward), a ward in Tanzania *Abu Musa, an island in the Persian Gulf *Musa Dagh a mountain peak in Turkey *Jebel Musa (Morocco), a mountain known as one of the pillars of Hercules * Jabal Musa, or Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Desert believed to be a possible location of the Biblical Mount Sinai * Muza Emporion, an ancient port city near present day Mocha, Yemen People * Musa (name), including a list of people with the surname and given name * Moses in Islam * Musa I of Mali, emperor of the Mali Empire 1312–37 * Musa of Parthia, queen o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Bayard Rustin
Bayard Rustin (; March 17, 1912 – August 24, 1987) was an African American leader in social movements for civil rights, socialism, nonviolence, and gay rights. Rustin worked with A. Philip Randolph on the March on Washington Movement, in 1941, to press for an end to racial discrimination in employment. Rustin later organized Freedom Riders, Freedom Rides, and helped to organize the Southern Christian Leadership Conference to strengthen Martin Luther King Jr.'s leadership and teaching King about nonviolence Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosoph ...; he later served as an organizer for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Rustin worked alongside Ella Baker, a co-director of the Crusade for Citizenship, in 1954; and before the Montgomery bus boycott, he helped o ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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44th Street Theatre
The 44th Street Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City from 1912 to 1945. It opened and operated for three years as the Weber and Fields' Music Hall. Its rooftop theatre, the Nora Bayes Theatre, presented many productions of the Federal Theatre Project in the mid 1930s. Its basement club became the famed Stage Door Canteen during World War II. History The 44th Street Theatre was located at 216 West 44th Street in New York City. The architect was William Albert Swasey, who designed the theatre in an 18th Century Georgian style. Built by The Shubert Organization in 1912, it was first named Weber and Fields' Music Hall. The theatre was renamed on December 29th, 1913 when the comedy duo of Joe Weber and Lew Fields split with the Shuberts. A theatre on the roof of the building, Lew Fields' 44th Street Roof Garden, became the Nora Bayes Theatre in 1918. In the mid-1930s it presented Federal Theatre Project shows. In the basement of the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |