Kwamina (musical)
''Kwamina'' is a musical with the libretto by Robert Alan Aurthur and music and lyrics by Richard Adler. Production The musical opened in out of town tryouts in Toronto, where, as noted by Ken Mandelbaum "The reviews were promising",Mandelbaum, Ken''Kwamina''''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'', Macmillan, 1992, , p. 126 and then ran in Boston. ''Kwamina'' premiered on Broadway theatre, Broadway at the 54th Street Theatre on October 23, 1961 and closed on November 18, 1961 after 32 performances. It starred Sally Ann Howes, Terry Carter, Robert Guillaume, and Brock Peters, and was directed by Robert Lewis (director), Robert Lewis and choreographed by Agnes de Mille. Playbill, accessed June 6, 2016 Mandelbaum noted that the Broadway reviews were "mixed but mostly negative", but did praise de Mill ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Lewis (director)
Robert Lewis (March 16, 1909 – November 23, 1997) was an American actor, director, teacher, author and founder of the influential Actors Studio in New York in 1947. In addition to his accomplishments on Broadway and in Hollywood, Lewis' greatest and longest lasting contribution to American theater may be the role he played as one of the foremost acting and directing teachers of his day. He was an early proponent of the Stanislavski System of acting technique and a founding member of New York's revolutionary Group Theatre in the 1930s. In the 1970s, he was the Head of the Yale School of Drama Acting and Directing Departments. Early years Robert (Bobby) Lewis was born in Brooklyn in 1909 to a middle-class working family. Encouraged in the arts by his mother, a former contralto, Lewis acquired an early and lifelong interest in music, particularly opera. He studied cello and piano as a child but these eventually gave way to his love of acting. In 1929, he joined Eva Le Gallienne ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Richard Adler
Richard Adler (August 3, 1921 – June 21, 2012) was an American lyricist, writer, composer and producer of several Broadway shows. Life and career Adler was born in New York City, the son of Elsa Adrienne (née Richard) and Clarence Adler. His mother was a debutante from Mobile, Alabama. Adler had a musical upbringing, his father being a renowned Jewish concert pianist, as well as teacher of such composers as Aaron Copland. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1943 and served in the U.S. Naval Reserve during World War II. After his Navy service he began his career as a lyricist, teaming up with Jerry Ross in 1950. As a duo they worked in tandem, both taking credit for lyrics and music. Adler and Ross Years (1950–1955) After establishing their partnership, Adler and Ross quickly became protégés of composer, lyricist and publisher Frank Loesser. Their first notable composition was the song "Rags to Riches", which was recorded by Tony Bennet ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Alan Aurthur
Robert Alan Aurthur (June 10, 1922 – November 20, 1978) was an American screenwriter, film director, and film producer. Many of his works examined race relations and featured black actor and director Sidney Poitier. Early life Raised in Freeport, New York (on Long Island), he was a pre‐med student at the University of Pennsylvania. Once World War II broke out, he left to join the Marines during which he served as a combat correspondent. Television In the early years of television, he wrote for '' Studio One'' and then moved on to write episodes of ''Mister Peepers'' (1952–53). He followed with teleplays for ''Campbell Playhouse'' (1954), ''Justice'' (1954), ''Goodyear Television Playhouse'' (1953–54) and ''Producers' Showcase'' (1955). One of his four 1951–55 plays for ''Philco Television Playhouse'' was the Emmy-nominated ''A Man Is Ten Feet Tall'' (1955), with Don Murray and Sidney Poitier, which was adapted two years later as the theatrical film, ''Edge of the Ci ... [...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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Ken Mandelbaum
Ken Mandelbaum is a Jewish American columnist, critic, and author whose primary field of expertise is musical theatre. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Mandelbaum was introduced to Broadway musical theatre by his parents and grandparents at an early age. He initially pursued an acting career, studying with Stella Adler and performing at the Circle in the Square Theatre and the Provincetown Playhouse. In 1986, he began writing for ''Show Music Magazine'' and the ''New York Native'', and the following year he joined the staff of '' TheaterWeek''. He was a frequent contributor to ''Playbill'' and wrote a regular column for Broadway.com until 2006. Before his career as a theatre writer, he was a teacher in New York public schools. He is the author of ''A Chorus Line and the Musicals of Michael Bennett'' (St. Martin's Press, 1989, ) and ''Not Since Carrie: Forty Years of Broadway Musical Flops'' (St. Martin's Press, 1992, ). Both books are regarded to be important discussions ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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54th Street Theatre
The Adelphi Theatre (1934–1940 and 1944–1958), originally named the Craig Theatre, opened on December 24, 1928. The Adelphi was located at 152 West 54th Street in Manhattan, with 1,434 seats. Internet Broadway Database''Adelphi Theatre''(Retrieved on November 30, 2007) The theater was taken over by the Federal Theater Project in 1934 and renamed the Adelphi. The theater was renamed the Radiant Center by The Royal Fraternity of Master Metaphysicians in 1940. It was then the Yiddish Arts Theater (1943), and renamed the Adelphi Theater on April 20, 1944, when it was acquired by The Shubert Organization. It became a DuMont Television Network studio, known as the Adelphi Tele-Theatre in the 1950s. The "Classic 39" episodes of ''The Honeymooners'' were filmed in this facility by DuMont using their Electronicam system for broadcast on CBS later during the 1955–56 television season. The theater returned to legitimate use in 1957, was renamed the 54th Street Theater in 1958, and f ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Sally Ann Howes
Sally Ann Howes (20 July 1930 – 19 December 2021) was an English actress and singer. Her career on screen, stage and television spanned six decades. She is best known for the role of Truly Scrumptious in the 1968 musical film ''Chitty Chitty Bang Bang''. In 1963, she was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Lead Actress in a Musical for her performance in ''Brigadoon''. Childhood and early film career Family Howes was born on 20 July 1930 in St John's Wood, London, the daughter of British comedian/actor/singer/variety star Bobby Howes (1895–1972) and actress/singer Patricia Malone (1899–1971). She was the granddaughter of Capt. J.A.E. Malone (died 1928), London theatrical director of musicals, and she had an older brother, Peter Howes, a professional musician and music professor. Her great-grandfather, Captain Joseph Malone, was awarded the Victoria Cross in 1854 at the Charge of the Light Brigade. Her uncle, Pat Malone, was an actor on stage, films, and television. H ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Terry Carter
Terry Carter (born John Everett DeCoste; December 16, 1928) is an American actor and filmmaker, known for his roles as Sgt. Joe Broadhurst on the TV series '' McCloud'' and as Colonel Tigh on the original '' Battlestar Galactica''. Early life Carter was born in Brooklyn, New York City. His mother, Mercedes, was a native of the Dominican Republic, and his father, William DeCoste, was of Argentinian and African-American descent who operated a radio repair business. Carter graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan in 1946. He attended Hunter College, Boston University, and U.C.L.A. before earning a Bachelor of Science degree from Northeastern University. Carter left St. John's University School of Law after two years to become an actor. Acting career Carter gained theatre experience in several productions on the Broadway and off-Broadway stage. His Broadway credits include playing the male lead opposite Eartha Kitt in the play ''Mrs. Patterson'' and performing the t ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Guillaume
Robert Guillaume (born Robert Peter Williams; November 30, 1927 – October 24, 2017) was an American actor and singer, known for his role as Benson DuBois in the ABC television series ''Soap'' and its spin-off, ''Benson'', as well as for voicing the mandrill Rafiki in ''The Lion King'' and related media thereof. In a career that spanned more than 50 years he worked extensively on stage, television and film. For his efforts he was nominated for a Tony Award for his portrayal of Nathan Detroit in ''Guys and Dolls'', and twice won an Emmy Award for his portrayal of the character Benson DuBois, once in 1979 on ''Soap'' and in 1985 on ''Benson''. He also won a Grammy Award in 1995 for his spoken word performance of an audiobook version of ''The Lion King''. He is also known for his role as playing Eli Vance in the video game Half-Life 2. Early life Guillaume was born Robert Peter Williams in St. Louis to an alcoholic mother. After she abandoned him and several siblings, they were ra ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Brock Peters
Brock Peters (born George Fisher; July 2, 1927 – August 23, 2005) was an American actor and singer, best known for playing the villainous "Crown" in the 1959 film version of ''Porgy and Bess'', and the wrongfully convicted Tom Robinson in the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. He was nominated for a Tony Award and won a Drama Desk Award and an Outer Critics Circle Award for his lead performance as Rev. Stephen Kumalo in the 1972 Broadway revival of ''Lost in the Stars''. His film roles also included ''The Pawnbroker'' (1964), ''Soylent Green'' (1973) and ''Ghosts of Mississippi'' (1996). In the 1980s and 1990s, he voiced the role of Darth Vader in the serial radio drama adaptations of the original trilogy of ''Star Wars'' films, and played two recurring roles in the '' Star Trek'' franchise: Starfleet Admiral Cartwright in two of the original-cast feature films, and Joseph Sisko (father of station commander Benjamin Sisko) in '' Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. Early life ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Agnes De Mille
Agnes George de Mille (September 18, 1905 – October 7, 1993) was an American dancer and choreographer. Early years Agnes de Mille was born in New York City into a well-connected family of theater professionals. Her father William C. deMille and her uncle Cecil B. DeMille were both Hollywood directors. Her mother, Anna Angela George, was the daughter of Henry George, the economist. On her father's side, Agnes was the granddaughter of playwrights Henry Churchill de Mille and Matilda Beatrice deMille. Her paternal grandmother was of German-Jewish descent. She had a love for acting and originally wanted to be an actress, but was told that she was "not pretty enough", so she turned her attention to dance. As a child, she had longed to dance, but dance at this time was considered more of an activity, rather than a viable career option, so her parents refused to allow her to dance. She did not seriously consider dancing as a career until after she graduated from college. When de ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billy Taylor
Billy Taylor (July 24, 1921 – December 28, 2010) was an American jazz pianist, composer, broadcaster and educator. He was the Robert L. Jones Distinguished Professor of Music at East Carolina University in Greenville, and from 1994 was the artistic director for jazz at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C. A jazz activist, Taylor sat on the Honorary Founders Board of The Jazz Foundation of America, an organisation he founded in 1989, with Ann Ruckert, Herb Storfer and Phoebe Jacobs, to save the homes and the lives of America's elderly jazz and blues musicians, later including musicians who survived Hurricane Katrina. Taylor was a jazz educator, who lectured in colleges, served on panels and travelled worldwide as a jazz ambassador. Critic Leonard Feather once said, "It is almost indisputable that Dr. Billy Taylor is the world's foremost spokesman for jazz." Biography Early life and career Taylor was born in Greenville, North Carolina, Unit ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |