The Death Of Bessie Smith
''The Death of Bessie Smith'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee, written in 1959 and premiered in West Berlin the following year. The play consists of a series of conversations between Bernie and his friend Jack, Jack and an off-stage Bessie, and black and white staff of a whites-only hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on the death date of the famous blues singer, Bessie Smith, who died in a car wreck. Production history The play premiered in West Berlin at the Schlosspark Theatre, Berlin, Germany on April 21, 1960.Albee, Edwar"The Death of Bessie Smith"'The American Dream ; The Death of Bessie Smith ; Fam and Yam: Three Plays''. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1962, ,pp.46-48 It premiered Off-Broadway at the York Playhouse on March 1, 1961, in a double bill with Albee's '' The American Dream.'' Directed by Lawrence Arrick, the nurse was played by Rae Allen, and Ben Piazza played "the young man". The play opened on Broadway in repertory with other Albee plays, at ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Americans
Americans are the Citizenship of the United States, citizens and United States nationality law, nationals of the United States, United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many Multiple citizenship, dual citizens, expatriates, and green card, permanent residents could also legally claim American nationality. The United States is home to race and ethnicity in the United States, people of many racial and ethnic origins; consequently, culture of the United States, American culture and Law of the United States, law do not equate nationality with Race (human categorization), race or Ethnic group, ethnicity, but with citizenship and an Oath of Allegiance (United States), oath of permanent allegiance. Overview The majority of Americans or their ancestors Immigration to the United States, immigrated to the United States or are descended from people who were Trans Atlantic Slave Trade, brought as Slavery in the United States ... [...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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Avril Elgar
Avril Elgar Williams (1 April 1932 – 17 September 2021) was an English stage, radio and television actress. Early life and career Elgar was born in Halifax, West Riding of Yorkshire, England. She trained at the London Old Vic Theatre School. At the National Theatre, she appeared in productions of Victoria Benedictsson's ''The Enchantment'', Pam Gems' ''Stanley'', and Julian Mitchell's ''Half Life''. She appeared in drama and comedy roles and in many series on British television including ''Dixon of Dock Green'', ''Midsomer Murders'' and '' Tales of the Unexpected''. She played Ethel Pumphrey, the sister of Mildred Roper in ''George and Mildred''. Personal life She was married to the American actor-director James Maxwell, from 1952 until his death in 1995. Together they had two sons. Maxwell directed her in a production of ''The Corn is Green'' at Manchester's Royal Exchange Theatre. Elgar died in Bristol on 17 September 2021, at the age of 89. Filmography Film * '' ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Robert Ayres (actor)
Robert Ayres (11 December 1914 – 5 November 1968) was an American film, stage and television actor. He worked mainly in Britain. His stage work included Edward Albee's '' The American Dream'' and ''The Death of Bessie Smith'' at London's Royal Court Theatre in 1961. Selected filmography * ''They Were Not Divided'' (1950) - American Brigadier * '' State Secret'' (1950) - Arthur J. Buckman * '' To Have and to Hold'' (1951) - Max * ''Night Without Stars'' (1951) - Walter * '' The Black Widow'' (1951) - Mark Sherwin (The Amnesiac) * '' 13 East Street'' (1952) - Larry Conn * '' 24 Hours of a Woman's Life'' (1952) - Frank Brown * ''Cosh Boy'' (1953) - Bob Stevens * ''The Wedding of Lilli Marlene'' (1953) - Andrew Jackson * ''River Beat'' (1954) - Captain Watford * ''Delayed Action'' (1954) - Ned Ellison * ''A Prize of Gold'' (1955) - Tex * ''Contraband Spain'' (1955) - Mr. Dean, American Embassy superior * '' It's Never Too Late'' (1956) - Leroy Crane * ''The Baby and the Battlesh ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tommy Eytle
Thomas Daniel Hicks Eytle (16 July 1926 – 19 June 2007)Wilmer, Val"Tommy Eytle" (obituary) ''The Guardian'', 27 July 2007. Retrieved 3 March 2017. was a Guyanese calypso musician and actor. Although born in Guyana, Eytle's career was based in the United Kingdom, where he lived after emigrating in 1951. Eytle's career began in the 1950s. He initially found success playing African and Caribbean music with his calypso band. He continued to perform musically until the mid-1990s. He had many roles on television, radio, film and stage, but he was most famous for playing the role of Jules Tavernier in the BBC soap opera ''EastEnders'' from 1990 to 1997. ''The Scotsman'', 9 July 2007. Early life Eytle was born in[...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Gene Anderson (actress)
Gene Anderson (28 March 1931, London — 5 May 1965, London) was an English actress who had a career in television, film, and theatre from the early 1950s up until her death in 1965 at the age of 34. The first wife of actor Edward Judd, she is best known for her performances in the films '' The Long Haul'' (1957) and ''The Day the Earth Caught Fire'' (1961). A main cast member of the 1950s British television dramas '' The Crime of the Century'' and ''A Mask for Alexis'', she was a frequent guest actress on British television series in the 1950s and 1960s. Also active as a stage actress, she created the role of Marie Charlet in the world premiere of Pierre La Mure's ''Monsieur Toulouse'' at the Connaught Theatre in 1957 and performed the role of Euphrenia in the first modern revival of John Ford's 1633 tragedy ''The Broken Heart'' at the Chichester Festival Theatre in 1962; a production directed by and starring Laurence Olivier. In the West End she portrayed the central role of the N ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre, at different times known as the Court Theatre, the New Chelsea Theatre, and the Belgravia Theatre, is a non-commercial West End theatre in Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, London, England. In 1956 it was acquired by and remains the home of the English Stage Company, which is known for its contributions to contemporary theatre and won the Europe Prize Theatrical Realities in 1999. History The first theatre The first theatre on Lower George Street, off Sloane Square, was the converted Nonconformist Ranelagh Chapel, opened as a theatre in 1870 under the name The New Chelsea Theatre. Marie Litton became its manager in 1871, hiring Walter Emden to remodel the interior, and it was renamed the Court Theatre. Several of W. S. Gilbert's early plays were staged here, including ''Randall's Thumb'', ''Creatures of Impulse'' (with music by Alberto Randegger), ''Great Expectations'' (adapted from the Dickens novel), and ''On Gu ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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West End Theatre
West End theatre is mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres in and near the West End of London.Christopher Innes, "West End" in ''The Cambridge Guide to Theatre'' (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), pp. 1194–1195, Along with New York City's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English-speaking world. Seeing a West End show is a common tourist activity in London. Famous screen actors, British and international alike, frequently appear on the London stage. There are a total of 39 theatres in the West End, with the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, opened in May 1663, the oldest theatre in London. The Savoy Theatre – built as a showcase for the popular series of comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan – was entirely lit by electricity in 1881. Opening in October 2022, @sohoplace is the first new West End theatre in 50 years. The Society of London Theatre (SOLT) announced ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rosemary Murphy
Rosemary Murphy (January 13, 1925 – July 5, 2014) was a German-American actress of stage, film, and television. She was nominated for three Tony Awards for her stage work, as well as two Emmy Awards for television work, winning once, for her performance in '' Eleanor and Franklin'' (1976). Biography and career Murphy was born in Munich, Germany in 1925, the daughter of American parents Mildred (née Taylor) and Robert Daniel Murphy, a diplomat. The family left Germany in 1939 due to the onset of World War II. Education Murphy, whose résumé came to include French and German films, attended Manhattanville College and trained as an actress at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., and in New York at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio with Sanford Meisner before beginning her career on stage. Stage She made her stage debut in Germany, in a 1949 production of ''Peer Gynt''. She made her Broadway debut in 1950 in ''The Tower Beyond Tragedy''. She went ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Michael Kahn (theatre Director)
Michael Kahn is an American theater director and drama educator. He has, since 1986, been the artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company in Washington, D.C. He retired from the Shakespeare Theatre in 2019. He held the position of Richard Rodgers Director of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School from 1992 to 2006.Greenya, JohnMichael Kahn Builds Harman Center for the Arts washingtonflyer.com, September/October 2007 After beginning his career off-off-Broadway in 1964, directing experimental theater and other works, including Shakespeare, Kahn had both notable failures and successes with Broadway projects, winning acclaim especially for productions of ''The Royal Family'' (1975–76) and ''Show Boat'' (1983). He joined the Juilliard School's faculty in 1968, becoming the head of its drama school. During his long tenure as artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Kahn has overseen its growth, including initiating its Free For All productions. He has al ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Billy Rose Theatre
The Nederlander Theatre (formerly the National Theatre, the Billy Rose Theatre, and the Trafalgar Theatre) is a Broadway theater at 208 West 41st Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1921, it was designed by William Neil Smith for theatrical operator Walter C. Jordan. It has around 1,235 seats across two levels and is operated by the Nederlander Organization. Since 1980, it has been named for American theater impresario David Tobias Nederlander, father of theatrical producer James M. Nederlander. It is the southernmost Broadway theater in the Theater District. The facade is relatively plain and is made of brick, with a fire escape at the center of the second and third floors. The auditorium was originally designed in the early Renaissance style, which has since been modified several times. Unlike other theaters operated by the Shubert family, the interior contained little plaster decoration. The venue has hosted a variety of shows, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Rae Allen
Rae may refer to: People *Rae (given name), including a list of people with the given name * Rae (surname), including a list of people with the surname Nicknames for *Rachel (given name) * Rachelle *Raquel *Raven (given name) *Reema * Reena (other) *Rekha (born 1954) *Reshma (1947–2013) *Raelyn *Valkyrae Science *RaE, the historic notation of Bismuth-210 isotope Entertainment *''Norma Rae'', 1979 American film *The Rock-afire Explosion, an animatronic robot band * ''Rae'' (album), an album by American singer-songwriter Ashe Sport *Rae (motorsport), a racing car constructor Places *Rae Parish, municipality in Harju County, Estonia *Rae, Harju County, village in Rae Parish, Harju County, Estonia *Rae, Pärnu County, village in Vänrda Parish, Pärnu County, Estonia *Rae Craton (in geology of northern Canada) Institutions *Real Academia Española, Spanish language institution *Royal Aircraft Establishment, a British research establishment from 1904–1988 See als ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |