''Tambourines to Glory'' is a gospel play with music by

Langston Hughes James Mercer Langston Hughes (February 1, 1901 – May 22, 1967) was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist from Joplin, Missouri. One of the earliest innovators of the literary art form called jazz poetry, H ...

and Jobe Huntley which tells the story of two female street preachers who open a storefront church in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

. The play premiered on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in 1963.

Background

Hughes began writing ''Tambourines to Glory: A Play with Songs'' in July 1956, and later that year turned it into a novel, which was published by John Day in 1958.

Production

The play opened on

at the Little Theatre November 2, 1963 and closed on November 23, 1963. The playbill for the 1963 premiere makes reference to the "gospel singing play" being adapted from Hughes' novel. The opening night cast featured a who's who of African-American performers, including: * Joseph Attles *

Louis Gossett Jr. Louis Cameron Gossett Jr. (born May 27, 1936) is an American actor. Born in Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York City, He had his stage debut at the age of 17, in a school production of '' You Can't Take It with You.'' Shortly after he successfully ...

Micki Grant Micki Grant (born Minnie Louise Perkins, June 30, 1929 – August 22, 2021) was an American singer (soprano), actress, writer, and composer. She performed in '' Having Our Say'' (as Sadie Delaney), '' Tambourines to Glory'' and '' Jericho-Jim Cr ...

* Robert Guillaume * Carl Hall * Rosalie King *

Rosetta LeNoire Rosetta LeNoire (born Rosetta Olive Burton; August 8, 1911 – March 17, 2002) was an American stage, film, and television actress. She was known to contemporary audiences for her work in television. She had regular roles on such series as ' ...

* Theresa Merritt Hines *

Clara Ward Clara Mae Ward (April 21, 1924 – January 16, 1973) was an American gospel singer who achieved great artistic and commercial success during the 1940s and 1950s, as leader of The Famous Ward Singers. A gifted singer and arranger, Ward adopted ...

* Judd Jones *

Hilda Simms Hilda Simms ( Moses; April 15, 1918 – February 6, 1994) was an American stage actress, best known for her starring role on Broadway in '' Anna Lucasta''. Early years Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of 9 siblings ...

Thelma Carpenter Thelma Carpenter (January 15, 1922 – May 14, 1997) was an American jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie ''The Wiz''. She was born in Brooklyn, New York, the only child of Fred and Mary C ...

(standby)

Reception

The musical was generally well-received but generated some criticism from certain segments of the black intelligentsia, who felt that the themes of corruption and hypocrisy mocked the black church. Howard Taubman, in his review in ''

The 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 d ...

'' wrote: "The leading players are supported by an ensemble overflowing with energy and a zest for song. Like their play, they'd all be more usefully employed if they had more gospel songs to sing and less story to tell."Taubman, Howard. "Theater: Tambourines: 'Gospel Singing Play' is at Little Theater". ''The New York Times'', November 4, 1963, p. 46

References

External links

Internet Broadway Database Listing
1956 musicals Broadway musicals Plays by Langston Hughes John Day Company books Musicals set in Harlem {{Musical-theat-stub