''The Connection'' is a 1959 play by

Jack Gelber Jack Gelber (April 12, 1932 – May 9, 2003) was an American playwright best known for his 1959 drama '' The Connection'', depicting the life of drug-addicted jazz musicians. The first great success of the Living Theatre, the play was transl ...

. It was first produced by the

Living Theatre The Living Theatre is an American theatre company founded in 1947 and based in New York City. It is the oldest experimental theatre group in the United States. For most of its history it was led by its founders, actress Judith Malina and painter/po ...

, directed by Living Theatre co-founder

Judith Malina Judith Malina (June 4, 1926 – April 10, 2015) was a German-born American actress, director and writer. With her husband, Julian Beck, Malina co-founded The Living Theatre, a radical political theatre troupe that rose to prominence in New York C ...

, and designed by co-founder

Julian Beck Julian Beck (May 31, 1925 – September 14, 1985) was an American actor, stage director, poet, and painter. He is best known for co-founding and directing The Living Theatre, as well as his role as Reverend Henry Kane, the malevolent preacher i ...

. The play has a play-within-a-play format, with characters Jim Dunn as the "producer" and Jaybird as the "writer" attempting to stage a production about the underbelly of society using "real" addicts. Some of the addicts are jazz musicians. They all (except for the "producer", "writer", and two "photographers") have one thing in common: they are waiting for their drug dealer, their "connection". The dialogue of the characters is interspersed with jazz music. The music for the original production was composed by jazz pianist

Freddie Redd Freddie Redd (May 29, 1928 – March 17, 2021) was an American hard-bop pianist and composer. He is best known for writing music to accompany '' The Connection'' (1959), a play by Jack Gelber. According to Peter Watrous, writing in ''The New Y ...

Original cast

*Jim Dunn – Leonard Hicks *Jaybird – Ira Lewis *Leach –

Warren Finnerty Warren Finnerty (April 9, 1925 – December 22, 1974) was an American actor best known for his Obie award-winning performance as the character "Leach" in the stage production ''The Connection'' (1959) and its film version. Career After mak ...

*Solly – Jerome Raphel *Sam – John McCurry *Ernie –

Garry Goodrow Garry Goodrow (November 4, 1933 – July 22, 2014) was an American actor known for his role in the original stage production of the Obie Award-winning play ''The Connection'' (1959) and its 1961 film version, and as one of the original memb ...

*1st Musician –

(composer, piano) *4th Musician – Michael Mattos (bass) *First Photographer – Louis McKenzie *Second Photographer – Jamil Zakkai *2nd Musician –

Jackie McLean John Lenwood "Jackie" McLean (May 17, 1931 – March 31, 2006) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and educator, and is one of the few musicians to be elected to the ''DownBeat'' Hall of Fame in the year of their deat ...

(alto saxophone) *3rd Musician –

Larry Ritchie Larry Ritchie was a jazz drummer and record/CD producer. He was born in Brooklyn, New York as Lawrence Ritchie to Walter Ritchie, an electrician, and Pearl Ritchie, a domestic worker, both of whom were migrants from rural Virginia. He has recorded ...

(drums) *Harry – Henry Proach *Sister Salvation – Barbara Winchester *Cowboy – Carl Lee *Man in audience –

Martin Sheen Ramón Antonio Gerardo Estévez (born August 3, 1940), known professionally as Martin Sheen, is an American actor. He first became known for his roles in the films ''The Subject Was Roses'' (1968) and ''Badlands'' (1973), and later achieved wid ...

(uncredited)

Original production credits

*Written by

*Directed by

*Designed by

Other performances of ''The Connection''

Revised Cast, 1961

Redd's score, new cast *

, composer/piano *

Howard McGhee Howard McGhee (March 6, 1918 – July 17, 1987) was one of the first American bebop jazz trumpeters, with Dizzy Gillespie, Fats Navarro and Idrees Sulieman. He was known for his fast fingering and high notes. He had an influence on younger beb ...

, trumpet *

Tina Brooks Harold Floyd "Tina" Brooks (June 7, 1932 – August 13, 1974) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist and composer best remembered for his work in the hard bop style. Early years Harold Floyd Brooks was born in Fayetteville, North Carolina, an ...

(originally Jackie McLean's

understudy In theater, an understudy, referred to in opera as cover or covering, is a performer who learns the lines and blocking or choreography of a regular actor, actress, or other performer in a play. Should the regular actor or actress be unable to ap ...

), tenor saxophone *

Milt Hinton Milton John Hinton (June 23, 1910 – December 19, 2000) was an American double bassist and photographer. Regarded as the Dean of American jazz bass players, his nicknames included "Sporty" from his years in Chicago, "Fump" from his time on the ...

, bass *

Osie Johnson James "Osie" Johnson (January 11, 1923, in Washington, D.C. – February 10, 1966, in New York City) was a jazz drummer, arranger and singer. Johnson studied at Armstrong Highschool where he was classmates with Leo Parker and Frank Wess. He fir ...

, drums

Touring Cast, 1961/62

Score by Cecil Payne and Kenny Drew, Conducted by Cecil Payne *

Cecil Payne Cecil Payne (December 14, 1922 – November 27, 2007) was an American jazz baritone saxophonist born in Brooklyn, New York. Payne also played the alto saxophone and flute. He played with other prominent jazz musicians, in particular Dizzy Gilles ...

, baritone sax *

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

, trumpet *

Bennie Green Bennie Green (April 16, 1923 – March 23, 1977) was an American jazz trombonist. Born in Chicago, Illinois, United States, Green worked in the orchestras of Earl Hines and Charlie Ventura, and recorded as bandleader through the 1950s and ...

, trombone *

Duke Jordan Irving Sidney "Duke" Jordan (April 1, 1922 – August 8, 2006) was an American jazz pianist. Biography Jordan was born in New York and raised in Brooklyn where he attended Boys High School. An imaginative and gifted pianist, Jordan was a regul ...

, piano *

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

, bass * Charlie Persip, drums

Los Angeles Production

The score to accompany the Los Angeles production was performed by

Dexter Gordon Dexter Gordon (February 27, 1923 – April 25, 1990) was an American jazz tenor saxophonist, composer, bandleader, and actor. He was among the most influential early bebop musicians, which included other greats such as Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gi ...

who also played "Number One Musician". He later recorded several pieces from this production for his

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical co ...

release '' Dexter Calling...'' (1961). Quote (from the liner notes to the Blue Note album): "Soul Sister," the original that launches the first side is one of the themes Dexter wrote for the score of the Hollywood version of ''The Connection'' in which he had an acting, playing, and writing role; it is the equivalent of Freddie Redd's "(Theme for) Sister Salvation"... "I Want More", the significantly titled Gordon theme that closes the first side, is the West Coast equivalent of "O.D. (Overdose)"... "Ernie's Theme", is the last of the three themes on this LP from Dexter's ''Connection'' score. It parallels "Music Forever".

Awards and honors

1959–60 Village Voice Obie Awards

Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards originally given by ''The Village Voice'' newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City. In September 2014, the awards were jointly presented and administered with the A ...

for Best New Play * Obie Award for Best All-Around Production * Obie Award for Best Actor - Warren Finnerty

1959–60 Vernon Rice Awards

* Vernon Rice Award for outstanding achievement in the off-broadway theatre - Jack Gelber

Other

* Grand Prix for Best Play at the Theatre des Nacions, Paris, 1960

Related works

Film adaptation * '' The Connection'', produced by

Lewis M. Allen Lewis Maitland Allen (June 27, 1922 Berryville, Virginia – December 8, 2003 New York City) was an American film producer and Tony Award winning Broadway producer. He was married to screenwriter Jay Presson Allen. Allen was nominated for sev ...

, directed by

Shirley Clarke Shirley Clarke (née Brimberg; October 2, 1919 – September 23, 1997) was an American filmmaker. Life Born Shirley Brimberg in New York City, she was the daughter of a Polish-immigrant father who made his fortune in manufacturing. Her mother w ...

, 1961. Released on DVD, Jazz Movie Classics/EFORFILMS 2869032 Recordings * '' The Music from "The Connection"'', music composed by

, with Freddie Redd,

Michael Mattos Michael may refer to: People * Michael (given name), a given name * Michael (surname), including a list of people with the surname Michael Given name "Michael" * Michael (archangel), ''first'' of God's archangels in the Jewish, Christian an ...

and

, February 15, 1960,

, BLP 4027 (m)/BST 84027 (s). Released on CD, Blue Note 89392. * ''

Music from the Connection ''Music from The Connection'' is a jazz album by trumpeter Howard McGhee recorded on June 13, 1960, and released on the Felsted label.

'', different recording of the above score, issued as under

, with

, I. Ching (Freddie Redd),

and

* ''The Music from "The Connection"'', rewritten score by

and

Kenny Drew Kenneth Sidney "Kenny" Drew (August 28, 1928 – August 4, 1993) was an American-Danish jazz pianist. Biography Drew was born in New York City, United States, and received piano lessons from the age of five.Feather, Leonard, & Ira Gitler (2 ...

, Conducted by

, with Cecil Payne,

and Charlie Persip, Recorded 14, 15, 16 March 1962 - Charlie Parker Records PLP 806

Douglas McLelland Douglas McLelland was a Scottish amateur football centre forward who made over 130 appearances in the Scottish League for Queen's Park. He represented Scotland at amateur An amateur () is generally considered a person who pursues an avocati ...

, Liner Notes to

release Other productions * London, 1960 * European Tour, 1962: Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Belgium, Denmark, The Netherlands * London, 1974, at

Hampstead Theatre Hampstead Theatre is a theatre in South Hampstead in the London Borough of Camden. It specialises in commissioning and producing new writing, supporting and developing the work of new writers. Roxana Silbert has been the artistic director since ...

Club with Bill Wallis,

John Ratzenberger John Dezso Ratzenberger (born April 6, 1947)About John
from Ratzenberger's official website is an Americ ...

, Harry Ditson, Mark Russel, Richard Moore, and Philip Hinton. Directed by Michael Rudman * New York, 1981, with

Morgan Freeman Morgan Freeman (born June 1, 1937) is an American actor, director, and narrator. He is known for his distinctive deep voice and various roles in a wide variety of film genres. Throughout his career spanning over five decades, he has received ...

as Cowboy * Chicago, 1992, the inaugural production of A Red Orchid Theatre, featuring

Michael Shannon Michael Corbett Shannon (born August 7, 1974) is an American actor, producer, musician, and theater director. He is an off beat actor known for his on-screen versatility, performing in both comedies and dramas. He became known for his frequent ...

and Guy Van Swearingen * New York, 2009, 50th Anniversary Production at the Living Theatre, directed by Judith Malina, music director Rene McLean * Seattle, 2011, Sight by Sound productions, directed by Gavin Reub in The Little Theater

References

Kenneth Tynan Kenneth Peacock Tynan (2 April 1927 – 26 July 1980) was an English theatre critic and writer. Making his initial impact as a critic at ''The Observer'', he praised Osborne's ''Look Back in Anger'' (1956), and encouraged the emerging wave of ...

, preface, ''The Connection'', Grove Press, 1960 * Lionel Abel,

Partisan Review ''Partisan Review'' (''PR'') was a small-circulation quarterly "little magazine" dealing with literature, politics, and cultural commentary published in New York City. The magazine was launched in 1934 by the Communist Party USA–affiliated John ...

, Winter, 1960 - "What adds to the play's power is that the characters are so like other people, though in such a different situation from most people." *

Ira Gitler Ira Gitler (December 18, 1928 – February 23, 2019) was an American jazz historian and journalist. The co-author of ''The Biographical Encyclopedia of Jazz'' with Leonard Feather—the most recent edition appeared in 1999—he wrote hundreds of ...

, Liner notes to Blue Note BLP 4027/BST 84027

External links

New York University's Fales Library and Special Collections Guide to the Jack Gelber Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Connection, The 1959 plays Obie Award-winning plays American plays adapted into films Theatre about drugs