Katherine Dunham "BAL NEGRE" Eartha Kitt / Dance 1946 Milwaukee Tryout Playbill

Description

I'm currently listing a large number of playbills from out-of-town tryouts prior to the Broadway runs. Many are from early performances when revisions were common and include song titles that were cut before opening in New York ....... This is a rare October 28th, 1946 playbill from the Pre-Broadway engagement of the dance revue "BAL NEGRE" at the Davidson Theatre in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. (The production would open November 7th, 1946 at the Belasco Theatre in New York City and run for 52 performances.) ..... The revue starred KATHERINE DUNHAM and the Dunham Dancers, Singers and Musicians including EARTHA KITT, LUCILLE ELLIS, LENWOOD MORRIS, VANOYE AIKENS, LAWAUNNE INGRAM, RICHARDENA JACKSON, GLORIA MITCHELL, EDDY CLAY, BYRON CUTLER, JAMES ALEXANDER, RONNIE AUL, WILBERT BRADLEY, DOLORES HARPER, OTHELLO STROZIER, ROXIE FOSTER, EUGENE LEE ROBINSON, JESSE HAWKINS, JEAN LEON DESTINE, ROSLIE KING, MARY LEWIS, MARIAM BURTON, GORDON SIMPSON and RICARDO MORRISON. The native drummers included ROSA ESTRADA, CANDIDO VICENTY and JULIO MENDEZ ..... Side Note: KATHERINE DUNHAM has been called the "Matriarch of Black Dance." Her unprecedented blend of cultural anthropology with the artistic genre of dance in the early 1930's, produced groundbreaking forms of movement, and in the United States, established black dance as an art form in its own right. Her professional troupe, formed in the early 1940's, was a first for African Americans, and led the way for future notables of dance the likes of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and Arthur Mitchell's Dance Theatre of Harlem ..... CREDITS: Costumes designed by EDITH LUTYENS; Orchestra conducted by GILBERTO VALDES; Choreographed and Staged by KATHERINE DUNHAM; Book Directed by MARY HUNTER; Produced by KATHERINE DUNHAM and NELSON L. GROSS in association with DANIEL MELNICK ..... DETAILS: The six panel, bi-fold playbill measures 6" X 9" inches and includes full production credits, cast list, scenes and musical numbers but with the exception of the front cover, no cast photos or bios ..... CONDITION: This rare playbill is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre or dance aficionado or historian
. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective, carded sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.