Description
This is a rare souvenir program from the Original Broadway production of the KATHERINE DUNHAM Dance Revue "BAL NEGRE" at the Belasco Theatre in New York City. (The production opened November 7th, 1946 and ran 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, ROSALIE 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 oversized twenty page program measures 8 3/8" X 10 3/4" inches and includes production credits, cast list, promotional text, an extensive bio of Miss Dunham, several rehearsal photos of the cast members and several pages of production photos ..... CONDITION: With the exception of light edge wear, this rare program is in excellent condition and will make a wonderful addition to the collection of any musical theatre aficionado or dance historian. This item will be carefully packaged in a protective sleeve and backed by stiff cardboard.
