#theater programs

I've started a little collection of theater programs for plays Angela Bassett has starred in 🎭

Most of them are from her time at Yale. You can find them in the folder below.

The cover of the program (top) for Gertrude Hoffmann and Company in her revue Hello! Everybody at Brooklyn's Shubert Crescent Theatre, the week of January 8, 1923. Below, two ads in the program.

IAN HOLM Shakespeare Unusual 1950s 60s THEATRICAL STRATFORD UPON AVON

Source: https://www.ebay.com/itm/IAN-HOLM-Shakespeare-Unusual-1950s-60s-THEATRICAL-STRATFORD-UPON-AVON/142425045502?hash=item212931b9fe:g:QLQAAOSwCypWp1zH

Born on this date: Carol Channing

Carol Channing was born in Seattle, Washington on January 31, 1921. The multiple award-winning actress, singer, and comedian first starred in the musical Hello Dolly! in 1964. She returned to the stage to play Dolly in 1978, 1979, and 1995. The images above are from the program for the production of Hello Dolly! staged at the famous Pabst Theater here in Milwaukee. The back page of the program shows a series of pictures with Channing, still in costume, meeting several famous people. We’ve included just a few.

Theater Thursday: Harvey

The 1945 Pulitzer Prize winning play Harvey was written by Mary Chase and directed by Antoinette Perry. The play had 1,775 broadway performances between November 1, 1944 and January 15, 1949.

The story of Harvey revolves around the middle-aged bachelor, Edward P. Dowd and his invisible companion, Harvey, a six-foot one and a half inch tall rabbit. You can see Harvey depicted in the portrait Dunn is holding in the last image above.

James Dunn starred as Elwood P. Dowd in this iteration of the play. Other actors who played the leading role on the stage included James Stewart (1970), Frank Fay (1944), Sid Field (1949), and Dooley Wilson(1951).

The co-stars in this production included Ernest Borgnine. Borgnine is famous here in Milwaukee because between 1970 and 2002 he was the “Grand Clown” in the Great Circus Parade!

Theater Thursday: Black History Month

The stage play Paul Robeson was written by Phillip Hayes Dean (1931-2014) and produced on Broadway in 1978. Dean wrote the play to honor a man he greatly admired, but the production was met with significant controversy. Prominent members of the Black community, among them Alvin Ailey, Coretta Scott King, and Robeson’s son signed a letter that appeared in Variety criticizing the production. They were upset that the depiction of Robeson did not properly reflect the depth of his character. Aside from being a singer, musician, actor, and athlete, Robeson was a socialist, black activist, and political dissident, but these activities were not featured in the production.

It is said that Dean was someone people loved or hated. He had a prickly personality and was someone who unabashedly spoke his mind. Though Dean wrote several other plays, Paul Robeson was the one that created the most buzz, positive and negative, for his career.

James Earl Jones was already a well-respected actor at the time of this production. He won a Tony award for The Great White Hope in 1969. Despite  the controversy of the writing, Jones received good reviews for his performance as Paul Robeson. He appeared in the Public Television broadcast of the play but not in the stage revivals of the 1980s and 1990s.

This program is found in the Pabst Theater Collection (UWM Mss 260)

Theater Thursday: Paul Robeson

We are getting ready for February’s Hands-On, Pop-Up Exhibit here in the UWM Archives. In honor of Black History Month we will have available artifacts that feature African Americans in the Arts.

We have several local theater collections, among them is the Pabst Theater Collection with materials spanning 1865-2007. The images above are of the program for Paul Robeson’s 1932 Pabst Theater performance.

Not only was Paul Robeson (1898-1976) an accomplished singer he was also a stage and film actor. We will be showing playbills from some of the plays in which he starred in the exhibit as well.

Robeson was a quintessential renaissance man excelling in the performing arts, athletics, and law among other subjects. He was also a passionate political activist and civile rights supporter.

Theater Thursday: G.I. Hamlet

The images above are from the theater program for a production of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

This production was born out of the efforts of Maurice Evans and his time serving in World War II. While in charge of the Army Entertainment Section, Evans was selected to test the theory that entertainment developed for and incorporating soldiers in production was good for troop morale.

Evans developed a version of Hamlet that he thought would appeal to the troops. His soldier actors and technicians, along with a Colonel’s daughter who played Ophelia and the Entertainment Section’s stenographer, who played the Queen, made “Hamlet” the most popular of the 55 entertainments produced under the Army Entertainment Section over the course of 2 1/2 years. This popularity eventually brought the show to Broadway in 1945.

This program is from the 1946-47 season and includes several stories about the genesis of the project. Evans remembered the GIs that were instrumental in the play’s success in the Pacific and invited several of them to work with him on the Broadway production. This group of former servicemen included Allen Ludden. During the war, Major Maurice Evans was Officer-in-Charge of the Entertainment Section and Captain Allen Ludden was his Executive Officer. For a short time after the war, Ludden continued to be Mr. Evans’ personal manager.

Allen Ludden (1917-1981), who was born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, is known for being the husband of Betty White as well as hosting the long-running television game show Password.

Maurice Evans (1901-1989), the English born actor was known for his Shakespearean characters early in his career. He may be more well known for the work he did for movies and television in the 1960s, including his portrayal of Dr. Zaius in 1968’s Planet of the Apes or as Maurice on the television show Bewitched.

This program can be found in the Pabst Theater Collection, 1865-2007 (UWM Mss 260, box 8)