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Langston Hughes

LANGSTON HUGHES

  (1902 - 1967)
Nationality:    African American
email:    n/a     Website:    n/a

Literary Agent:    Harold Ober Associates  

a leader of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes produced more than sixty books of poetry, fiction and essays, as well as Broadway Plays

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below is a list of Langston Hughes's plays - click on a Play Title for more information

         Angelo Herndon Jones         Barrier, The         Black Nativity         Blood Wedding         Carmelita and the Cockatoo         Cavalcade Of the Negro theatre         Drums Of Haiti         Gentleman-Jim-Crow         Gold Piece, The         Gospel Glory, The         Jerico-Jim-Crow         Just Around the Corner         Langston In Harlem         Limitations Of Life         Little Ham         Mother And Child         Mulatto         Mule Bone         Outshines the Sun         Popo and Fifina         Prodigal Son, The         Shakespeare In Harlem         Simple Takes A Wife         Simply Heavenly         Soul Gone Home         Soul Yesterday And Today         Street Scene         Tambourines To Glory         Trouble With the Angels         When the Jack Hollers
Angelo Herndon Jones

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
Gilpin Players, Karamu Theatre, Cleveland, Ohio     01 May 1936

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Barrier, The

Synopsis:
a musical version of Hughes' Mulatto

Notes:
Music by Jan Meverowitz; lyrics And book by Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
Broadhurst Theatre, New York     02 Nov 1950

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Black Nativity

Synopsis:
a colloquial retelling of the birth of Christ, rooted in the traditional music of the black church

Notes:
Music by Jobe Huntley; book by Langston Hughes. Original title "Wasn't It A Mighty Day?" was changed to "Black Nativity" and upset the cast who thought it blasphemous and racist and two of them quit

1st Produced:
-     1951

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Dramatic Publishing Company   

Music:
Original Broadway cast recording: Festival Recording

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Genre:
Gospel Song Play Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Blood Wedding

Synopsis:
Pre-eminent African-American poet Langston Hughes infused his version of Blood Wedding - the story of an unwilling bride who elopes with her lover on her wedding night - with the rhythmic intensity and linguistic beauty only a fellow poet could achieve.

Notes:
Original Playwright - Federico Garcia Lorca

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Theatre Communications Group, USA,    

Music:
-

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Genre:
adaptation

Parts:
Male:  8            Female:  11            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Carmelita and the Cockatoo

Synopsis:
Carmelita grinds corn in her garden watched by a Cockatoo sitting in the banana tree. The cockatoo is in love with Carmelita. Emboldened the Cockatoo flies down to her. She admires his beautiful feathers and when she gets the chance pulls out all his tail feathers. Later she parades around the garden with the feathers in her hair watched by the Cockatoo in the banana tree

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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Genre:
Ballet libretto

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Cavalcade Of the Negro theatre

Synopsis:
the Negro in the theatre from the Octoroon, by Dion Boucicault, to 1940s Chicago jazz and gospel singing

Notes:
written by Bontemps, Arna, And Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
Written For The Negro Exposition, Chicago, Ill     Summer 1940

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Historical Pageant 21 scenes

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Drums Of Haiti

Synopsis:
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Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gentleman-Jim-Crow

Synopsis:
the American experience of racism as seen through the eyes of six people

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Gold Piece, The

Synopsis:
A young couple sell some pigs at market and get far more than they expected. They plan what they can do with their fortune. They meet an old woman who is looking for help for her blind son

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Short play

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Gospel Glory, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-     1962

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Passion Play

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Jerico-Jim-Crow

Jerico-Jim-Crow
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Notes:
Music And lyrics by various writers; book by William Hairston; Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
Sanctuary Theatre, New York     05 Jan 1964

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: Folkways (FL-9671) 1964

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Just Around the Corner

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with B Drew And Abby Mann

1st Produced:
-     1951

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Langston In Harlem

Synopsis:
Langston in Harlem is a new musical about one of America's most honored poets, Langston Hughes. Set in the African American cultural capital of Harlem from the Harlem Renaissance through the Civil Rights movement, Langston in Harlem tells the story of Langston Hughes's journey into manhood and his emergence as one of the most beloved and forward thinking artists of our time. This musical is filled with jazz, gospel, rhythm and blues, swing, dance, and spoken word that sings, jumps, stomps and shouts. Langston Hughes's glorious words and poetry of love, loss, joy and the blues and the people of Harlem who inspired him, come to life.
- nytheatre.com

Notes:
Lyrics by langston Hughrs; Adapted by Langston Hughes, Walter Marks And Kent Gash

1st Produced:

Organisations:
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1st Published:
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Music:
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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  5            Female:  7            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Limitations Of Life

Limitations Of Life
Parody of the film "Imitation Of Life"

Notes:
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1st Produced:
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Organisations:
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1st Published:
Contained in: "Black theater USA: Forty-five Plays By Black Americans 1847 - 1974 published by Free Press 1974   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Parody

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Little Ham

Little Ham
The Downtown Mob want to take over the Uptown Mob's numbers game. Hamlet Hitchcock Jones - Little Ham - steps in to help the Uptown Mob

Notes:
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1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Black theater USA: Forty-five Plays By Black Americans 1847 - 1974 published by Free Press 1974   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Mother And Child

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Black Drama anthology" published by Columbia University Press   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
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Mulatto

Mulatto
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Five Plays by Langston Hughes" published by Indiana University Press 1963   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Drama

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Mule Bone

Mule Bone
Song and dance men Jim and Dave fight over Daisy. In the fight Jim hits Dave with the hock bone of a mule and knocks him out. Jim is put on trial. The courtroom is divided Jim is a Methodist and the Methodists sit on one side. Dave is a Baptist and the Baptists sit on the other. The legal argument is that the hock bone of a mule is not listed in the Bible as an offensive weapon. Then it is pointed out that Samson used the jaw-bone of an ass to kill 3,000 men. Jim is found guilty and is banished from town for two years. Later Daisy is wandering around outside of town and meets Jim. He declares his love. Then Dave turns up and that start arguing. Daisy says that she will go with whoever comes with her and works for her white boss. Both men decline and reconcile and go off together

Notes:
Written with Zora Neale Hurston. A collaboration between Hughes and Hurston written in 1930. Due to a falling out between them because Hughes wanted the person who had typed out the script - Louise Thompson - to be credited as part writer. Hurston objected. Registered the play as her sole work which Hughes objected to when he found out. Not performed until 1991

1st Produced:
Ethel Barrymore Theatre, New York     20 Jan 1991

Organisations:
Lincoln Center Theater

1st Published:
Binker North   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Outshines the Sun

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Popo and Fifina

Synopsis:
Mamma and Papa grow tired of farming and decide to become fishermen instead

Notes:
Based on the book "Popo and Fifina Children of Haiti" by Anna Bontomps; Langston Huges

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Adaptation

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Prodigal Son, The

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-     1965

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Players Magazine, Vol 43 No 2, 1968   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
One act

Parts:
Male:  10            Female:  5            Other:  extras

Further Reference:
-

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Shakespeare In Harlem

Synopsis:
Various inhabitants of Harlem. a student worries about communicating with his white tutor, an abandoned man convinces himself that he is happier alone. a madame recalls her misfortunes

Notes:
written with Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York     1959

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Verse play

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  3            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Simple Takes A Wife

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
the original Dramatic version of the novel

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Negro Folk Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Simply Heavenly

Simply Heavenly
the time is the early fifties, the place Harlem and the plot, that of a factory worker who has found a girl he can love after a previous unhappy marriage but is suspected of infidelity with the local fancy woman

Notes:
music by David Martin

1st Produced:
Playhouse Theatre, New York     28/1957

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
in Five Plays by Langston Hughes, Indiana University Press, Bloomington, 1968   

Music:
Original cast recording: Columbia (OL-5240) 1957

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Black Musical Musical

Parts:
Male:  6            Female:  5            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Soul Gone Home

Soul Gone Home
a middle-aged woman mourns the death of her teenage son, who is laid out on a slab nearby awaiting the undertaker. "Oh my boy, speak to me!" she wails, and then she's surprised (not to say somewhat miffed) when he actually does. especially because what's he got to say is all about what a lousy mother she was. Beverley makes it clear to us that the boy's not exactly lying, but she summons up all manner of righteousness to defend herself: "Sure, I could of let you die, but I didn't," she sniffles virtuously. "Naw, I kept you with me--off and on."

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
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1st Published:
Published, 1937
Contained in: "around the World In 21 Plays" published by Applause   

Music:
-

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Genre:
Fantasy, 15 min One act

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  1            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Soul Yesterday And Today

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
written with Bob Teague

1st Produced:
-     1969

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

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If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Street Scene

Street Scene
the tenants at a Manhattan tenement block. anna who is having an affair with the milkman Sankey. Her daughter Rose who is being pursued by her slimy boss. the Buchanans who are expecting a baby at any moment. the Hildebrand family about to be evicted for non payment of rent

Notes:
Musical By Kurt Weill, Lyrics Langston Hughes, Book elmer Rice

1st Produced:
Adelphi Theater, New York     09 Jan 1947

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
Original cast recording: CBS (MK-44668) 1949

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

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Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  large cast

Further Reference:
-

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Tambourines To Glory

Tambourines To Glory
Tambourines to Glory is a spirited, tragic-comedy that follows the lives of Laura Reed and essie Bell Johnson, who decide to start their own gospel church on a street corner in Harlem. Laura dreams of becoming rich and famous while essie genuinely desires to serve the Lord and her community. When the Devil (not a symbol or metaphor, but Beelzebub himself!) enters the picture, the conflict intensifies between the two women, their community and their faith. as these powerful forces collide and the conflict between the characters spiral out of control, Laura and essie fight to find their way back from the ravages of Hell

Notes:
Music by Jobe Huntley; book by Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
-     1963

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
Contained in: "Five Plays by Langston Hughes" published by Indiana University Press 1963   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
Musical

Parts:
Male:  1            Female:  2            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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Trouble With the Angels

Synopsis:
-

Notes:
-

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
-

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  -

Further Reference:
-

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When the Jack Hollers

Synopsis:
Black and white sharecroppers in Mississippi delta both suffer from a merciless landowner until aunt Billie's voodoo, an amazing mule, and a fish fry unite the races against the exploiter.

Notes:
written by Bontemps, Arna, And Langston Hughes

1st Produced:
-    

Organisations:
-

1st Published:
-   

Music:
-

To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click from the Publisher, otherwise (below) are AbeBooks for secondhand, signed & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies

Booksellers:

Genre:
3 act Folk Comedy

Parts:
Male:  -            Female:  -            Other:  8 BM, 7 BF, 5 WM

Further Reference:
-

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