Ruth Barrows Chorpenning Norris (born February 11, 1898 – died after 1977) was an American stage actress and monologuist. She originated the character " Ado Annie" in '' Green Grow the Lilacs.''

Early life and education

Chorpenning was born in

Springfield, Ohio Springfield is a city in Clark County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is located in southwestern Ohio along the Mad River (Ohio), Mad River, Buck Creek, and Beaver Creek, about west of Columbus, Ohio, Columbus and northeast of ...

and raised in Colorado and Minnesota, the daughter of John C. Chorpenning and Charlotte Barrows Chorpenning. Her mother was a teacher, poet, and playwright. She survived

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, intense headache, vomiting and neck stiffness and occasionally ...

as a baby, and her father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

when she was a teen.Bedard, Roger Lee. "The Life and Work of Charlotte B. Chorpenning" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kansas 1979). She graduated from

Radcliffe College Radcliffe College was a Women's colleges in the United States, women's Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that was founded in 1879. In 1999, it was fully incorporated into Harvard Colle ...

in 1920, and from the School of the Theatre in 1922.

Career

Chorpenning appeared on Broadway in the shows ''The Jolly Roger'' (1923), ''

Cyrano de Bergerac Savinien de Cyrano de Bergerac ( , ; 6 March 1619 – 28 July 1655) was a French novelist, playwright, epistolarian, and duelist. A bold and innovative author, his work was part of the libertine literature of the first half of the 17th ce ...

'' (1923, 1926), ''

Charley's Aunt ''Charley's Aunt'' is a farce in three acts written by Brandon Thomas. The story centres on Lord Fancourt Babberley, an undergraduate whose friends Jack and Charley persuade him to impersonate the latter's aunt. The complications of the plot in ...

'' (1925), ''Sam Abramovitch'' (1927), ''Hot Pan'' (1928), ''Him'' (1928), ''Dorian Gray'' (1928), '' The International'' (1928), ''Fiesta'' (1929), ''Red Rust'' (1929), ''

The Garrick Gaieties ''Garrick Gaieties'' is a revue with music by Richard Rodgers and lyrics by Lorenz Hart, the first successful musical by this songwriting team. It debuted in 1925 on Broadway and was the first of three ''Garrick Gaiety'' revues, which were subs ...

'' (1930), ''Green Grow the Lilacs'' (1931), ''Lost Boy'' (1932), ''Jamboree'' (1932), ''Marathon'' (1933), ''

Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction o ...

'' (1933), ''

The Puritan ''The Puritan, or the Widow of Watling Street'', also known as ''The Puritan Widow'', is an anonymous Jacobean stage comedy, first published in 1607. It is often attributed to Thomas Middleton, but also belongs to the Shakespeare Apocrypha ...

'' (1936), ''Swing Your Lady'' (1936), ''Sun Kissed'' (1937), ''Love in My Fashion'' (1937), ''Family Portrait'' (1939), and ''Ring Around Elizabeth'' (1941). Caricature artist

Al Hirschfeld Albert Hirschfeld (June 21, 1903 – January 20, 2003) was an American caricaturist best known for his black and white portraits of celebrities and Broadway stars. Early life and career Al Hirschfeld was born in 1903 in a two-story duplex apa ...

sketched Chorpenning with other cast members of ''The Garrick Gaieties'' in 1930. Beyond her Broadway career, Chorpenning choreographed and performed at a

May Day May Day is a European festival of ancient origins marking the beginning of summer, usually celebrated on 1 May, around halfway between the Northern Hemisphere's March equinox, spring equinox and midsummer June solstice, solstice. Festivities ma ...

pageant at

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

in 1916. She worked with her husband on

community theatre Community theatre refers to any Theatre, theatrical performance made in relation to particular Community, communities—its usage includes theatre made by, with, and for a community. It may refer to a production that is made entirely by a communit ...

projects for the Eastern Cooperative League, the

University of Louisville The University of Louisville (UofL) is a public university, public research university in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. It is part of the Kentucky state university system. Chartered in 1798 as the Jefferson Seminary, it became in the 19t ...

School of Social Work, and the Federal Negro Theatre. In 1942 she played all the roles in an

NBC radio The National Broadcasting Company's NBC Radio Network (also known as the NBC Red Network from 1927 to 1942) was an American commercial radio network which was in continuous operation from 1926 through 1999. Along with the NBC Blue Network, it wa ...

serial written her husband, titled ''Brownstone Front.''

Publications

* ''"Romey and Julie": A Romantic Comedy'' (1936, with Robert Dunmore, James Norris, and Margaret Bonds) * "Recreation in Cooperatives" (1943)

Personal life

Chorpenning married fellow actor and playwright James Norris. In the 1970s she and her husband lived in Florida, and gave interviews to two scholars researching Charlotte Chorpenning for their dissertations.Rubin, Janet Elaine. "The Literary and Theatrical Contributions of Charlotte B. Chorpenning to Children's Theatre" (Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University 1978).

References

External links

* * * Vandamm
"Ruth Chorpenning as Ado Annie Carnes"
(1931 photograph), in the New York Public Library Digital Collections * Lucas-Monroe
"Ruth Chorpenning as Vida and Herbert Yost as Hubert Cherry in ''Ring Around Elizabeth''"
(1941 photograph), in the Museum of the City of New York {{DEFAULTSORT:Chorpenning, Ruth 1898 births Year of death missing Date of death missing People from Springfield, Ohio Radcliffe College alumni American actresses