Jamaica (musical)
''Jamaica'' is a musical with a book by Yip Harburg and Fred Saidy, lyrics by Harburg, and music by Harold Arlen. It is set on a small island off the coast of Jamaica, and tells about a simple island community fighting to avoid being overrun by American commercialism. Arlen's music parodies the popular form of Calypso, which was in vogue in the 1950s, largely as a result of the popularity of Harry Belafonte, for whom the musical originally was written. Belafonte withdrew from the production due to illness, and the musical was tailored around the talents of Lena Horne. Harburg was blacklisted in Hollywood at the time of the writing of the musical,Lorenz, Kathleen Phillis"Spotlight on E.Y. "Yip" Harburg". 42ndstmoon.com and the satire is unusually pointed. Many of the topics raised in the songs, including evolution, nuclear energy, and consumerism, remain topical today. Productions The musical opened in Philadelphia. Later, it moved to Broadway, opening at the Imperial Theatr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harold Arlen
Harold Arlen (born Hyman Arluck; February 15, 1905 – April 23, 1986) was an American composer of popular music, who composed over 500 songs, a number of which have become known worldwide. In addition to composing the songs for the 1939 film ''The Wizard of Oz'' (lyrics by Yip Harburg), including "Over the Rainbow", which won him the Oscar for Academy Award for Best Original Song, Best Original Song, he was nominated as composer for 8 other Oscar awards. Arlen is a highly regarded contributor to the Great American Songbook. "Over the Rainbow" was voted the 20th century's No. 1 song by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA and the National Endowment for the Arts, NEA. Life and career Arlen was born in Buffalo, New York, the child of a Jewish hazzan, cantor. His twin brother died the next day. He learned to play the piano as a youth, and formed a band, Hyman Arluck's Snappy Trio, at age 15. He left home at 16 against his parents' wishes; within two years, he was per ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Jean Rosenthal
Jean Rosenthal (born Eugenia Rosenthal; March 16, 1912May 1, 1969) is considered a pioneer in the field of Lighting Design, theatrical lighting design. She was born in New York City to Romanian-Jewish people, Jewish immigrants. northern.edu, retrieved May 20, 2009Fippin, CaroBiography'Jewish Women's Archive'', 2005, accessed May 24, 2009 In the early part of the 20th century, the lighting designer was not a formalized position; the set designer or Electrician (theatre), electrician handled the lighting of a production. Rosenthal helped make the lighting designer an integral member of the design team. She also said that lighting "was a career in itself". As well as particular lighting innovations, she created an atmosphere specific to the production, and she was in demand as a Broadway lighting designer. Career and education In 1929, Rosenthal was introduced to Martha Graham at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She became Graham's technical assistant, which led ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Award For Best Performance By A Leading Actress In A Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actresses for quality leading roles in a musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year." The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actresses—Musical. It was first presented to Grace Hartman at the 2nd Tony Awards for her portrayal of various characters in ''Angel in the Wings''. Before 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers". In 1965, Liza Minnell ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Award For Best Performance By A Leading Actor In A Musical
The Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical is an honor presented at the Tony Awards, a ceremony established in 1947 as the Antoinette Perry Awards for Excellence in Theatre, to actors for quality leading roles in a Musical theatre, musical play, whether a new production or a revival. The awards are named after Antoinette Perry, an American actress who died in 1946. Honors in several categories are presented at the ceremony annually by the Tony Award Productions, a joint venture of The Broadway League and the American Theatre Wing, to "honor the best performances and stage productions of the previous year." The award was originally called the Tony Award for Actors—Musical. It was first presented to Paul Hartman at the 2nd Tony Awards for his portrayal of various characters in ''Angel in the Wings''. Before 10th Tony Awards, 1956, nominees' names were not made public; the change was made by the awards committee to "have a greater impact on theatregoers". ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Award For Best Musical
The Tony Award for Best Musical is given annually to the best new Broadway musical, as determined by Tony Award voters. The award is one of the ceremony's longest-standing awards, having been presented each year since 1949. The award goes to the producers of the winning musical. A musical is eligible for consideration in a given year if it has not previously been produced on Broadway and is not "determined... to be a 'classic' or in the historical or popular repertoire", otherwise it may be considered for Best Revival of a Musical. Best Musical is the final award presented at the Tony Awards ceremony. Excerpts from the musicals that are nominated for this award are usually performed during the ceremony before this award is presented. This is a list of winners and nominees for the Tony Award for Best Musical. Winners and nominees 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s Records Accumulated records as of 2022: * '' The Producers'' has won the most ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in Manhattan. The ceremony is usually held in June. The awards are given for Broadway productions and performances. One is also given for regional theatre. Several discretionary non-competitive awards are given as well, including a Special Tony Award, the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre, and the Isabelle Stevenson Award. The awards were founded by theatre producer and director Brock Pemberton. They are named after Antoinette "Tony" Perry, an actress, producer and theatre director who was co-founder and secretary of the American Theatre Wing. The trophy consists of a spinnable medallion, with faces portraying an adaptation of the comedy and tragedy masks, mounted on a black base with a pewter swivel. The rules for the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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RCA Victor
RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic Records. The label has released multiple genres of music, including pop, classical, rock, hip hop, afrobeat, electronic, R&B, blues, jazz, and country. The label's name is derived from the initials of its now defunct parent company, the Radio Corporation of America (RCA). After the RCA Corporation was purchased by General Electric in 1986, RCA Records was fully acquired by Bertelsmann in 1987, making it a part of Bertelsmann Music Group (BMG); following the merger of BMG and Sony in 2004, RCA Records became a label of Sony BMG Music Entertainment. In 2008, after the dissolution of Sony/BMG and the restructuring of Sony Music, RCA Records became fully owned by Sony. RCA Records is the corporate successor of the Victor Talking Machine ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Stanley Green (historian)
Stanley Green (May 29, 1923 – December 12, 1990) was an American historian of theatre and film. He was also a writer on music who worked as an editor at '' Stereo Review'', and was a radio personality who hosted the WBAI radio program "The World of Musical Comedy". Life and career Stanley Green was born in Brooklyn, New York, on May 29, 1923. He attended Union College in Schenectady, New York, where he graduated in 1943. He joined the United States Army and received further education in the Army Specialized Training Program at the University of Nebraska. He then served in the United States Army Signal Corps in the Pacific War during World War II. From 1957 to 1963 Green worked as an editor at '' Stereo Review''. He also wrote the liner notes to more than 100 albums, and wrote articles for '' Atlantic Monthly'', ''The New York Times'', '' Saturday Review'', '' Musical America'', and '' Variety'' among other publications. He was the author of ten books and numerous periodical ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Boy, Girl, And Island
"Boy, Girl, and Island" is a 1957 American popular song with lyrics by Yip Harburg and music by Harold Arlen. Originally written for the musical ''Jamaica'', the song was cut before the show's Broadway opening and replaced by the song "Take It Slow, Joe" in an attempt to tighten the show's plot line. Although Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American singer, actress, dancer and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years and covered film, television and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of the C ...'s performance of the replacement song was generally praised, the show, with or without "Boy, Girl, and Island," was criticized for a weak plot. Recordings * The Island Boys perform the song on their 1958 LP "Go Calypso" (Kapp KL-1057),"Kapp LPs (KL/KS) SA aRate Your Music/ref> although it is not one of the 6 songs on their 45 singles with the same title. References {{authority control 1957 songs Songs with music ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Alvin Ailey
Alvin Ailey Jr. (January 5, 1931 – December 1, 1989) was an American dancer, director, choreographer, and activist who founded the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater (AAADT). He created AAADT and its affiliated Alvin Ailey American Dance Center (later Ailey School) as havens for nurturing Black artists and expressing the universality of the African-American experience through dance. Ailey's work fused theater, modern dance, ballet, and jazz with Black vernacular, creating hope-fueled choreography that is credited with spreading global awareness of Black life in America. His choreographic masterpiece '' Revelations'' is recognized as one of the most popular and most performed ballets in the world. On July 15, 2008, the United States Congress passed a resolution designating AAADT a "vital American cultural ambassador to the World". That same year, in recognition of AAADT's 50th anniversary, then Mayor Michael Bloomberg declared December 4 "Alvin Ailey Day" in New York City, whi ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Josephine Premice
Josephine Mary Premice (July 21, 1926 – April 13, 2001) was a Haitian-American actress and singer known for her work on the Broadway stage. Early life Josephine Mary Premice was born in Brooklyn, New York, the daughter of Thelomaine and Lucas Premice. Her parents were part of the Haitian aristocracy who fled Haiti; her ancestor, Napoleon Premice, was a Haitian-born Black veteran of the U.S. Revolutionary War. Her father, Lucas Premice, who claimed the title Count de Brodequin in the Haitian nobility, was part of a failed rebellion to try to overthrow the Haitian head of state. He was imprisoned in Guiana for his role in the plot, and both he and a fellow prisoner to whom he was chained were forced to escape and flee through the woods to friends that awaited them on the coast. On the third day of their journey, the other man died, and Lucas is said to have had to cut off the man's arm to free himself from the chains. He was brought to France, where he learned to cut fur for ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Adelaide Hall
Adelaide Louise Hall (20 October 1901 – 7 November 1993) was an American-born UK-based jazz singer and entertainer. Her career spanned more than 70 years from 1921 until her death. Early in her career, she was a major figure in the Harlem Renaissance; she became based in the UK after 1938. Hall entered the ''Guinness Book of World Records'' in 2003 as the world's most enduring recording artist, having released material over eight consecutive decades."Devotees – Honours and Tributes" (researched and compiled by Stephen Bourne), Devotional. Adelaide Hall enters ''Guinness Book of World Records'' as the World's most enduring recording artiste. She performed with major artists such as Art Tatum, Ethel Waters, Josephine Baker, Louis Armstrong, Lena Horne, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Cab Calloway, Fela Sowande, Rud ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |