''Anna Lucasta'' is a 1944 American

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * P ...

Philip Yordan Philip Yordan (April 1, 1914 – March 24, 2003) was an American screenwriter, film producer, novelist and playwright. He was a three-time Academy Award nominee, winning Best Story for ''Broken Lance'' (1954). During the 1950s and 1960s, Yorda ...

. Inspired by

Eugene O'Neill Eugene Gladstone O'Neill (October 16, 1888 – November 27, 1953) was an American playwright. His poetically titled plays were among the first to introduce into the U.S. the drama techniques of Realism (theatre), realism, earlier associated with ...

's ''

Anna Christie ''Anna Christie'' is a Play (theatre), play in four acts by Eugene O'Neill. It made its Broadway theatre, Broadway debut at the Vanderbilt Theatre on November 2, 1921. O'Neill received the 1922 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for this work. According ...

'', the play was originally written about a Polish American family. The

American Negro Theatre The American Negro Theatre (ANT) was co-founded on June 5, 1940 by playwright Abram Hill and actor Frederick O'Neal. Determined to build a "people's theatre", they were inspired by the Federal Theatre Project's Negro Unit in Harlem and by W. E. B ...

director Abram Hill and director

Harry Wagstaff Gribble Harry Wagstaff Gribble (March 27, 1896 – January 28, 1981) was an English-American author, stage director, screenwriter and playwright. Theater *'' Trick for Trick'', co-wrote *'' His Family Tree'', co-wrote play *''March Hares'' *'' No Mor ...

adapted the script for an all African American cast, and presented the first performance on June 16, 1944. The play moved from Harlem to Broadway's Mansfield Theatre, running August 30, 1944 – November 30, 1946. The Broadway cast included

Hilda Simms Hilda Simms ( Moses; April 15, 1918 – February 6, 1994) was an American stage actress, best known for her starring role on Broadway in '' Anna Lucasta''. Early years Hilda Simms was born Hilda Moses in Minneapolis, Minnesota, one of 9 siblings ...

Canada Lee Leonard Lionel Cornelius Canegata (March 3, 1907 – May 9, 1952), known professionally as Canada Lee, was an American professional boxer and actor who pioneered roles for African Americans. After careers as a jockey, boxer and musician, he beca ...

, and Alice Childress.

History

The play ''Anna Lucasta'' was a breakthrough for writer

, who went on to a prolific career as a screenwriter. The story of a prostitute who struggles for respectability is similar to that of

's ''

''. Originally titled ''Anna Lukaska'', Yordan's three-act drama was conceived as being about a Polish-American woman and her predatory family. When he was unable to find a Broadway producer for the play, Yordan offered it to the

. Company founder Abram Hill obtained the rights and adapted it for an African-American cast. First produced in Harlem, it went on to become the first Broadway play with an all-black cast in a drama unrelated to race. The play ran for more than two years—a rare achievement at that time—and it was adapted twice for film. ''Anna Lucasta'' cast member Alice Childress was inspired to write the Obie Award-winning drama, '' Trouble in Mind'' (1955), based on her experiences in the production. According to

Ben Maddow Ben Maddow (aka David Wolff; August 7, 1909 – October 9, 1992) was an American screenwriter and documentarian from the 1930s through the 1970s. Educated at Columbia University, Maddow began his career working within the American documentary m ...

, Yordan based the script on "this B-girl that he knew from a Chicago bar whom he was tremendously in love with... The only person he ever expressed any tenderness for." He said Yordan optioned the play to Sidney Harmon who had produced ''Men in White'' and he found a black theatre group willing to do the play.

Synopsis

A girl making her way through life as a prostitute seeks forgiveness from her family. The Lucastas, working-class people in a coal mining town, are selfish people whose daughter, Anna, has left home to lead what they consider a "life of shame" in the city. Rudolf, the son of a friend, comes to visit them on the suggestion of his father. He has several hundred dollars in his pocket and is eager to marry. The family decides that the youth is a hick, but there is a chance to marry off Anna "respectably". However, Rudolf turns out to be rather attractive and has graduated from an agriculture college. When Anna returns home, she is fascinated by him and the two fall in love, though she is still in love with her sailor boyfriend Danny. Anna gradually awakens to find out what it means to be treated by a kind young man. For Anna is not a degenerate, but a high spirited girl driven from home by her father's puritanical cruelty. Without telling Rudolf about her past, she agrees to marry him. But on her wedding day, Danny shows up. Anna, believing that a life with Rudolf is impossible, returns to her old haunts in the city. Rudolf realizes he loves Anna more deeply, and sets out to find her. He makes her realize his love for her and they go off together.

Productions

The play was originally produced by

Company. It was first presented at the Library Theatre in the basement of the 135th Street Branch of the New York Public Library now known as the

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture is a research library of the New York Public Library (NYPL) and an archive repository for information on people of African descent worldwide. Located at 515 Malcolm X Boulevard (Lenox Avenue) be ...

. The cast worked during the day, rehearsed after work, and were kicked out by the janitor at 11 p.m. Directed by Harry Wagstaff Gribble, ''Anna Lucasta'' premiered June 16, 1944, at the Library Theatre, 103 West 135th Street, with the following cast: * Lionel Monagas as Noah *

Alvin Childress Alvin Childress (September 15, 1907 – April 19, 1986) was an American actor, who is best known for playing the cabdriver Amos Jones in the 1950s television comedy series ''Amos 'n' Andy''. Biography Alvin Childress was born in Meridian, Missis ...

as Joe * Earle Hyman as Rudolf * Letitia Toole as Catherine * Alberta Perkins as Theresa * Frederick O'Neal as Frank * Betty Haynes as Stella * John Proctor as Stanley * Hilda Moses Simms as Anna * Alice Childress as Blanche * Martin Slade as Eddie * Billy Cumberbatch as Danny * Buddy Holmes as Lester Produced by John Wildberg, ''Anna Lucasta'' transferred from Harlem to Broadway, opening August 30, 1944, at the Mansfield Theatre with the following cast: * Alvin Childress as Noah *

George Randol George Randol (1895–1973) was an actor, screenwriter, director, and producer of films in the United States. In 1938 he was honored as an influential film executive in a newspaper writeup of the "Negro" film industry. Life and career Randol was ...

as Joe * Earle Hyman as Rudolf * Theodora Smith as Katie * Georgia Burke as Theresa * Frederick O'Neal as Frank * Rosetta LeNoire as Stella * John Proctor as Stanley * Hilda Simms as Anna * Alice Childress as Blanche * Hubert Henry as Eddie *

as Danny * John Tate as Lester Notably among the later casts of Broadway performances was

Ruby Dee Ruby Dee (born Ruby Ann Wallace; October 27, 1922 – June 11, 2014) was an American actress. She was married to Ossie Davis, with whom she frequently performed until his death in 2005. She received numerous accolades, including an Emmy Award, ...

, making her Broadway debut as Anna. "With the arrival of ''Anna Lucasta'' on Broadway," wrote ''

Life Life, also known as biota, refers to matter that has biological processes, such as Cell signaling, signaling and self-sustaining processes. It is defined descriptively by the capacity for homeostasis, Structure#Biological, organisation, met ...

'' magazine, "the 1944–45 theater season had its first worthwhile drama." The magazine praised the top-flight cast, particularly

in her professional debut, but expressed disappointment at the "weak Broadway ending" that had been substituted for the "stinging honesty" of the version of the play seen in Harlem, which ended in Anna's suicide. Though many biographies list Alice Childress as having received a

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 ce ...

nomination for her starring performance, this information appears to be inaccurate as the Tony Awards did not begin until 1947, some years after the production. The production closed on November 30, 1946, after 957 performances, and then made an extensive tour of the US and Europe. A limited-run return engagement opened at the National Theatre on September 22, 1947. ''Anna Lucasta'' was produced in London in 1947 at His Majesty's Theatre. The cast list is as follows: * Edith Whiteman as Katie * Betty Haynes as Stella * Georgia Burke as Theresa * John Proctor as Stanley * Frederick O'Neal as Frank * Emmett Babe Wallace as Eddie * Reginald Fednerson as Noah
Claire Leyba
as Blanche * Eddie Banks as Officer *

as Anna * John Tate as Danny * Kenneth Freeman as Lester * Earle Hyman as Rudolf The production was an inspiration for independent black British theatre groups as remarked by the actor Pauline Henriques, one of the understudies in the London production. Another production in Paris starred

Paulette Goddard Paulette Goddard (born Marion Levy; June 3, 1910 – April 23, 1990) was an American actress and socialite. Her career spanned six decades, from the 1920s to the early 1970s. She was a prominent leading actress during the Golden Age of Hollywood ...

and a white cast. However, the ANT did not get to enjoy the success of ''Anna Lucasta''. The two copies of the Hill-Yordan-Wildberg contracts filed with the

Dramatists Guild The Dramatists Guild of America is a professional organization for playwrights, composers, and lyricists working in the U.S. theatre market. It was born in 1921 out of the Authors Guild, known then as Authors League of America, formed in 1912. ...

could not be found. Hill had to renegotiate his entire contract. At first, Wildberg, the producer, refused to discuss it but Yordan said he would take care of it. Just before the Broadway opening, Hill threatened an injunction. Wildberg said he would pay 2 percent of the Broadway production. Hill took it before the ANT committee and explained it. Eight of the company of members were in the Broadway show and three of them are on the committee. They were also under contract with Wildberg, who offered no additional rights from a possible film and no radio rights. He offered only 2 percent of the Broadway show. The committee voted to accept it. The producer said Hill's percentage was included in the 2 percent for ANT. Hill claimed his "lost" contract called for 10 percent of the writing share. He battled for six months. Finally, the producer said, instead of money, they'd produce Hill's drama, ''Walk Hard'', on Broadway. Hill decided that rather than risk losing everything if the play failed, he would take a fee of $25,000 for his writing efforts.

Reception

The 1944 production was critically acclaimed particularly for presenting a story that does not condescend African-Americans and performances from an all African-American cast. ''The Daily News wrote'', “Anna Lucasta is a first rate drama. Acted by a company of colored actors players who are a joy to watch… it had first nighters cheering.” ''The Baltimore'' wrote, “It is not only a first rate drama, top-notch theatre, with some of the finest acting, both dramatic and comedic, that has ever been seen on Broadway. But it is the first American play designed for an all colored cast to treat of colored life without a certain amused condescension… the first play of colored life to recognize the fact that colored person are individuals with the same problems, ways of living, speech, and point of views as the whites....” ''The New York Times'' and ''The New York Sun'' praised the performances of Hilda Simms, who plays Anna, and Canada Lee, who plays Danny. ''The New York Times'' writes, “Hilda Simms is a wonderful young lady who also understands what to do with the part...in a small role, Canada Lee, normally a star in his own right, but helping out his friends at this time and acting in a way that made him a star." ''The New York Sun'' wrote, "Canada Lee, an asset to any play, brings his vigorous playing to any scene...""What Critics Said About 'Anna Lucasta (Sep 9, 1944) ''The Baltimore Afro-American'', p. 8, ProQuest Historical Newspapers: ''The Baltimore Afro-American'' (1893–1988) The one critical remark about the production was that the acting surpassed the script. ''Variety'' wrote, “Play was spotty but the performances are excellent." ''The Herald Tribune'' also wrote, “The acting warrants better material…” and ''The New York Sun'' also wrote, "Put 'Anna Lucasta' down as a credible presentation of a spotty and uncertain play." Even the director of the production, Harry Wagstaff Gribble, felt like it was not a perfect play but the forefront of what the future could hold for African-American actors in the theatre and it accomplished some of the ideas that he wanted to do with black theatre and how to represent African Americans as individuals.

Adaptations

Two films were made based on the original Yordan play. A 1949 film directed by

Irving Rapper Irving Rapper (16 January 1898 – 20 December 1999) was a British-born American film director. Biography Born to a British Jews, Jewish family in London, Rapper emigrated to the United States and became an actor and a stage director on Broadwa ...

and starring

, was released by

Columbia Pictures Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc., Trade name, doing business as Columbia Pictures, is an American film Production company, production and Film distributor, distribution company that is the flagship unit of the Sony Pictures Motion Picture Group ...

. A 1958 film directed by

Arnold Laven Arnold Laven (February 3, 1922 – September 13, 2009) was an American film and television director and producer. He was one of the founders and principals of the American film and television production company Levy-Gardner-Laven. Laven was a ...

and produced by

Sidney Harmon Sidney Harmon (April 30, 1907 – February 29, 1988) was a movie producer and screenwriter. Harmon was nominated for the 1942 Academy Award for Best Story for the movie '' The Talk of the Town''. He began his career working as a writer for radi ...

was released by

United Artists United Artists (UA) is an American film production and film distribution, distribution company owned by Amazon MGM Studios. In its original operating period, it was founded in February 1919 by Charlie Chaplin, D. W. Griffith, Mary Pickford an ...

. The film starred

Eartha Kitt Eartha Mae Kitt (née Keith; January 17, 1927 – December 25, 2008) was an American singer and actress. She was known for her highly distinctive singing style and her 1953 recordings of "C'est si bon" and the Christmas novelty song "Santa Baby" ...

in the title role and

Sammy Davis Jr. Samuel George Davis Jr. (December 8, 1925 – May 16, 1990) was an American singer, actor, comedian, dancer, and musician. At age two, Davis began his career in Vaudeville with his father Sammy Davis Sr. and the Will Mastin Trio, which t ...

as Danny Johnson.

References

External links

* {{ibdb show, 1608, Anna Lucasta 1944 plays Broadway plays