Edna Lewis Thomas (November 1, 1885 – July 22, 1974) was an American stage actress whose career began in New York City during the

Harlem Renaissance The Harlem Renaissance was an intellectual and cultural revival of African-American music, dance, art, fashion, literature, theater, politics, and scholarship centered in Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, spanning the 1920s and 1930s. At the ti ...

. She appeared on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

, with the Lafayette Players theater company, and in productions by the

Federal Theater Project The Federal Theatre Project (FTP; 1935–1939) was a theatre program established during the Great Depression as part of the New Deal to fund live artistic performances and entertainment programs in the United States. It was one of five Federal ...

of the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to car ...

. Her portrayal of

Lady Macbeth Lady Macbeth is a leading character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Macbeth'' (). As the wife of the play's tragic hero, Macbeth (a Scottish nobleman), Lady Macbeth goads her husband into committing regicide, after which she becomes quee ...

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential film ...

' all-Black "Voodoo" ''Macbeth'' in 1936 was much acclaimed. She was an influential figure in Black theater, and was a member of the Alhambra Players and the

Harlem Experimental Theatre A number of theatre companies are associated with the Harlem Renaissance. Lafayette Players (1916–1932) Anita Bush, a pioneer in African American theater, began an acting company after seeing a show at the Lincoln Theater in Harlem. She wan ...

. She only appeared on screen once, in the 1951 film ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

''. Thomas was born in Virginia and raised in Boston. After moving to New York around 1916, she worked as a social secretary for the beauty entrepreneur

Madam C. J. Walker Madam C. J. Walker (born Sarah Breedlove; December 23, 1867 – May 25, 1919) was an American entrepreneur, philanthropist, and political and social activist. Walker is recorded as the first female self-made millionaire in America in the ''Guinne ...

. Though she was married to Lloyd Thomas, she started a long-term romantic relationship with British socialite Olivia Wyndham around 1930 and the three lived together for many years in a Harlem co-op.

Early life

Edna Lewis was born on November 1, 1885, in

Lawrenceville, Virginia Lawrenceville is a town in Brunswick County, Virginia, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,014. Located by the Meherrin River, it is the county seat of Brunswick County. In colonial times, Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotsw ...

. Author

Saidiya Hartman Saidiya Hartman (born 1961) is an American academic and writer focusing on African-American studies. She is currently a professor at Columbia University in their English department. Her work focuses on African-American literature, cultural histo ...

, in ''Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments'', wrote that Lewis's father was a white man who raped her Black mother in his household when she was a 12-year-old nursemaid. Edna grew up in Boston where she attended public schools. She married around 1914 and moved with her husband to New York City, possibly in 1916. She worked as a social secretary for the Black beauty entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker and through her was introduced to a variety of people in

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater ...

and

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

. In New York she became an influential figure in Black theater during the

Stage career

Thomas was a prolific actress in all-Black

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

productions and theaters. She acted and sang in numerous productions at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, making her stage debut with the Lafayette Players in the 1920 play ''Turn to the Right''. She was then cast in the plays ''Confidence'' (1920), ''The Heartbreaker'' (1921), and ''Comedy of Errors'' (1923). She had her

debut in 1925 and had a role in the 1927 play '' Porgy''. Macbeth-24-Thomas

Thomas joined the Alhambra Players in 1928, performing at

The Harlem Alhambra The Harlem Alhambra was a theater in Harlem, New York, built in 1905, that began as a vaudeville venue. The building still stands at 2108-2118 Adam Clayton Powell Jr. Boulevard (7th Avenue) at the South-West corner of 126th Street. The architect ...

and was in a 1929 revival of ''Porgy'' staged at the Martin Beck Theater. She joined the

in 1930, acting in the premier public performance at the

New York Public Library The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...

's 135th Street Branch. She remained active in theater in the 1930s, having roles in the musical '' Lulu Belle'' at the Belasco Theater and in the musical ''

Shuffle Along ''Shuffle Along'' is a musical composed by Eubie Blake, with lyrics by Noble Sissle and a book written by the comedy duo Flournoy Miller and Aubrey Lyles. One of the most notable all-Black hit Broadway shows, it was a landmark in African-Amer ...

''. She also had lead roles in the all-Black 1933 folk opera ''

Run, Little Chillun ''Run, Little Chillun'' or ''Run Little Chillun'' is a folk opera written by Hall Johnson. According to James Vernon Hatch and Leo Hamalian, it is one of the most successful musical dramas of the Harlem Renaissance. It was the first Broadway thea ...

'' at the Lyric Theatre and Paul Peters' 1934 production ''Stevedore''. In 1936, Thomas was cast in the role of

in an all-Black production of ''

Macbeth ''The Tragedy of Macbeth'', often shortened to ''Macbeth'' (), is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, estimated to have been first performed in 1606. It dramatises the physically violent and damaging psychological effects of political ambiti ...

'' at Lafayette Theater. The so-called "Voodoo" ''Macbeth'' was directed by

and was a production of the

of the

Rose McClendon Rose McClendon (August 27, 1884 – July 12, 1936) was a leading African-American Broadway theatre, Broadway actress of the 1920s. A founder of the Negro People's Theatre, she guided the creation of the Federal Theatre Project's African America ...

was originally cast for her part, but Thomas took the role after McClendon became critically ill. Thomas's performance garnered positive reviews, with one reviewer calling her portrayal "sensitive and magnificent" and the Harlem press naming her the "First Lady of Negro Theatre". Thomas appeared alongside

Dooley Wilson Arthur "Dooley" Wilson (April 3, 1886 – May 30, 1953) was an American actor, singer and musician who is best remembered for his portrayal of Sam in the 1942 film ''Casablanca (film), Casablanca''. In that romantic drama, he performs its theme ...

in the 1938 Federal Theater Project production of '' Androcles and the Lion'', where she had the role of Lavinia. She played Sukey in ''Harriet'',

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

's 1943 Broadway play about

Harriet Beecher Stowe Harriet Elisabeth Beecher Stowe (; June 14, 1811 – July 1, 1896) was an American author and Abolitionism in the United States, abolitionist. She came from the religious Beecher family and wrote the popular novel ''Uncle Tom's Cabin'' (185 ...

. In 1944 she was cast in

José Ferrer José Vicente Ferrer de Otero y Cintrón (January 8, 1912 – January 26, 1992) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actor and director of stage, film and television. He was one of the most celebrated and esteemed Hispanic and Latino Americans, Hi ...

's production ''Strange Fruit'', which was adapted from the novel of the same name by Lillian Smith. Edna-Thomas-Streetcar

Thomas portrayed a Mexican woman in the Broadway production of ''

'' in 1946. She reprised the role on stage in 1950 and again in the 1951 film ''

''. It was her only film credit. Following another reprisal of the play ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' in 1956, Thomas retired from acting. She spent the rest of her life in New York.

Personal life

Edna married talent manager Lloyd Carter Thomas around 1914. He later managed

's Harlem salon and was a co-owner of Club Ebony. Thomas supported her husband financially during the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

. The couple frequented parties at the Dark Tower, a cultural salon at the home of

A'Lelia Walker A'Lelia Walker (born Lelia McWilliams; June 6, 1885 – August 17, 1931) was an American businesswoman and patron of the arts. She was the only surviving child of Madam C. J. Walker, who was popularly credited as being the first self-made fem ...

. Around 1930, Thomas began a romantic relationship with the British photographer and socialite Olivia Wyndham. They lived together, along with Thomas's husband, at a large Harlem co-op until at least 1942. In 1937, she and Wyndham participated pseudonymously in a

Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic The Payne Whitney Psychiatric Clinic (PWC) was a hospital on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, New York City, United States. It was founded by an endowment bestowed by Payne Whitney (March 20, 1876 – May 25, 1927) upon his death. Whitney w ...

study of "100 socially well-adjusted men and women whose preferred form of libidinous gratification is homosexual". Thomas was also friends with the Harlem Renaissance photographer and patron

Carl Van Vechten Carl Van Vechten (; June 17, 1880December 21, 1964) was an American writer and Fine-art photography, artistic photographer who was a patron of the Harlem Renaissance and the literary estate, literary executor of Gertrude Stein. He gained fame ...

, corresponding with him regularly. Thomas died on July 22, 1974, of heart disease at St. Vincent's Hospital in New York City. She was 88. The

holds photographs of Thomas in its Edna Thomas Collection.

Early life

Stage career

Personal life

Theater productions

See also

References

Further reading