Found matches for performing arts in 27 collections.

African-American composer, musician, and arranger, Hall Johnson is best known as a choral director and for his arrangements of spirituals. In 1925, Johnson formed the Hall Johnson Negro Choir, which performed spirituals in the traditional style. The Hall Johnson Choir, which he organized in 1928, performed on Broadway in Marc Connolly's play Green Pastures (1930), for which Johnson was music director. Johnson was known for his compositions as well as the articles he authored that discussed the history of spirituals and their performance practice. The Hall Johnson Collection contains a miscellaneous assortment of material including correspondence and news clippings regarding a workshop Johnson held in East St. Louis, Missouri, in 1969; and a letter to Katherine Dunham explaining his need to give more time to the inexperienced chorus. There is a music book with some holographic music; a poem he authored "Changelessness" (1956); and a few notes. This collection also includes biographical notes and personal recollections written in 2001, by Madeline Preston, a friend and member of his choir, along with a letter Johnson wrote to her in 1956. less

The Gilbert Price collection consists primarily of printed material. The collection contains several drafts of a biographical essay about Price written by Allen Warren Smith, a close friend and business associate, and administrative records of Variety Recording Studios, which Smith directed, relating to the Price's career. There are also programs and playbills for productions in which Price held a leading role, newspaper clippings and reviews about Price, along with a ledger of his personal finances kept by Smith. Included is material relating to the planning of the memorial service for Price, held on February 5, 1991 at the Actors Chapel, St. Malachy's Roman Catholic Church and obituaries. less

The Schomburg Programs and Playbills collection consists of thousands of programs, playbills, and other ephemera, spanning the nineteenth to twenty-first centuries, documenting Black theatrical, musical, and dance performances, as well as events put on by Black academic, community, religious, and political organizations. less

Nell Carter was an award-winning singer and actress who appeared in many popular theater, television, and film works from 1971 until her death in 2003. Born Nell Ruth Hardy in 1948, she made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1971 musical Soon. Her breakthrough role was in the 1978 Broadway production of Ain't Misbehavin', a musical revue inspired by the jazz music of Fats Waller and the Harlem Renaissance. Carter won a Tony Award for her performance as well an Emmy Award for her reprisal in the 1982 NBC television broadcast of the show. In 1979, she appeared in the film adaption and soundtrack of the musical Hair. Carter starred in the NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! from 1981 until 1987, receiving multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for her role as the housekeeper Nell Harper. Carter, who in some TV series also appeared as Nell Ruth Carter, was active in the theater and on television and film throughout the 1980s and 1990s; notable acting credits include roles in revivals of Hello Dolly! and Annie; the ABC sitcoms You Take the Kids and Hangin' with Mr. Cooper; and in the films Bebe's Kids and The Glass Harp. Carter was married twice and lived with her partner, Ann Kaser, after her second divorce until her death in 2003, from heart complications related to diabetes. She is survived by a daughter and two adopted sons. The Nell Carter scrapbooks collection features newspaper and magazine articles, and playbills that highlight both the professional and personal life of the award-winning singer and actress. The NBC sitcom Gimme a Break! (1981-1987), is represented in critical reviews of Carter and her show. Also featured in the collection are clippings related to the award-winning musical Ain't Misbehavin', for which Carter received a Tony Award in 1978. The scrapbook includes clippings from the televised special of Ain't Misbehavin', which aired in 1982, and the revival of the play on Broadway in 1988. In 1982, Carter received an Emmy for her performance in the televised version of the musical. less

The New Heritage Theatre Group records consists of playbills, broadsides, flyers, playscripts, correspondence and printed matter relating to the organization's productions and events from 1965-2015. Of particular note are original playscripts and production materials for the South African musical "Sarafina!" (1988-1991) and flyers and announcements for a play reading series entitled "Voices of Griots" (1991-1996). There is also a biographical file for Roger Furman. less

The Djola Branner papers, 1983-2010, document his personal life and professional career as a writer, poet, dancer, choreographer, actor, and educator. The collection reflects how his identity and experiences as a gay Black man informed much of his creative work. less

Patti Bown was an American jazz pianist, singer, and composer. The Patti Bown papers (1940-2006) document her career and, to a lesser extent, her personal life. The bulk of the material concerns her work as a performer and composer from the 1960s through the 1990s, represented primarily by printed material such as fliers, clippings, and programs. The collection contains scores for songs that Bown performed, recorded, and composed, including manuscript scores in Bown's hand. Other material in the collection includes contracts, resumes, personal and professional letters to Bown, and photographs. There are also scripts from television and theater productions that Bown worked on as a musical director, musician, or actor. less

The Frederick O'Neal Papers document the theatrical, labor, and civic activities of this actor and labor leader, mostly from the 1940s through the 1990s. The collection consists primarily of personal papers, correspondence, speeches and addresses, writing, and information about the theatrical productions in which he appeared. There are also research materials about the 19th century African-American actor, Ira Aldridge, and files pertaining to the many organizations with which O'Neal was associated. less

Harry Belafonte is a Jamaican-American musician, actor, and activist best known for popularizing calypso music with international audiences, and his involvement in the American Civil Rights movement. His collection contains project files, correspondence, scrapbooks, press materials, scores, lyrics, and scripts that chronicle his career as a singer, songwriter, actor, public speaker, and advocate for political and humanitarian causes. Belafonte's papers reveal the business aspects of his performance projects, source material for his acting and singing career, and organizing efforts associated with the political causes he championed. less

Theodore Walter "Sonny" Rollins (born September 7th, 1930) is an American jazz tenor saxophonist. His papers, dating from the 1910s to 2015 (the bulk dates from the 1950s onward), document the musical, personal, and career development of one of the most important musicians and artists of the 20th and early 21st centuries. This development can be most clearly observed in his music manuscripts and practice material; personal writings; letters; and professional business records. Rollins's career is also illustrated by an extensive set of photographs and a large collection of unique sound and video recordings. less

A veteran theater artist of the 1960s and 1970s civil rights inspired Black theater movement, Henry Miller has directed a number of plays in the African American drama canon. Between 1962 and 1992, Miller founded three Black theater companies: the Joseph Patterson Players (1962-1965), the Afro-American Repertory Theatre Company (1971-1978) and the James Baldwin Writers' Workshop Theater (1992-2002). The Henry Miller Theater collection chronicles Miller's work in theater, film, and television as an artist and scholar and spans the period 1957-2005. less

Wadleigh High School, located in Harlem, was founded as a high school for girls and moved to its current landmark site in 1902. It is now known as Wadleigh Secondary School for the Performing and Visual Arts. The Wadleigh High School collection provides some documentation about Wadleigh High School, and the two schools (Wadleigh Junior High School 88 and Wadleigh Secondary School) later housed in the same building. The bulk of the documents deal with the time period when students and staff were predominately Black. less

The Sharon Bridgforth papers, 1989-2015, document her personal life and her career as a writer, playwright, and performer. The bulk of the collection consists of her writing and materials related to productions of her plays and films, such as manuscripts and drafts, programs and promotional material, and clippings. less

Cheryl Clarke is a Black lesbian poet, writer, critic, scholar, and activist. This collection is a testament to her life's work as a Black, lesbian, feminist activist and demonstrates her commitment to promoting Black lesbian visibility and voices through writing as activism. less

The In the Life Archive (ITLA), originally known as the Black Gay and Lesbian Archive (BGLA), was created by Steven Fullwood in 1999, to aid in the documentation and preservation of cultural materials produced by and about Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer people of African descent. In 2004, the collection was donated to the Schombuurg Center for Research in Black Culture, and it was renamed around 2013. The name ITLA was inspired by In the Life: A Black Gay Anthology, edited by Joe Beam (1986). The ITLA contains materials dating from the mid-1950s to the present, documenting the experiences of LGBTQ men and women of African descent primarily in the United States, with some files for London and several countries in Africa. The archive is divided into two main groups: (1) Individual collections, whch include collections on individuals, such as Donna Allegra and Kevin McGruder; organizations, such as Other Countries; and research collections and (2) Miscellaneous collections, which include one-to-three folder collections containing a variety of original and printed materials including manuscripts, typescripts, galleys, correspondence, letters, reviews, and clippings. This finding aid describes the Miscellaneous collections. The bulk dates are the 1990s, but there is information about underdocumented individuals, organizations, and subjects from the 1980s, when many organizations formed in response to the HIV/AIDS crisis. These Miscellaneous collections cover productive periods for the Black LGBT movement, documenting the "Black gay and lesbian renaissance" for the 1980s, as well as the 1990s and 2000s. The collection also contains HIV/AIDS information designed to reach African American communities, during the late 1980s through the present, created primarily by white institutions and the state and federal government, as well Black AIDS service organizations instituted in the mid-1980s and early 1990s. less

The Stanley Crouch papers mostly consist of materials related to his writing; these materials include various drafts, manuscripts, and final versions of his newspaper columns, articles, and books, both published and unpublished. There is also a vast amount of research material (including publications by other authors) and interview transcripts, mainly for his biography of Charlie Parker. There is a small amount of personal papers, which includes family correspondence and some biographical information. Additionally, the collection includes correspondence, both personal and professional, and other professional matter, such as address books, day planners, and material related to his participation on various boards and committees, including the Louis Armstrong Educational Foundation (LAEF) and the PEN American Center (now, PEN America). Finally, the collection consists of printed matter, which includes publicity material for Crouch's publications and appearances, reviews of his work, and interviews. less

Wallace Terry, Jr. (1938-2003) was an African-American journalist, author, documentarian, oral historian, and educator best known for his reporting on the experiences of black soldiers in the Vietnam War. The Wallace Terry papers consists of files chronicling his career as a journalist and published author; his work as a visiting professor of journalism; his education; and his posthumous acclaim. less

The Arthur Ashe papers document the wide range of Ashe's political, athletic, business, and philanthropic activities. Although they contain some significant material from the 1960s and 1970s, the papers are concentrated more heavily on Ashe's activities following his retirement from competitive tennis in 1980. less

Gertrude Hadley Jeannette was an actor, playwright, director, and producer. Additionally, she is believed to be the first woman to get a taxi license and drive a cab in New York City. Her papers consist of personal material, correspondence, printed matter, and drafts and manuscripts of her writing. less

Maya Angelou (1928-2014) was one of the most renowned and celebrated voices in American literature. The Maya Angelou papers consist of original manuscripts, computer generated typescripts, galleys, and proofs of published work as well as manuscripts for unpublished work and dozens of poems. Additionally, there is personal and professional correspondence, teaching files, printed matter, and materials from public and academic appearances and engagements. less