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CLEVELAND, 0, (P)—A na tional study of the Negro theatre Will be focused on the Karamu Theatre here, which has been lo cated in the same spot in Cleve land’s “Harlem” for 18 years and has drawn recognition from some of the world's greatest theatrical personalities. The study, sponsored by the Rockefeller foundation and to be conducted by Ridgely Torrence, author of “Plays for the Negro Theatre,” is aimed toward preven tion of the possible loss of the Negro’s distinctive phase of Amer ican culture through diffusion with the ways of white people. The theatre’s name, Karamu, is Swahili and means, “a place of feasting and entertainment.” The organization was founded in 1920 by a group of Negroes, identified as the Dumas Dramatic club. Supported by Gilpin Two years later, they were vis ited by the late Charles Gilpin, who starred in Eugene O’Neil’s play, “The Emperor Jones.” He gave the cast such strong support that they changed their names to the Gilpin Players, in his honor. Since then, the Karamu theatre has encouraged work by Negro playwrights. It has been the score of many world premieres of Negro productions, Dr. Charles §. Johnson, director of Fisk university's department of social science, has described the unit as “the one sustained inspira tion to fledgling Negro playwrights and responsible for important con tributions to the preservation and reinterpretation of the folklore of the Negro as well as his art.” Mixed Audiences Attend Russell W. Jelliffe, executive secretary of the Playhouse settle ment, housing the theatre, says its presentations attract mixed au diences and have inspired similar enterprises throughout the nation, Jelliffe said Torrence was the first American playwright to rec ognize the value of Negro life, pre sented honestly, to the theatre. The Gilpin players were among the first to recognize Torrence’s achievements and have produced four of his plays. They have given world premieres to several works of Langston Hughes, widely-known Negro playwright and poet. The theatre has a capacity for 120 spectators and an available cast of 60 players. A craft store, in which objects made by Negroes of the neighbor hood are exhibited, adjoins the theatre and is an attraction to playgoers during intermissions.
Newspaper Details
Ames Daily Tribune
Ames, Iowa, US
Sat, Feb 18, 1939
Page 2
Full Page
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USA 30 Apr 2026
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