Bubbling Brown Sugar
Encyclopedia
Bubbling Brown Sugar is a musical revue written by Loften Mitchell based on a concept by Rosetta LeNoire
and featuring the music of numerous African-American artists who were popular during the Harlem Renaissance
, 1920–1940, including Duke Ellington
, Eubie Blake
, Count Basie
, Cab Calloway
and Fats Waller
. Original music, including the title theme song "Bubbling Brown Sugar" was composed by pianist Emme Kemp, a protege of the legendary Eubie Blake. It was nominated for the Tony Award
as, "Best Musical."
The show was set in a Harlem
nightclub of the 1920s-1940s.
It originally played at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, opening February 15, 1975, and running for 12 performances. It opened on Broadway
at the August Wilson Theatre
(then-ANTA Playhouse) on March 2, 1976, and closed on December 31, 1977, after 766 performances.
Theatre World Award
Drama Desk Award
Rosetta LeNoire
Rosetta LeNoire was an American stage, screen, and television actress, as well as a Broadway producer and casting agent....
and featuring the music of numerous African-American artists who were popular during the Harlem Renaissance
Harlem Renaissance
The Harlem Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned the 1920s and 1930s. At the time, it was known as the "New Negro Movement", named after the 1925 anthology by Alain Locke...
, 1920–1940, including Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
, Eubie Blake
Eubie Blake
James Hubert Blake was an American composer, lyricist, and pianist of ragtime, jazz, and popular music. In 1921, Blake and long-time collaborator Noble Sissle wrote the Broadway musical Shuffle Along, one of the first Broadway musicals to be written and directed by African Americans...
, Count Basie
Count Basie
William "Count" Basie was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. Basie led his jazz orchestra almost continuously for nearly 50 years...
, Cab Calloway
Cab Calloway
Cabell "Cab" Calloway III was an American jazz singer and bandleader. He was strongly associated with the Cotton Club in Harlem, New York City where he was a regular performer....
and Fats Waller
Fats Waller
Fats Waller , born Thomas Wright Waller, was a jazz pianist, organist, composer, singer, and comedic entertainer...
. Original music, including the title theme song "Bubbling Brown Sugar" was composed by pianist Emme Kemp, a protege of the legendary Eubie Blake. It was nominated for the Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
as, "Best Musical."
The show was set in a Harlem
Harlem
Harlem is a neighborhood in the New York City borough of Manhattan, which since the 1920s has been a major African-American residential, cultural and business center. Originally a Dutch village, formally organized in 1658, it is named after the city of Haarlem in the Netherlands...
nightclub of the 1920s-1940s.
It originally played at the Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew, opening February 15, 1975, and running for 12 performances. It opened on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
at the August Wilson Theatre
August Wilson Theatre
The August Wilson Theatre, located at 245 West 52nd Street in New York City, is a Broadway theatre.Designed by architects C. Howard Crane and Kenneth Franzheim and constructed by the Theatre Guild, it opened as the Guild Theatre in 1925 with a revival of George Bernard Shaw's Caesar and...
(then-ANTA Playhouse) on March 2, 1976, and closed on December 31, 1977, after 766 performances.
Synopsis
Return to Harlem's golden days of black entertainment: The three middle-aged entertainers Irene, John and Checkers who had been in showbiz for many years meet a young couple Jim and Ella in Harlem. The entertainers lead Jim and Ella back to the days of Swing and Blues, when black entertainers in Harlem's nightclubs used to fascinate the white visitors, as it was in the extravagant Cotton Club, in Small's Paradise and in the Savoy Ballroom. With the youthful entertainers Irene, John and Checkers many legendary black show numbers come to life again.Characters
- John Sage/Rusty - Avon LongAvon LongAvon Long was an American Broadway actor and singer.-Life:Long was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He performed in a number of Broadway shows, including Black Rhythm , Porgy and Bess , and Beggar's Holiday...
- Irene Paige - Josephine Premice (replacing Thelma CarpenterThelma CarpenterThelma Carpenter was a jazz singer and actress, best known as "Miss One", the Good Witch of the North in the movie The Wiz.-Career:...
who left prior to Broadway) - Marsha/Young Irene - Vivian Reed
- Checkers - Joseph Attles
- Dusty Ella - Ethel Beatty
- Carolyn/Gospel Lady/Nightclub singer - Carolyn Byrd
- Jim/Nightclub singer - Chip Garnett
Songs
(From Original Cast Recording)- Bubbling Brown Sugar
- Nobody
- His Eye Is On The Sparrow / Swing Low Sweet Chariot
- Sophisticated LadySophisticated Lady"Sophisticated Lady" is a jazz standard, composed as an instrumental in 1932 by Duke Ellington and Irving Mills, to which words were added by Mitchell Parish. The words met with approval from Ellington, who described them as "wonderful—but not entirely fitted to my original conception".That...
- Stormy Monday Blues
- In Honeysuckle Time, When Emaline Said She'd Be Mine
- Sweet Georgia Brown
- Honeysuckle RoseHoneysuckle Rose (song)"Honeysuckle Rose" is a 1928 song composed by Fats Waller, whose lyrics were written by Andy Razaf. Fats Waller's 1934 recording was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999....
- I Got It Bad
- Harlem Makes Me Feel!
- There'll Be Some Changes MadeThere'll Be Some Changes Made"There'll Be Some Changes Made" is a popular song with music by Benton Overstreet and lyrics by Billy Higgins, published in 1921. The song is a jazz standard, with many recordings having been made.-References in popular culture:...
- God Bless The Child
- It Don't Mean A Thing
Awards and nominations
Tony AwardTony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
- Best Musical — Produced by J. Lloyd Grant, Richard Bell, Robert M. Cooper, Ashton Springer; Produced in association with Moe Septee, Inc. (nominee)
- Best Actress in a Musical — Vivian ReedVivian Reed (actress)Vivian Reed is an African-American actress, singer, and dancer.BIOGRAPHYVivian Reed is a multi-award winner with two TONY nominations, Drama Desk Award, Theatre world Award, Outer Critics Circle Award, Dance Education of America Award, NAACP Award and several others...
(nominee) - Best Choreography — Billy Wilson (nominee)
Theatre World Award
Theatre World Award
The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:...
- Chip Garnett (winner)
- Vivian Reed (winner)
Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
- Outstanding Featured Actor in a Musical — Barry Preston (nominee)
- Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical — Vivian Reed (winner)
- Outstanding Choreography
- Outstanding Costume Design — Bernard Johnson (nominee)