Don't Play Us Cheap
Encyclopedia
Don't Play Us Cheap is a 1972 musical written, produced, and directed by Melvin Van Peebles
, about an imp and a devil who take human form and try to break up a Harlem
house party. A film version was produced in 1973.
Trinity first tries to break the records ("you can't have a party without music"), but finds that they are unbreakable. He drinks an entire bottle of liquor, thinking he has depleted their supply of alcohol, but finds out that all of the guests have brought their own bottles, and when he tries to eat all of the sandwiches, another plate is brought in.
Trinity finds himself unwilling to continue being mean after he insults Earnestine, making her cry. Trinity apologizes to her, and tells her that he has fallen for her. Three more guests show up, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and their college-educated son Harold. Earnestine ignores Trinity for Harold. Trinity becomes jealous.
Brother Dave arrives in human form, eager to break up the party, but Trinity is unwilling to. Mr. Johnson tells Harold not to get involved with Earnestine, because her family is too "common," and he can't risk the big future he has ahead of him. Earnestine approaches both Harold and Trinity to dance, but they are pulled back by Mr. Johnson and Dave.
Dave persuades Trinity to try to break up the party before midnight, when they will both be turned into the thing that they pretend to be: human beings. As time runs short, Dave and Trinity find themselves at the dinner table with the rest of the guests. Dave insults Mrs. Johnson, prompting her to leave with her husband and son. The rest of the guests tell Dave that they're glad that they left.
After the dinner, Trinity stands up and announces that he and Earnestine are getting engaged, an announcement which infuriates Dave. Dave makes one last attempt to break up the party by trying to make a move on Miss Maybell. When Dave finds that she is all too willing, he turns himself into a cockroach and tries to sneak out the door before being smashed by Miss Maybell.
making a documentary. Along with the job, Van Peebles was given an apartment in a posh neighborhood on the lower east side of Manhattan
.
On a very hot day, Van Peebles was lounging out in front of the apartment, and an old black lady came down the street and told Van Peebles that she wanted some water and to use the bathroom. The woman thanked Van Peebles, and a few days later, Van Peebles received a telephone call from her inviting him to a party she was throwing for her niece.
When he returned to France
, he thought of what would happen if these wonderful, kind, open people were invaded by imps bent on destroying their party. The story became the basis for a novel, Harlem Party, and later a French-language musical play, which Van Peebles later translated into English, and made as a film in 1973.
Melvin Van Peebles
Melvin "Block" Van Peebles is an American actor, director, screenwriter, playwright, novelist and composer.He is most famous for creating the acclaimed film, Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, which heralded a new era of African American focused films...
, about an imp and a devil who take human form and try to break up 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...
house party. A film version was produced in 1973.
Plot
Trinity and Brother Dave are a pair of devil-bats looking for a party to break up. They come across a party in Harlem. Although Trinity is eager, Dave warns him not to touch it. "When black folks throw a party, they don't play!" Trinity joins the party, already in progress, thrown by Miss Maybell in honor of her niece Earnestine's birthday.Trinity first tries to break the records ("you can't have a party without music"), but finds that they are unbreakable. He drinks an entire bottle of liquor, thinking he has depleted their supply of alcohol, but finds out that all of the guests have brought their own bottles, and when he tries to eat all of the sandwiches, another plate is brought in.
Trinity finds himself unwilling to continue being mean after he insults Earnestine, making her cry. Trinity apologizes to her, and tells her that he has fallen for her. Three more guests show up, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and their college-educated son Harold. Earnestine ignores Trinity for Harold. Trinity becomes jealous.
Brother Dave arrives in human form, eager to break up the party, but Trinity is unwilling to. Mr. Johnson tells Harold not to get involved with Earnestine, because her family is too "common," and he can't risk the big future he has ahead of him. Earnestine approaches both Harold and Trinity to dance, but they are pulled back by Mr. Johnson and Dave.
Dave persuades Trinity to try to break up the party before midnight, when they will both be turned into the thing that they pretend to be: human beings. As time runs short, Dave and Trinity find themselves at the dinner table with the rest of the guests. Dave insults Mrs. Johnson, prompting her to leave with her husband and son. The rest of the guests tell Dave that they're glad that they left.
After the dinner, Trinity stands up and announces that he and Earnestine are getting engaged, an announcement which infuriates Dave. Dave makes one last attempt to break up the party by trying to make a move on Miss Maybell. When Dave finds that she is all too willing, he turns himself into a cockroach and tries to sneak out the door before being smashed by Miss Maybell.
Cast
- Thomas AndersonThomas Anderson (actor)Thomas Anderson was an actor.He was born on November 29, 1905 in Pasadena, California and died on January 12, 1996 in Englewood, New Jersey.-Filmography:*East Side/West Side - TV series, episode "No Hiding Place"...
- Mr. Percy - Jay Van Leer - Mrs. Johnson (as Jay Vanleer)
- Robert DunnRobert DunnRobert Dunn is the author of four musical novels, Pink Cadillac , Cutting Time , Soul Cavalcade , Meet the Annas , and Look at Flower . The novels are published under Dunn's own independent publishing company, Coral Press, located in New York City...
- Brother Bowser - Mabel KingMabel KingMabel King was an American film, stage and television actress.-Early life and career:King was born Donnie Mabel Elizabeth Washington in Charleston, South Carolina, the daughter of Rosalie Washington. She was raised in Harlem where she eventually became a gospel and nightclub singer...
- Guest - George Ooppee McCurn - Brother Washington
- Joshie Jo Armstead - Guest
- Frank Carey - Mr. Johnson
- Nate BarnettNate BarnettNathaniel "Nate" Barnett Jr. is a retired American basketball player. He played collegiately for the University of Akron and was selected by the Houston Rockets in the 7th round of the 1975 NBA Draft. Later, he played for the Indiana Pacers in the ABA games.-External links:...
- Harold Johnson - Esther RolleEsther RolleEsther Rolle was an American actress. She was perhaps best known for her portrayal of Florida Evans on the CBS television sitcom Maude and its spin-off series Good Times.-Biography:...
- Miss Maybell - 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...
- Brother Dave - Rhetta HughesRhetta HughesRhetta Hughes is a R&B singer and actress. She starred in the Broadway musicals Dreamgirls, Don't Play Us Cheap, and Amen Corner, for which she was nominated for a Tony Award in the category Best Actress in a Musical in 1984...
- Earnestine - Joe Keyes Jr. - Trinity (as Joseph Keyes)
Conception
At the time Melvin Van Peebles came up with the story for Don't Play Us Cheap, he was living in Paris, but had gotten a summer job in New YorkNew York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
making a documentary. Along with the job, Van Peebles was given an apartment in a posh neighborhood on the lower east side of Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
On a very hot day, Van Peebles was lounging out in front of the apartment, and an old black lady came down the street and told Van Peebles that she wanted some water and to use the bathroom. The woman thanked Van Peebles, and a few days later, Van Peebles received a telephone call from her inviting him to a party she was throwing for her niece.
When he returned to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, he thought of what would happen if these wonderful, kind, open people were invaded by imps bent on destroying their party. The story became the basis for a novel, Harlem Party, and later a French-language musical play, which Van Peebles later translated into English, and made as a film in 1973.
Songs
- You Cut Up the Clothes in the Closet of My Dreams
- Break That Party & Opening
- Saturday Night
- The Bowsers Thing
- The Book of Life
- Quittin Time
- Ain't Love Grand
- I'm a Bad Character
- Know Your Business
- Feast on Me
- Ain't Love Grand
- Break That Party
- Someday it Seems That it Ain't Just Don't Even Pay to Get Out of Bed
- Quartet
- The Phoney Game
- It Makes No Difference
- Bad Character Bossa Nova
- Quartet
- The Washingtons Thing
- If You See a Devil, Smash Him