Tambourines to Glory
Encyclopedia
Tambourines to Glory is a 1956 black gospel musical play
by Langston Hughes
. It tells the story of two female street preachers who open a store front church in Harlem
. Hughes later turned the play into a novel
in 1958.
The musical was generally well-received but generated some criticism from certain segments of the black intelligentsia, who felt that the themes of corruption and hyprocrisy mocked the black church.
The opening night cast on Broadway
in 1963 included a who’s who of African-American performers including
Attles, Grant and King teamed up the following year in Hughes's Jericho-Jim Crow
; over time Grant received three Tony Award
nominations for her writing. Gossett became a major film star, Guillaume achieved fame in the television series Soap
and Benson
, Merritt starred in The Wiz
and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
and the television series That's My Mama
.
Play (theatre)
A play is a form of literature written by a playwright, usually consisting of scripted dialogue between characters, intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. There are rare dramatists, notably George Bernard Shaw, who have had little preference whether their plays were performed...
by Langston Hughes
Langston Hughes
James Mercer Langston Hughes was an American poet, social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist. He was one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry. Hughes is best known for his work during the Harlem Renaissance...
. It tells the story of two female street preachers who open a store front church in 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...
. Hughes later turned the play into a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
in 1958.
The musical was generally well-received but generated some criticism from certain segments of the black intelligentsia, who felt that the themes of corruption and hyprocrisy mocked the black church.
The opening night cast 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...
in 1963 included a who’s who of African-American performers including
- Joseph AttlesJoseph AttlesJoseph Attles was an American character actor.He was born in James Island, South Carolina, United States on April 7, 1903. He died on October 29, 1990.-Theatre:*Tambourines to Glory*John Henry - 1940*Porgy and Bess...
- Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Gossett, Jr.Louis Cameron Gossett, Jr. is an American actor best known for his role as Gunnery Sergeant Emil Foley in the 1982 film An Officer and a Gentleman and Fiddler in the 1970s television miniseries Roots...
- Micki GrantMicki GrantMicki Grant is an American singer actress, writer and composer. She performed in Having Our Say , Tambourines to Glory and Jericho-Jim Crow, The Gingham Dog, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope and has received three Tony Award nominations for her writing...
- Robert GuillaumeRobert GuillaumeRobert "Bob" Guillaume is an American stage and television actor, best known for his role as Benson Du Bois on the TV-series Soap and the spin-off Benson, voicing the mandrill Rafiki in The Lion King and as Isaac Jaffe on Sports Night...
- Carl HallCarl HallCarl Hall was an African-American singer, actor, and musical arranger. A member of Raymond Raspberry's eponymous gospel group "The Raspberry Singers", recording on the US Savoy Records label, he performed in theatre for three decades, beginning with Tambourines to Glory in 1963.Beyond the...
- Rosalie KingRosalie KingRosalie King , also known as Rosalie Simpson, was an American character actress and singer.She appeared on radio in The Maxwell House Coffee Hour...
- Rosetta LeNoireRosetta LeNoireRosetta LeNoire was an American stage, screen, and television actress, as well as a Broadway producer and casting agent....
- Theresa Merritt HinesTheresa MerrittTheresa Merritt Hines was an American stage, film and television actress and singer.-Career:Born in Emporia, Virginia, Merritt appeared in many theatrical productions but gained fame later in life when she starred in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and The Wiz Theresa Merritt Hines (September 24,...
- Clara WardClara WardClara Ward was an American gospel artist who achieved great success, both artistic and commercial, in the 1940s and 1950s as leader of The Famous Ward Singers....
- Judd Jones
Attles, Grant and King teamed up the following year in Hughes's Jericho-Jim Crow
Jericho-Jim Crow
Jerico-Jim Crow is a critically acclaimed 1964 musical, with a book written by Langston Hughes. It was a pioneering work in the urban contemporary gospel musical style, based on the themes of the Civil Rights Movement in the United States...
; over time Grant received three 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...
nominations for her writing. Gossett became a major film star, Guillaume achieved fame in the television series Soap
Soap
In chemistry, soap is a salt of a fatty acid.IUPAC. "" Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 2nd ed. . Compiled by A. D. McNaught and A. Wilkinson. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford . XML on-line corrected version: created by M. Nic, J. Jirat, B. Kosata; updates compiled by A. Jenkins. ISBN...
and Benson
Benson (TV series)
Benson is an American television sitcom which aired from September 13, 1979, to April 19, 1986, on ABC. The series was a spin-off from the soap opera parody Soap ; however, Benson discarded the...
, Merritt starred in The Wiz
The Wiz
The Wiz: The Super Soul Musical "Wonderful Wizard of Oz" is a musical with music and lyrics by Charlie Smalls and book by William F. Brown. It is a retelling of L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz in the context of African American culture. It opened on October 21, 1974 at the Morris A...
and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play - one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning American playwright - that chronicles the twentieth century African American experience...
and the television series That's My Mama
That's My Mama
That's My Mama is an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on the ABC network from September 1974 until December 1975. There are 39 episodes of this series.-Synopsis:...
.