12/13/2023 0 Comments Box of god![]() ![]() The production continued to tour, and was re-worked when Patti LaBelle joined the cast. The second run on Broadway played for 149 performances. Jennifer-Yvette Holliday received rave reviews for her performance, and she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in Musical. It first played at the Ambassador Theatre before transferring to the Belasco Theatre. ![]() The musical re-opened on Broadway in 1980 with several cast members from the original production. Your Arms Too Short to Box With God embarked on a national tour, traveling to 66 cities around the United States. In November 1977, the production transferred to the Eugene O’Neill Theatre where it played until January 1, 1978. It makes it difficult for us, as artists, to be the people we want to be.”ĪBC Records released an original cast album on vinyl in 1977. They only want the singing and the dancing…white people have been so programmed into dealing in a certain way with us that they're not even aware of it. In an interview for the New York Times just prior to Your Arms Too Short opened, Carroll called out the racism of the industry by stating “…the chief reason that I do so many musicals is that white producers won't pick up anything intellectual by us, no matter how good it is. Her first nomination in 1972, for Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope, made her the first (and still the only) African American woman nominated in the Best Director category. It was Carroll’s second Tony nomination for Best Director. The production won one Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Delores Hall), and was nominated for another three including Best Book of a Musical (Vinnette Carroll), Best Choreography (Talley Beatty), and Best Direction of a Musical (Vinnette Carroll). New York Times critic Clive Barns stated “It is funny and fervent-an unusual combination-and it has an onrushing vitality that practically pins you to your seat.” Barnes compared the musical to Andrew Lloyd Webber’s “all trash and glitter” Jesus Christ Superstar, and noted that the “effect is totally different” and under Carroll’s direction, her musical had “the emblematic simplicity of a medieval morality play.” She portrayed Jesus and the Israelites as people of color. speaks directly to the peoples of Africa, and the African diaspora worldwide. Krider, Héctor Jaime Mercado, Mabel Robinson, William Thomas, Jr., Leone Washington, Derek Williams, and Marilynn Winbush.ĭirector Harry Bryce (who helmed the Westcoast Black Theatre Troupe production in 2020), has noted the significance of the casting, stating " Carroll’s gospel celebration. The cast featured all African American performers, including Adrian Bailey, Salome Bey, Deborah Lynn Bridges, Sharon Brooks, Clinton Derricks-Carroll, Thelma Drayton, Sheila Ellis, Ralph Farrington, Thomas Jefferson Fouse Jr, Michael Gray, Cardell Hall, Delores Hall, William-Keebler Hardy, Jr., The Bobby Hill, Edna M. Your Arms Too Short to Box With God transferred to Broadway, opening at the Lyceum Theatre on December 22, 1976. The musical was further developed and was performed in Washington, Chicago, and Philadelphia. The creative team included Alex Bradford (music and lyrics), Micki Grant, (additional lyrics), Talley Beaty (choreography), William Schroder (scenic and costume design), and Gilbert V. ![]() Your Arms Too Short to Box With God was first performed by the Urban Arts Corps at the 1975 Festival of Two Worlds in Spoleto, Italy. Carroll directed over 50 productions during her 10 years with the Urban Arts Corps (UAC), including the much celebrated Don’t Bother Me I, I Can’t Cope , and the short-lived But Never Jam Today. Carroll has been credited with infusing Broadway musicals of the 1960s and 70s with a unique African American aesthetic. James Weldon Johnson used the phrase “Your arms too short to box with God” in his novel The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, and in the poem “The Prodigal Son.”ĭirector and writer Vinnette Carroll developed the musical from the Gospel of St. From parables to miracles, from crucifixion to resurrection, it’s a tale of love, betrayal and redemption, told through rousing gospel music. Based on the Book of Matthew, this soaring celebration in song and dance tells the story of Jesus, his apostles, and the women who inspired, followed and consoled him. ![]()
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