Harlem: A Melodrama of Negro Life in Harlem

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Harlem: A Melodrama of Negro Life in Harlem is a 1929 play by Wallace Thurman. One of its original titles was Black Mecca [1] and another was Black Belt. The play was loosely based on Thurman's short story "Cordelia the Crude". The play was written with Thurman's friend William Jourdan Rapp. [2] [3] It opened at the Apollo Theater and was successful, featuring a depiction of a migrant family coming to New York for a better life but meeting hardship in the city. [2]

Its entry on the Harlem Renaissance, Encyclopædia Britannica describes the play as depicting vice and crime with "vernacular and slang-ridden dialogue". It drew praise from white critics and mixed reactions from African American critics, some of whom lamented its focus on the lower echelons of Harlem society. [4] It played for 93 showings and then toured in other cities. [5]

References

  1. ↑ Scott, Daniel M. III (Fall 2004). "Harlem Shadows: Re-evaluating Wallace Thurman's The Blacker the Berry". MELUS . 29 (3/4): 323–339. doi:10.2307/4141858. JSTOR   4141858. ProQuest   203668407.
  2. 1 2 "Wallace Henry Thurman: Harlem Renaissance". www.myblackhistory.net.
  3. ↑ "Death of William Jourdan Rapp, 1942". Poughkeepsie Journal. August 13, 1942. p. 15 – via newspapers.com.
  4. ↑ "Harlem | play by Thurman and Rapp | Britannica". www.britannica.com.
  5. ↑ "Wallace Henry Thurman: A Utah Contributor to the Harlem Renaissance". issuu.
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