Hope Clarke | |
---|---|
Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. | March 23, 1941
Occupations |
|
Years active | 1960–present |
Awards | Dramalogue Award, Joseph Calloway Award, NAACP Image, Outer Critics Award |
Hope Clarke (born March 23, 1941) is an American actress, dancer, vocalist, choreographer, and director. Clarke, a Tony Award nominee, made history in 1995 when she became the first African-American, as well as the first African-American woman, to direct and choreograph a major staging of the classic opera, Porgy and Bess . Clarke began her career as a principal dancer with the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, and as an actress appeared in many stage, film, and television productions. As a choreographer, Clarke is credited with staging and movement for more than 30 shows on and off Broadway.
A native of Washington, D.C., Clarke took dance classes with her sister at the Alma Davis Dance School, and as a senior in high school, she was a lead dancer with Doris Jones' company in DC. [1] [2] Clarke worked as a summer employee for the Central Intelligence [Agency]. [2] She grew up in a middle class Black community, a place where people shopped through mail-order catalogues in order to purchase clothes offered in stores where they were not welcomed. “The black community, as I remember it, was very closely knit," Clarke said in the San Francisco Examiner : "Before the fabric of this society was torn by racism and lack of education, we all took care of each other. We all watched each other's children." [3]
In 1959, Clarke landed a role in the original touring cast of West Side Story. [2] At the urging of her sister, she auditioned for the role, got it, and joined the touring company while it was in Chicago, [1] [4] [5] and remained in the cast until April 23, 1960. [6] In 1961, Clarke appeared in the interracial love story Kwamina starring Brock Peters and Robert Guillaume, and featuring the choreography of Agnes de Mille. [1] [5] In 1967, she played a minor role and was part of the ensemble in Hallelujah, Baby!, which received five Tony Awards, including Best Musical. [1] [4] [5]
In 1966, Clarke appeared in the Metropolitan Opera's first production, Antony and Cleopatra . [7] In 1968, she played Mamselle Tulip in the House of Flowers at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. [8] In 1969, Clarke had a role in Douglas Turner Ward’s “The Reckoning” at the St. Mark’s Playhouse, [1] [4] an off-off Broadway theater that showcased the work of the Negro Ensemble Company. [4] [8]
In 1970, Clarke was a dancer in “Purlie,” a musical that nominated for five Tony Awards. [1] [4] In 1972, she was in the musical “Don’t Bother Me, I Can’t Cope,” which was the first Broadway musical to be directed by an African American woman, Vinnette Carroll. [1] [2] [5] [9]
Clarke served as a principal dancer in the Katherine Dunham Company and the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater. [1] [4] [10] [11] [2] In the Ailey company, she toured internationally and received positive reviews and audience ovations. [2] [12] In addition to dancing with Dunham and Ailey, Clarke performed with the companies of Tally Beatty, [2] [4] George Faison, [4] and Louis Johnson. [1] [4]
Clarke, along with Michael Blake, Carmen de Lavallade, Sheila Rohan, and others, co-founded the former 5 Plus Ensemble (New Beginnings Theater), a dance company created to showcase the work of dancers, choreographer, and musicians who are older than the age of 50. [2] [13] [14]
After appearing on Broadway and around the world as a dancer, Clarke moved to Hollywood, California with the help of actor and friend Raymond St. Jacques. [2] Her most memorable film roles were co-starring with Sidney Poitier in A Piece of the Action (1977); [2] working with St. Jacques and Philip Michael Thomas on the A Book of Numbers' set in Dallas; [2] [15] [4] and portraying Jean-Michel Basquiat's mother, Matilde, in Basquiat (1996). [2] [8] Clarke has had a variety of guest roles on tv shows, such as Hill Street Blues , [2] Amen, Another World, As the World Turns, Beat Street, Hart to Hart , Into the Night, The Jeffersons , The Ropers , Sex and the City, Three's Company . [1] She appeared in the TV miniseries King (1978), which was based upon the life of Martin Luther King Jr., the slain civil rights leader.
In 1985, Clarke played “Ruby” in the musical Grind [4] [5] [16] and worked with Lester Wilson. [2] In 1992, Clarke earned a Tony Award nomination for “Best Choreography” for her work in the 1992 Broadway hit Jelly's Last Jam . [1] [5] [17] The show grew from New York workshops and a Los Angeles production at the Mark Taper Forum to a Broadway show. [18]
In 1995, Clarke choreographed “The Tempest.” [4] [5] In November 2003, she started work on Caroline, or Change, a musical that features spirituals, blues, Motown, classical music and Jewish Klezmer. [19] Clarke was responsible for the choreography of the show that began as an Off-Broadway production, received a Broadway production of 126 performances in 2004, received six Tony Award nominations, and had a two-month run at the Lyttleton Theatre, National Theatre in London, winning the Olivier Award for Best New Musical. [19] [8] [16]
In 2010, Clarke choreographed A Free Man of Color, [5] and in 2017, she choreographed, Fly, a play about the Tuskegee Airmen. The show was produced by the Lincoln Center Institute and toured to several venues, including Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Florida Studio Theatre, St. Louis Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Ford's Theatre, Vineyard Playhouse, and Crossroads Theatre. [2] [20] [21] [22]
After George C. Wolfe hired Clarke to create movement and staging for The Colored Museum, [1] [23] the pair have collaborated on 10 plays, [2] including the opera Amistad, [24] the Off-Broadway play, Spunk, [23] and Broadway shows Caroline, Or Change , A Free Man of Color , and Jelly's Last Jam, which earned Clarke a Tony Award nomination. [25] [26]
In 1995, Clarke directed the Houston Grand Opera production of Porgy & Bess , the first African American to stage a major professional U.S. staging of “Porgy and Bess. [23] [10] [11] Regarded as America’s greatest opera, the two million dollar Houston Grand production toured throughout the United States, as well as performances in Italy and Japan. [27] [10]
In 2012, Clarke directed a Morgan State University production of Porgy & Bess at the Murphy Fine Arts Center. [28] [29]
Year | Title | Type | Venue | Role |
---|---|---|---|---|
2023 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [43] |
2019 | The In-Gathering | Musical | New Professional Theatre at the Duke Theater | Choreographer [44] |
2018 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [45] |
2017 | FLY | Play, drama | Alabama Shakespeare Festival, Pasadena Playhouse, Florida Studio Theatre, St. Louis Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Ford's Theatre, Vineyard Playhouse, Crossroads Theatre | Choreographer [20] [21] |
2016 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [46] |
2016 | The Roads to Home | Play, drama | Primary Stages, Cherry Lane Theater | Movement consultant [47] [20] |
2015 | Grey Gardens | Musical | Center Theatre Group, Bay Street Theatre | Choreographer [20] [48] |
2014 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [49] |
2013 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [50] |
2011 | Mr. Abbott Award Gala | Benefit | In honor of George C. Wolfe, New York | Choreographer [51] |
2010 – 2011 | A Free Man of Color | Broadway play, original, drama | Vivian Beaumont Theater | Choreographer |
2010 | Agnes deMille: From Ballet to Broadway | Revue | St. Luke's Theatre | Performer [52] [53] |
2010 | Jesus Christ Superstar Gospel | Musical | Alliance Theatre | Choreographer [22] |
2008 | Resurrection | Play | Philadelphia Theatre Company, Hartford Stage | Choreographer [20] [54] |
2006 - 2007 | Caroline, or Change | Musical, tour | The Lyttelton, at the National Theatre, London | Choreographer [19] |
2006 | The Dreams of Sarah Breedlove | Play, drama | Goodman Theater | Choreographer [4] [55] |
2005 | The Learned Ladies of Park Avenue | Play | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [20] [56] |
2004 | Caroline, or Change | Broadway musical, original, drama | Eugene O'Neill Theatre | Choreographer |
2004 | Stormy Weather | Musical | New York | Choreographer [57] |
2003 | Caroline, or Change | Off-Broadway musical, original, drama | Joseph Papp Public Theater/ Newman Theater | Choreographer [47] |
2002 | The Odyssey | Play | Theater at St. Clement's | Musical staging [4] [22] [58] |
2000 | A Christmas Carol, A Ghost Story of Christmas | Musical, holiday | Hartford Stage | Choreographer [59] |
2000 | A Prophet Among Them | Play with music | Blue Heron Arts Center | Choreographer [60] [40] |
1999 | Mack and Mabel | Musical | Barrington Stage | Choreographer [61] [62] |
1999 | South Pacific | Musical | Pioneer Theatre | Choreographer [20] [63] |
1998 | Porgy and Bess | Ballet | Dallas Black Dance Theatre | Choreographer [64] |
1998 | Cabaret | Musical | Cambridge Theatre Company | Choreographer [65] |
1997 | Armistad | Opera | Lyric Opera | Choreographer [4] [66] |
1997 | Nobody Says Baby Like A Black Man | Off-Broadway play | American Place Theater | Director |
1996 | A ... My Name is Alice | Musical, revue | McGinn-Cazale Theater | Choreographer [47] [22] [67] |
1996 | One Touch of Venus | Musical | New York City Center/ Mainstage | Choreographer [8] [47] |
1995 | Angel Levine | Off-Broadway musical | Playhouse 91 | Choreographer [47] |
1995 | The Tempest | Off-Broadway Play, comedy, revival | Delacorte Theater | Choreographer [47] |
1995 | The Tempest | Broadway play, comedy, revival | Broadhurst Theatre | Choreographer [68] |
1993 | Sweet & Hot: The Songs of Harold Arlen | Musical | La Jolla Playhouse (West Coast Premiere) | Choreographer [69] |
1992 – 1993 | Jelly's Last Jam | Broadway musical, original | Virginia Theatre | Choreographer (nominated for a Tony) |
1991 | Black Eagles | Play | New York City Center/ Stage II | Choreographer [47] |
1991 | Così fan tutte | Opera | New York | Choreographer [11] [70] |
1990 | Spunk: Three Tales by Zora Neale Hurston | Off-Broadway play | Joseph Papp Public Theater/ Martinson Hall | Choreographer [1] [4] [47] |
1990 | The Caucasian Chalk Circle | Play | Joseph Papp Public Theater/ Martinson Hall | Choreographer [47] [1] |
1988 | Porgy & Bess | Opera | Finnish National Opera and Brazil (Opera Ebony productions) | Choreographer [4] [71] |
1986 | The Colored Museum | Play | Joseph Papp Public Theater/ Susan Stein Shiva Theater | Choreographer [47] |
1985 | Grind | Broadway musical, original | Mark Hellinger Theatre | Ruby / performer |
1972 – 1974 | Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope | Broadway musical, original, revue, all-Black cast | Playhouse Theatre, Edison Theatre | Performer |
1972 | Black Visions | Off-Broadway play | Joseph Papp Public Theater/ Annex | Choreographer [47] |
1967 – 1968 | Hallelujah, Baby! | Broadway musical, original | Martin Beck Theatre | Performer |
1966 | Antony and Cleopatra | Opera | Metropolitan Opera | Dancer [7] |
1960 | West Side Story | Broadway musical | Winter Garden Theatre, Alvin Theatre, and Tour Cities | Performer |
Year | Title | Type | Role |
---|---|---|---|
1969 | Change of Mind | Film | Nancy |
2023 | LEAP FOR JOY! In Celebration of National Dance Day | Short film, musical | Self |
2023 | Rustin | Film | Lucille Randolph |
2019 | Finding Julia | Film | Choreographer [8] |
2004 | Men Without Jobs | Film | Ms. Jackson |
1996–2002 | Law & Order | TV Series | Multiple episodes: Mrs. Marbury, Appellate Judge #2, Judge Emma Reynolds |
2002 | Driving Fish | Short film | Betty |
2000 | Seventeen Again | TV Movie | Grandma Catherine “Cat” Donovan |
2002 | Sex and the City | TV Series | Lee |
1996 | New York Undercover | TV Series | Marilyn Ferris |
1996 | Basquiat | Film | Matilde |
1988 | A Father's Homecoming | TV Movie | Doctor |
1987 | Amen | TV Series | Carol Wilson |
1987 | Angel Heart | Film | Voodoo Dancer |
1985 | Into the Night | Film | Airport Cop |
1984 | Beat Street | Film | Assistant Choreographer [72] |
1983 | The New Odd Couple | TV Series | Beth St. Clair |
1982 | Hill Street Blues | TV Series | Mrs. Reese |
1982 | Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal | TV Movie | Chris |
1981 | Maggie | TV Series | Receptionist |
1981 | Body and Soul | Film | Choreographer [8] |
1980 | Scout's Honor | TV Movie | Mrs. Prewett |
1978 | The White Shadow | TV Series | Aunt Edna Hayward |
1979 | Three's Company | TV Series | Second Nurse |
1979 | Hart to Hart | TV Series | Teacher |
1979 | Miss Winslow and Son | TV Series | Cast member |
1979 | The Ropers | TV Series | Dr. Young |
1979 | Jennifer: A Woman's Story | TV Movie | Annie (secretary) |
1976; 1977–1978 | What's Happening!! | TV Series | Multiple episodes: Mrs. Watson, Elizabeth Duncan |
1974 | Good Times | TV Series | Brenda Gordon |
1978 | King | TV Mini Series | Multiple episodes: Mary |
1975 | The Jeffersons | TV Series | Sherry Barnes |
1977 | A Piece of the Action | Film | Sarah Thomas |
1973 | Book of Numbers | Film | Pigmeat Goins [73] |
1971 | Going Home | Film | Mother at prison |
1969 | Change of Mind | Film | Nancy |
1968 | N.Y.P.D. | Ivy | |
Porgy and Bess is an English-language opera by American composer George Gershwin, with a libretto written by author DuBose Heyward and lyricist Ira Gershwin. It was adapted from Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward's play Porgy, itself an adaptation of DuBose Heyward's 1925 novel Porgy.
Savion Glover is an American tap dancer, actor and choreographer.
Susan P. Stroman is an American theatre director, choreographer, and performer. Her notable theater productions include Oklahoma!, The Music Man, Crazy for You, Contact, The Producers, The Frogs, The Scottsboro Boys, Bullets Over Broadway, POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass Are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive, and New York, New York.
Jelly's Last Jam is a musical with a book by George C. Wolfe, lyrics by Susan Birkenhead, and music by Jelly Roll Morton and Luther Henderson. Based on the life and career of Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe, known as Jelly Roll Morton and generally regarded as one of the primary driving forces behind the introduction of jazz to the American public in the early 20th century, it also serves as a social commentary on the African-American experience during the era. LaMothe was born into a Louisiana Creole family that was established and free before the Civil War.
Jack O'Brien is an American director, producer, writer and lyricist. He served as the Artistic Director of the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, California from 1981 through the end of 2007.
Baayork Lee is an American actress, singer, dancer, choreographer, theatre director, and author.
Arvin Brown is an American theatre and television director. He was the Artistic Director of the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut for 30 years.
Graciela Daniele is an Argentine-American dancer, choreographer, and theatre director.
Rob Ashford is an American stage director and choreographer. He is a Tony Award, Olivier Award, Emmy Award, Drama Desk Award, and Outer Critics Circle Award winner.
Norm Lewis is an American actor and baritone singer. He has appeared on Broadway and in London's West End, film, television, recordings and regional theatre. He is also noted for his wide vocal range. Lewis was the second African-American actor after Robert Guillaume to perform in the title role in Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera and the first one to do so in the Broadway production. In 2023, he reprised the role in the show's sequel, Love Never Dies, in the West End.
Lynne Taylor-Corbett is a choreographer, director, lyricist, and composer. She was born in Denver, Colorado.
Warren Carlyle is a British director and choreographer who was born in Norwich, Norfolk, England. He received Drama Desk Award nominations for Outstanding Choreography and Outstanding Director of a Musical for the 2009 revival of Finian's Rainbow.
Carmen de Lavallade is an American actress, choreographer and dancer. For many years, she was associated with and married to Tony Award-winning actor, dancer, and director Geoffrey Holder. In 2017, she received the Kennedy Center Honors award for lifetime achievement and contributions to American culture.
Sergio Trujillo is a Colombian theater director, choreographer, dancer, and actor. Born in Colombia and raised in Toronto, Canada, he is an American citizen and resides in New York City. Trujillo was the recipient of the 2019 Tony Award for Best Choreography for Ain't Too Proud and the 2015 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Theatre Choreographer for Memphis. He is the first ever Hispanic recipient of the Tony Award for Best Choreography.
Alexander Mikhailovich Plisetski was a Russian ballet master and choreographer and a younger brother of the famous Russian ballerina Maya Plisetskaya.
Camille A. Brown is an American dancer, choreographer, director, and dance educator. Four-time Tony Awards nominees, she started her career working as professional dancer with Ronald K. Brown's company in the early 2000s. In 2006 she founded her own dance company, the Camille A. Brown & Dancers, producing severals dance productions, winning a Princess Grace Awards and a Bessie Award.
George W. Faison is an American dancer, choreographer, teacher, and theater producer, and winner of a 1975 Tony, a Drama Desk Award, and a 1991 nominee for the Emmy Award for choreography. He was a featured dancer with the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, founder of the George Faison Universal Dance Experience, and co-founder/producing artistic director of the Faison Firehouse Theater.
Luis Salgado is a Puerto Rican performer, director, choreographer, and producer. His career has led him to Broadway, film, television, and stages around the world. He served as associate director and choreographer of Cirque du Soleil's Paramour that opened April 16, 2019 at the Neue Flora theatre in Hamburg, Germany. He has worked with directors, choreographers and performers such as Andy Blankenbuehler, Jerry Mitchell, Sergio Trujillo, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Patti LuPone, Laura Benanti, Patrick Dempsey and Diego Luna.
Loretta Agatha Abbott was an American educator, dancer, choreographer, singer, director, dance captain, and actress. She was an early member and foundation builder for the Alvin Ailey Dance Company. She was also a founding member of the Clark Center for the Performing Arts, and worked with the organization from 1959 to 1989.
Emilio Sosa is a costume designer for Broadway and is as of 2021 chair of the American Theatre Wing Board of Trustees in New York City. He has been nominated for 5 Tony Awards as a costume designer, and is best-known for his work on Topdog/Underdog, Porgy and Bess, and By the Way, Meet Vera Stark.