The Glass Menagerie (Original program for the 1947 production at Howard University)

Vintage program for the 1947 production of the 1944 play, held from December 9-12, 1947, at Howard University's Spaulding Hall, under the direction of James W. Butcher, Jr. The production marked the first time the play had been performed by an all-Black cast. Produced less than two years after the 1945 Broadway premiere of Tennessee Williams' breakthrough play, director Butcher remained faithful to Williams' text for Howard University's Black acting troupe, The Howard Players, and the performances' predominately Black audience, and was widely lauded by local critics, with the Washington Afro-American declaring the production "a must on the local theatregoers' calendar," and the Washington Evening Star acknowledging Butcher's "bravery" in producing an entirely Black production of Williams' play. Among The Howard Players acting in the production were very early performances by noted actor Graham Brown (later of the Negro Ensemble Company in New York), here using his birth name Robert Brown, who played the angry and socially conscious Tom Wingfield, and noted actor, playwright, and groundbreaking theatre director Shauneille Perry, who played the crippled and psychologically fragile Laura Wingfield. 6.5 x 9.25 inches, Bi-fold. Near Fine, with faint toning to the extremities.…