Original New York Times advertisement promoting For Colored Girls on Broadway: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A clipped advertisement from the New York Times for the Broadway production of “For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf” mounted on a piece of white cardboard.

The nearly full-page advertisement is printed in black ink on background that is slightly deeper than the surrounding off-white newsprint. The headline is in large sans serif font and reads [‘COLORED GIRLS’ / IS COMING TO / BROADWAY] followed by several blurbs from critics. At center is a black-and-white photograph of the seven women in the production’s ensemble cast: Trazana Beverley, Laurie Carlos, Rise Collins, Aku Kadogo, Janet league, Paula Moss, and Ntozake Shange. Small white text at the bottom proper left corner of the photo reads [Photo by Richard Avedon / © 1976 Conde Nast]. Beneath the image is a short caption about the production followed by a mail order form for tickets, surrounded in bold dashed lines to be cut out from the paper. The clipping has been removed from most of the surrounding newspaper page, though some is still visible around the edges of the advertisement. Small text at the top reads [THE NEW YORK TIMES, SUNDAY, AUGUST 22, 1976].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: August 22, 1976
• Published by: The New York Times, American, founded 1851
• Photograph by: Richard Avedon, American, 1923 - 2004
• Subject of: Ntozake Shange, American, 1948 - 2018
• Subject of: Condé Nast, founded 1909
• Subject of: Booth Theatre, American, founded 1913
• Subject of: Joseph Papp, American, 1921 - 1991
• Subject of: Oz Scott, American, born 1949
• Subject of: The Public Theater, American, founded 1967
• Type: advertisements
• Type: articles
• Medium: ink on newsprint with adhesive on cardboard
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 23 × 17 1/4 × 1/16 in. (58.4 × 43.8 × 0.2 cm)
• Dimensions: H x W (article): 18 1/2 × 13 3/8 in. (47 × 34 cm)
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Poetry
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Women
• Object number: 2016.131.6
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Ntozake Shange
• Data Source: National Museum of African American History and Culture

Sources and reuse

Catalogue descriptions and facts adapted from National Museum of African American History and Culture through the Smithsonian's official Open Access dataset. This record explicitly marks its metadata CC0 1.0; formatting and selection have been changed. The underlying object's rights statement is: © The New York Times Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.