Playbill for The War Party: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

Playbill for The War Party. On the front of the playbill in large black type is [PLAYBILL ® / THEATRE FOUR] printed inside a blue block. Below it is the very large round Negro Ensemble Company logo inside a black print block. On the inside of the playbill, a left page features an edge to edge Marlboro cigarette ad photograph depicting a man on horseback. The right page announces the play, The War Party. From top to bottom, is: [THEATRE FOUR / 424 West 55th Street / (Near Nineth Avenue) / 246-8545] and the round Negro Ensemble Company logo and [TWENTIETH ANNIVERSAY SEASON]. The page continues with a list of cast and staff: [DOUGLASS TURNER WARD / Artistic Director / LEON B. DENMARK / Managing Director / presents / THE WAR PARTY / by / LESLIE LEE / with / CARLA BROTHERS / CARMEN MATHIS / KEVIN ROCK / BRIAN WESLEY THOMAS / VONDIE CURTIS-HALL / ROME NEAL / LARRY SHARP / ADAM WADE / KATHRYN HUNTER / ROBERTA PIKSER / KIRK TAYLOR / TICO WELLS / Directed by / CLINTON TURNER DAVIS / Set Design / CHARLES H. McCLENNAHAN / Costume Design / JUDY DEARING / Lighting CONSULTANT / SHIRLEY PRENDERGAST / Sound Design / HARRISON WILLIAMS / Production Stage Manager / ED DE SHAE / NOVEMBER 17, 1986]. The rest of the interior consists of thirty-four pages filled with text, images, and advertisements. On the back of the playbill is a dark color photographic ad for Colombia Coffee depicting a cup and saucer of coffee resting on the arms of a leather chair.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1986
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Written by: Leslie Lee
• Directed by: Clinton Turner Davis
• Directed by: Leon B. Denmark, American
• Directed by: Douglas Turner Ward, born 1930
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Type: theater programs
• Medium: ink on paper, metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 8 1/2 × 5 5/8 in. (21.6 × 14.3 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Theatre companies
• Object number: 2014.196.3
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, Gift of Dr. Sandra Austin
• 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: © Playbill Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.