Program for Memphis Bound: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A May 1945 Playbill for the play Memphis Bound, performed at the Colonial Theatre in Boston, Massachusetts. The cover is printed on glossy off-white paper and features centered black text in varying fonts that reads, [COLONIAL / THEATRE / -BOSTON- / Direction of L.A.B. Amusement Corp.]. Along the top and bottom edges of the front cover are handwritten inscriptions in black in that read, [May 3-19-1945] and [Sallie J. Cathrell]. The back cover features an advertisement for a restaurant called The Country Plate and features an illustration of the restaurant, a sign with the restaurant’s name, the address, and lunch and dinner hours. The interior pages are glossy white paper with black text and black-and-white illustrations. At the top of the first page is the production information that reads [May 3 to 12, 1945 / JOHN WILDBERG / Presents / BILL ROBINSON / in the / VINTON FREEDLEY PRODUCTION / MEMPHIS BOUND / A New Musical Comedy / with / AVON LONG / SHEILA GUYS[sic] IDA JAMES THEMA CARPENTER / DELTA RHYTHM BOYS / BILLY DANIELS ADA BROWN GEORGETTE HARVEY] above the production credits and the cast. The cast list continues on to page 2 and includes Laura Cathrell, listed as a [DANCING GIRL]. There are also advertisements for local businesses, exit plans for the theater, a fashion article, song credits, staging and costume credits, and a list of the executive staff for Pinafore Enterprises, Inc. The program is ten (10) pages including the front and back interior covers.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: May 1945
• Written by: Unidentified
• Distributed by: Colonial Theatre, American, founded 1900
• Subject of: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, American, 1878 - 1949
• Subject of: Avon Long, American, 1910 - 1984
• Subject of: John J. Wildberg, American, 1902 - 1959
• Subject of: Vinton Freedley, American, 1891 - 1969
• Subject of: Sheila Guyse, American, 1925 - 2013
• Subject of: Ida James, American, 1920 - 1986
• Type: theater programs
• Medium: ink on paper with metal
• Place used: Boston, Suffolk County, Massachusetts, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: American South
• Topic: Comedy
• Topic: Musical Theatre
• Object number: 2013.46.25.269
• Credit Line: Collection of the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
• 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: Unknown - Restrictions Possible Rights assessment and proper usage is the responsibility of the user.