Showbill for Colored People's Time: Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white paper theater program used by The Negro Ensemble Company, Inc. for the play “Colored People’s Time”. On the front of the program in large black type is [SHOWBILL ® / CHERRY LANE THEATRE] printed inside a blue block. Below it is the circular Negro Ensemble Company logo inside a black print block. On the inside of the program the left page features a black-and-white image of a solar testing facility in New Mexico. The right page announces the play “Colored People’s Time”. From top to bottom, text reads: [CHERRY LANE THEATRE] and the round Negro Ensemble Company logo. The page continues: [DOUGLASS TURNER WARD / Artistic Director / LEON B. DENMARK / Managing Director / presents / COLORED PEOPLE’S TIME / by / LESLIE LEE / with / L. SCOTT CALDWELL / JACKEE HARRY / CHARLES H. PATTERSON / CHUCK COOPER / JUANITA MAHONE / CHARLES WELDON / ROBERT GOSSETT / DEBBI MORGAN / CURT WILLIAMS / Directed by / HORACENA J. TAYLOR / Scenery by / FELIX COCHRAN / Lighting by / SHIRLEY PRENDERGAST / Costumes by / MYRNA COLLEY-LEE / Sound by / GARY HARRIS / Production Stage Manager / FEMI SARAH HEGGIE. A small ad for Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whiskey is printed below the play information. The rest of the interior consists of pages filled with text, images, and advertisements. The back of the program has an edge to edge color photographic ad for Galliano Liqueur. A small square image of two hands holding to the tall stems of liqueur filled glasses is featured against a black background. At the bottom of the ad is the Galliano slogan and a Galliano bottle and short, filled glass.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: March 1982
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Written by: Leslie Lee
• Directed by: Horacena J. Taylor, American, born 1940
• Directed by: Douglas Turner Ward, born 1930
• Directed by: Leon B. Denmark, American
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Subject of: Juanita Mahone, American, born 1952
• Subject of: Jackée Harry, American, born 1931
• Type: theater programs
• Medium: ink on paper, metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 8 9/16 × 5 11/16 × 1/8 in. (21.7 × 14.4 × 0.3 cm)
• Place used: Cherry Lane Theater, New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Theatre companies
• Object number: 2014.196.2.1
• 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: © American Theatre Press, Incorporated, 1982 Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.