"Showbill for In An Upstate Motel": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white paper showbill printed by Playbill for “In An Upstate Motel”.

On the front of the playbill in large black type is [SHOWBILL ® / 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 a Manufactures Hanover ad depicting a traffic light and a written banking appeal to potential corporate clients. The right page announces the play “In An Upstate Motel”. From the top in black type is: [THEATRE FOUR / 424 West 55th Street / (Near Ninth Avenue) / 246-8545] and the Negro Ensemble Company circular logo. The page continues: [DOUGLASS TURNER WARD / Artistic Director / Leon B. Denmark / Managing Director / presents / IN AN UPSTATE MOTEL / by / LARRY NEAL / with / PHYLICIA AYERS-ALLEN / CARL GORDON / DONNA BAILEY / CHARLES HENRY PATTERSON / Directed by PAUL CARTER HARRISON / Scenery Designed by / EDWARD BURBRIDGE / Lighting Designed by / SHIRLEY PRENDERGAST / Costumes Designed by / JUDY DEARING / Sound Designed by / REGGE LIFE / Production Stage Manager / FEMI SARAH HEGGIE / First Performance—April 4, 1981]. An small ad for Dubonnet Wine is featured below the play’s information.

On the back of the showbill is an edge to edge color photographic ad for Ballantine’s Scotch Whisky. The ad features two differently shaped glass bottles, green and brown, flanking a short glass of whisky on ice, all propped on a grainy wooden surface.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1981
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Subject of: Larry Neal, American, 1937 - 1981
• Subject of: Phylicia Rashad, American, born 1948
• Subject of: Carl Gordon, American, 1932 - 2010
• Directed by: Paul Carter Harrison, American, born 1936
• Directed by: Douglas Turner Ward, born 1930
• Directed by: Leon B. Denmark, American
• Type: playbills
• Medium: ink on paper with metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 9 × 5 5/8 × 1/8 in. (22.9 × 14.3 × 0.3 cm)
• Place used: New York City, New York, United States, North and Central America
• Topic: African American
• Topic: Actors
• Topic: Advertising
• Topic: Drama (Theatre)
• Topic: Entertainers
• Topic: Theatre
• Topic: Theatre companies
• Object number: 2014.196.10
• 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.