Showbill for "Manhattan Made Me": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white paper showbill printed by Playbill for “Manhattan Made Me”.

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 color photographic Marlboro ad depicting a man walking and carrying a horse stirrup, bit, and blanket. The right page announces the play “Manhattan Made Me”. 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 / MANHATTAN MADE ME / by / GUS EDWARDS / with / DAVID DAVIES / ROBERT GOSSETT / KATHLEEN FORBES / EUGENE LEE / Directed by / DOUGLASS TURNER WARD / Set and Costumes / FELIX E. COCHREN / Lights / SYLVESTER N. WEAVER, JR. / Sound / BERNARD HALL / Stage Managers / ED DE SHAEJESSE WOODEN, JR.]. A small ad for Dewar’s White Label Scotch Whiskey is printed below the play information.

On the back of the showbill is a color photographic ad for the Nissan Datsun, depicting a brown car with cream leather seats, [OBVIOUS LUXURY…SURPRISING PERFORMANCE].

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1981
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Subject of: Gus Edwards
• Subject of: Robert Gossett, American
• Subject of: Eugene Lee, American, born 1953
• Subject of: David Davies
• Directed by: Leon B. Denmark, American
• Directed by: Douglas Turner Ward, born 1930
• Type: theater programs
• Medium: ink on paper, metal
• Dimensions: H x W x D: 8 7/16 × 5 5/8 × 1/8 in. (21.4 × 14.3 × 0.3 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: 2014.196.4
• 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 Incorporated, 1983 Permission required for use. Proper usage is the responsibility of the user.