Showbill for "Puppetplay": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white paper showbill printed by Playbill for “Puppetplay”.

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 Player’s Cigarettes ad which depicts men and women smoking at a party, above a purple banner with an orange slogan [PLAYERS GO PLACES]. The right page announces “Puppetplay”. 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 / PUPPETPLAY / by / PEARL CLEAGE / with / PHYLICIA AYERS-ALLEN / BRAD BREWER / SERET SCOTT / WENDELL BROOKS / Directed by / CLINTON TURNER DAVIS / Set Design by / LLEWELLYN HARRISON / Lighting Design by / WILLIAM H. GRANT, III / Costume Design by / JUDY DEARING / Sound Design by / BERNARD HALL / Production Stage Manager / JESSE 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 Maxima depicting [THE LUXURY EXPRESS] car in brown at the top of the page, and the leather interior on the bottom half of the page.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1983
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Subject of: Pearl Cleage, American
• Subject of: Phylicia Rashad, American, born 1948
• Subject of: Seret Scott, American, born 1949
• Subject of: Wendell Brooks
• 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 1/2 × 5 5/8 × 1/8 in. (21.6 × 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: 2014.196.7
• 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.