Showbill for The "Sixteenth Round": Museum Object and Cultural History

The object in the museum catalogue

A black-and-white paper showbill printed by Playbill for “The Sixteenth Round”.

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 for the New York City Marathon, depicting the New York City skyline inside of an apple, with marathon runners below it running to the right.

On the right page in black type, from the top, is: [THEATRE FOUR / 424 West 55th Street / (Near Nineth Avenue) / 246-8545] and the round Negro Ensemble Company logo. The page continues: [DOUGLASS TURNER WARD / Artistic Director / GERALD S. KRONE / Managing Director / presents / THE SIXTEENTH ROUND / by / SAMM-ART WILLIAMS / PAUL BENJAMINROSALIND CASHROSCOE ORMAN / Directed by / HORACENA J. TAYLOR / Scenery by / FELIX E. COCHREN / Lighting by / SHIRLEY PRENDERGAST / Costumes by / JUDY DEARING / Production Stage Manager / CLINTON TURNER DAVIS / Premier performance –October 7, 1980 / WARNING / The photographing or sound recording of any performance or the possession of any device for such / photographing or sound recording inside this theatre, without the written permission of the manage- / ment, is prohibited by law. / Violations may be punished by ejection and may render the offender liable / for money damages.]. A small grayscale ad for Dubonnet Wine is featured below the play’s information.

On the back of the playbill is an edge to edge color photographic ad for Grand Marnier Liqueur. The ad depicts the macro perspective of the liqueur being poured into an ice cubed-shot glass. There is bright orange type throughout, and a small image of the Grand Marnier bottle and slogan in the upper left of the image.

Materials, dates and provenance

• Date: 1980
• Published by: Playbill, American, founded 1884
• Subject of: Negro Ensemble Company, American, founded 1967
• Subject of: Samm-Art Williams
• Subject of: Rosalind Cash, American, 1938 - 1995
• Subject of: Roscoe Orman, American, born 1944
• Subject of: Paul Benjamin, American, 1938 - 2019
• Directed by: Horacena J. Taylor, American, born 1940
• Directed by: Douglas Travis, American, founded 1942
• 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: 2014.196.14
• 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.