Musical Theater, Opera, Operettas, Etc.

BROADWAY MUSICALS

Blake, Eubie/Sissle, Noble
.....Shuffle Along

MUSICALS
.....Rocking the Rafters, Mrs. Clarence R. Todd of Fredericksburgh, Va

Gaye Adegbalola
Biography

Singer | Songwriter | Performer | Public Speaker | Educator

Gaye Adegbalola has been singing and playing guitar and harmonica with Saffire - The Uppity Blues Women since the popular acoustic blues group's inception in 1984. Together they have recorded seven CD's for Alligator Records, and have toured widely throughout the U.S. and abroad, receiving international acclaim. In 1990 Ms. Adegbalola was the recipient of the prestigious W.C. Handy Award for her song Middle Aged Blues Boogie.

Now through her latest album, Neo-Classic Blues with Roddy Barnes, Adegbalola embraces and redefines the classic style of the great blues divas of the 1920s and 30s - those often fiercely independent "wild women" who were unashamed to lay their souls bare and unafraid to give advice. Adegbalola and accompanist Roddy Barnes conjure up another era and deliver a dynamic cabaret-style performance that is both educational and entertaining.

Originally an educator with Fredericksburg, Virginia, public schools, Adegbalola was honored as Virginia State Teacher of the Year in 1982. She is a dynamic, engaging and motivational public speaker, and conducts a variety of workshops and seminars.

More about Gaye...

Born in Fredericksburg Virginia on March 21, 1944. Fredericksburg was, at that time, a segregated town. Her Dad, Clarence R. Todd, was a Planner & Estimator and was quite an artist--drawing and painting, part time jazz musician, and founder of Harambee 360s Experimental Theatre. Her Mom, Gladys P. Todd, was a community organizer who spearheaded the local civil rights struggle. She worked part time at the Youth Canteen and brought home all its old records--influencing Gaye's musical taste early on. 1st job was sorting dirty laundry, 45 cents/hour, The Sunshine Laundry.

Sat-in & picketed in Civil Rights Movement, 1960's. Graduated valedictorian, 1961. Received B.A. in Biology, minor in Chemistry, Boston University 1965. Jobs before teaching career--Technical Writer, TRW Systems; Biochemical Researcher, Rockefeller University; Bacteriologist, Harlem Hospital (also Union Representative Local 1199), 1965-70.

Activist in the Black Power Movement in New York City and formed Harlem Committee of Self-Defense, 1966-70. Married (since divorced) in NYC to Olumide (then manager of the original Last Poets -- the 1st rappers), from this union, son Juno Lumumba Kahlil born, 1969. Began work on novel, 500 Year Diary of An Oppressed Woman - 1969, completed 4th re-write in 1979; never published. Returned to Fredericksburg, 1970.
(Afro American, 4/8/50, p18)

OPERA
.....Kykunkor, the african opera with native dances and songs. The cast for one performance included Asadata Dafora as the bridgegroom and Abudul Assen as the witch doctor.
.....Troubled Island, written by William Grant Still with libretto by Langston Hughes. Leopold Stokowski, musical director of the City Center of Music and Drama is interested himself in the production of the oepra "Troubled Islands", written by WGS, the story is being based on a poem by Langston Hughes. (ML96.S915 Case)
Arias, Communists, and Conspiracies: The History of Still's "Troubled Island"
Tammy L. Kernodle
The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 83, No. 4 (Winter, 1999), pp. 487-508
This article consists of 22 page(s).


OPERETTAS

Blue Moon
....Negro Jazz Operetta Pitts C, 9/4/26 (4)

Graham, Shirley
.....Composer of "Tom Tom"

Grainger, Porter
....."Old Shoes", a three-act comedy. The play was written by Murray Brown. Afro, 1/6/44, 14

Pope, Anthony
.....Composer of "El Gitano"

LIBRETTI

Freeman, Harry Lawrence (1869-1954)
.....Voodoo, a grand opera in three acts (ML50.F85.V5 1926)

Coleridge-Taylor, Samuel
.....Scenes from The Song of Hiawatha. E449.D16 vol 26, no 4

OTHER SONGWRITERS:

BROWN, ALLEN
.....Lt. Allen Brown of Fort Huachucha, Arizone, who is the writer of a number of the tuneful songs which made such a hit iin "G.I. Rhapsody" musical comedy, presented by the Post Special Service Division personnel. Afro, 1/8/44, 2