Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 This seems to be a soap opera/play from the late 70's, which seems to have a black cast. I've heard little about it. Soap Opera Digest, which seems to have been much more willing to break away from format in those years than in later years (some of the stuff in 70's SODs are real eye-openers), has some coverage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 This is all from the February 27, 1979 Digest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 There's a photo in the same issue, of Ruth Warrick guesting in Beulah Johnson. Was she playing Phoebe? I'd love to have seen that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members All My Shadows Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 You can find all kinds of information through Google Books. One of the results says this: But that's only a preview of the book, so idk what it goes on to say. This is an interesting concept, though. I would imagine the episodes were broadcast on PBS or something. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thanks. I looked quickly on Google but just saw an entry for a 1983 book, which I couldn't get to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SFK Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 Ugh it's so frustrating when things seem "lost" in this teknamalogikal age. Oy and then annoying little things like people's names spelled differently from one source to the next... There's no record of the play in the LORTEL archives though I found some of those actors credits. I found a few other actors' resume pages where the show is listed with the Alonzo Players as the rep company name (one actress also had For Richer For Poorer on her resume which I thought was kind of ). Alonzo wrote other plays and appeared in some Blaxploitation classics in the early '70s. "Cecil Alonzo - The Man Who Gave Birth To Beaulah Johnson 4-page interview; 2 candid photos" http://www.soapoperaworld.com/product_info.php?products_id=1437&keywords=seaforth&hl=1 ^^Carl you need to get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SFK Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 For a *hot* second I thought Marilyn Washington might have been actress Tamu pre-Africanized name change. So I searched Tamu Marilyn Washington and got Tamia Marilyn Washington bka singer Tamia. Strange coincidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 Thank you so much for finding all this, SFK. The woman on the far right in the first photo reminds me of a cross between Ethel Waters (young) and Rose from 227. The woman in the last photo reminds me of Kim Wayans for some reason. I wonder if Alonzo or anyone else in this was involved in some of the other projects like Our Street, or the soap Vee mentioned a few months ago. I would think someone out there connected to the play would probably have the whole story - I like the idea of a play that is different with each performance, yet still accessible to an audience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SFK Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 I think it's a very neat concept and I almost immediatelyt thought about that show Vee was talking about. Perhaps we should ask him if he has any info. I read an article about that building on Flatbush where they performed and it's been a mixed use artistic space for many years. I think it's really cool that SOD covered this. One search result even mentioned the synopses in SOD. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 I wonder how long SOD covered it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SFK Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 It said monthly installments from December '79 to June '81. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 I have a fair amount of 1980 and 1981 Digests and never saw any mention of it, although perhaps those are the issues I don't have. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Khan Posted May 7, 2011 Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 Wow, a "soap opera for the stage" sounds unconventional(ly awesome) even by today's standards! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted May 7, 2011 Author Members Share Posted May 7, 2011 It is. I think they had a few in the 80's and 90's but not many. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DRW50 Posted June 6, 2011 Author Members Share Posted June 6, 2011 January 1979 Digest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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