In Abraham's Bosom
| In Abraham's Bosom | |
|---|---|
| Written by | Paul Green |
| Characters |
Abraham McCranie Puny Avery Eddie Williams Neilly McNeill Colonel McCranie Douglas McCranie Lanie Horton Goldie McAllister Muh Mack Lije Hunneycutt Lonnie McCranie Bud Gaskins |
| Date premiered | December 30, 1926 |
| Place premiered |
Provincetown Playhouse New York City, New York |
| Original language | English |
| Genre | Tragedy |
| Setting | In and Near the Turpentine Woods in Eastern North Carolina in the summer of 1885 |
In Abraham's Bosom is a play by American dramatist Paul Green.
Production
In Abraham's Bosom premiered on Broadway at the Provincetown Playhouse on December 30, 1926 and closed on June 18, 1927 after 200 performances. Directed by Jasper Deeter, the cast starred Julius Bledsoe as Abraham McCranie, L. Rufus Hill (Colonel McCranie), H. Ben Smith (Lonnie McCranie), Rose McClendon (Goldie McAllister), Abbie Mitchell (Muh Mack), and R. J. Huey (Douglas McCranie).[1][2] Abraham is an African-American farmer from North Carolina whose efforts at self-improvement are thwarted by segregation
Green received the 1927 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The Pulitzer jury stated: "The play does not sentimentalize on the tragic situation of the negro. It is scrupulously fair to the white race. But it brings us face to face with one of the most serious of the social problems of this country, and forces us to view this problem in the light of tragic pity."[2]
The play was included in Burns Mantle's The Best Plays of 1926-1927.
Plot
The play takes place in the Southeast of the United States, starting in 1885, to the beginning of the 20th Century.
Abe McCranie is a black field worker. He is the son the Colonel McCranie, a white man. He tries to start a school to educate the black children. Ultimately, he gets a school but the white people run him out of it and drive him to murder.
References
- ↑ "'In Abraham's Bosom' 1926" playbillvault.com, accessed November 29, 2015
- 1 2 Fischer, Heinz-Dietrich. "1927 Award", Outstanding Broadway Dramas and Comedies: Pulitzer Prize Winning Theater Productions, LIT Verlag Münster, 2013, ISBN 3643903413, pp. 24-25