Playwright - Langston Hughes

The Playwright and Songwriter

Hughes sought out a variety of opportunities to support himself through writing,
and to express his creativity. He was active as a songwriter and playwright.
By 1936 he was spending much of his time working on plays, particularly
with the Karamu Theater in Cleveland. In 1938 he founded the radical
Harlem Suitcase Theater, which produced his play, "Don't you want to be free?" In the 1940's he collaborated with Elmer Rice and Kurt Weill as librettist for the musical play "Street Scene," and his opera "Troubled Island" was produced, followed in later years by more opera and gospel plays.

Hughes sent this song, "Freedom Road," to the Treasury Star Parade radio program, in an effort to promote the sale of war bonds, and, hoping for a hit. Note the tape on this copy which has been used to amend the wording at various places in the song. 1942


Musical Score for Street Scene by Kurt Weill,

Troubled Island premiered in Cleveland, at the Karamu Theater, and, meeting with success, was reworked by Hughes as the libretto of an opera with a score by William Grant Sill. The opera is about Haitian history, and the revolutionary figure of Jean-Jacques Dessalines.

Simply Heavenly, a musical, was based on the character of Jessie B. Semple, the main character in a series of short stories written by Hughes. It was one of his most financially successful playwriting ventures.

Jerico-Jim Crow: a Gospel Play, final acting script

Hughes wrote this song play in 1963, seeking to portray the Freedom Movement. It was first performed in Jan. 12, 1964 at the Sanctuary, where it opened to rave reviews. The script was "dedicated to the young people of all racial and religious backgrounds, who are meeting, working, canvassing, petitioning, marching, picketing, sitting-in, singing and praying today to help make a better America for all, and especially for the citizens of color."