African American Theater History Pearl Bailey Performance Programs from Revue to Hello Dolly 1961 to the 1970s

Pearl Bailey

Archive

Bailey, Pearl. Collection of three original performance programs, 1961 to circa 1970s, documents Bailey’s movement between revue, Broadway musical theater, and touring concert entertainment during a consequential period for Black performers on American stages. Bailey had built a career across Black vaudeville, nightclubs, Broadway, film, recording, and television, combining vocal performance with improvisational humor and a direct rapport with audiences. The group is anchored by her 1967 appearance as Dolly Levi in producer David Merrick’s all-Black production of Hello, Dolly!, which opened at the St. James Theatre on November 12, 1967, with Cab Calloway as Horace Vandergelder. Bailey’s performance received a Special Tony Award in 1968 and helped renew the commercial success of the long-running musical. Together, the programs support research into Black women’s performance history, celebrity culture, integrated commercial theater, touring entertainment, and the public identities cultivated by prominent African American entertainers during the twentieth century.

Three illustrated programs issued between 1961 and circa the 1970s, comprising one San Francisco revue program, one Broadway musical program, and one concert-tour program. The covers present Bailey through changing promotional identities: a poised monochrome portrait for the early revue, an elaborately costumed theatrical image for Hello, Dolly!, and a close-up portrait emphasizing sophistication and mature celebrity for the later concert appearance. Interior contents described or visible include cast and production information and period advertising; set lists, biographical texts, and production photographs should not be assumed without examination. The earliest program can be identified more precisely as Pearl Bailey’s International Revue or International Review in The Playgoer, issued for the Curran Theatre in San Francisco in 1961; contemporary archival and dealer records place Bailey at the Curran from January 23 through February 4, 1961, and describe a 36-page program featuring her portrait on the cover.

[1] Bailey, Pearl. The Playgoer: Pearl Bailey’s International Revue. San Francisco: The Playgoer, 1961. Program for Bailey’s Curran Theatre engagement, with a black-and-white cover portrait and the wording “Pearl Bailey’s International Revue starring Pearl Bailey.” The revue format records her command of a performance sphere extending beyond scripted Broadway roles and situates her within the nightclub, variety, and international revue traditions that shaped her stage persona. [2] Bailey, Pearl; Calloway, Cab; Herman, Jerry. Hello, Dolly! New York: St. James Theatre, 1967. Red-covered program from the all-Black Broadway production, showing Bailey descending a staircase in an ornate gown with her arms raised. The production placed a Black star in one of Broadway’s most commercially established leading roles and featured an all-Black company rather than presenting Bailey as an isolated exception within a white cast; its success and Bailey’s Special Tony Award made the engagement a landmark in the history of African American musical theater. [3] Bailey, Pearl; Bellson, Louie. Spend an Evening with Miss Pearl Bailey. Place and publisher unidentified, circa 1970s. Deep-blue concert program with a close-up portrait of Bailey, issued for an appearance with drummer and bandleader Louie Bellson and his ensemble. Bellson, Bailey’s husband and frequent musical collaborator, served as her music director during portions of their careers, and the program documents the partnership through which her later concert performances joined vocal entertainment, jazz orchestration, and marital collaboration. Specific dimensions, pagination, and defects are not supplied; covers and interior leaves appear complete as described, with ordinary handling wear possible, overall very good. Cohesive performance archive tracing Bailey’s development from international revue entertainer to the celebrated star of an all-Black Broadway production and an established concert headliner.

Item #21436

Price: $385.00