Selections from the Katherine Dunham Collection
at the Library of Congress
Notes on Carib Song
Related digital items: Browse "Carib Song"
Billed as "A Musical Play of the West Indies in Two Acts and Thirteen Scenes," Carib Song opened on 27 September 1945 at the Adelphi Theater in New York. The playbill included the following credits: "Book by William Archibald. Music by Baldwin Bergersen. Lyrics by William Archibald. Book directed by Mary Hunter. Choreography by Katherine Dunham. Production staged by Katherine Dunham and Mary Hunter. Scenery designed and lighted by Jo Mielziner. Costumes designed by Motley. Produced by George Stanton." The principal players were Harriet Jackson (The Singer), William Franklin (The Husband), Avon Long (The Fisherman), and Katherine Dunham (The Woman).
In act 1, Dunham and her dancers appeared in two song-and-dance numbers, "Basket, Make a Basket" and "A Girl She Can't Remain" and in two dances, Congo Paillette and Shango. In act 2, they appeared in three production numbers: Things Remembered, The Forest at Night, and Washerwomen Dance. In the final scene of act 2, Katherine Dunham and Harriet Jackson sang a duet, "O Lonely One."
Among the Dunham Dancers were Lucille Ellis, Lenwood Morris, Tommy Gomez, Vanoye Aikens, Lawaune Ingram, Richardena Jackson, and Eartha Kitt. The drummers were La Rosa Estrada, Julio Mendez, and Norman Coker.
Carib Song closed on 27 October after thirty-six performances.