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BILL ROBINSON dancer HOT MIKADO Broadway '39 PHOTO by VANDAMM woman photographer

$ 79.2

Availability: 100 in stock
  • Object Type: Photograph
  • Original/Reproduction: Original
  • Item must be returned within: 30 Days
  • Condition: Very nice condition 8x10 inch double weight photograph with satin finish. Shown front and back. For illustration purposes a close-up scan is also shown, it is not a second photo.
  • Return shipping will be paid by: Seller
  • Refund will be given as: Money Back
  • All returns accepted: Returns Accepted
  • Restocking Fee: No

    Description

    This is a scarce 8x10 inch original double weight publicity photo from
    The Hot Mikado
    , a musical theatre adaptation of Gilbert and Sullivan's 1885 comic opera The Mikado with an African-American cast. It was first produced by Mike Todd on Broadway in 1939. It starred Bill "Bojangles" Robinson in the title role, with musical arrangements by Charles L. Cooke and direction by Hassard Short.
    Mike Todd produced The Hot Mikado after the Federal Theatre Project turned down his offer to manage the WPA production of The Swing Mikado (another all-black adaptation of The Mikado). Todd's adaptation was jazzier than The Swing Mikado and had a "full-voiced, star-studded cast to back up its sass." It follows both the story line of The Mikado and the spectacle of the original and was noted for its wild costuming. "Rosa Brown's outfit, a winged dress with train and a gigantic hat, weighed thirty-five pounds." The spectacle and jazzed-up score received enthusiastic reviews and drew audiences; "critic George Jean Nathan presented it as the 'best all-around musical show', named Nat Karson 'the season’s best costumer', and hailed two performers, Rosa Brown as 'best blues singer' and, to no one's surprise, Bill 'Bojangles' Robinson as 'best hoofer.'
    Photo by Florence Vandamm, famous Broadway photographer.
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