1901 (125 years ago)
Playwright, poet, and novelist Langston Hughes was born on Feb. 1 in Joplin, Missouri. He became a leading figure during the Harlem Renaissance as part of a movement of Black writers who together published The New Negro, an anthology of fiction, poetry, and essays. His play Mulatto: A Tragedy of the Deep South opened on Broadway in 1935. His poems and plays were informed by the jazz and blues he was surrounded by in New York City, and the influence of gospel music can be found in Black Nativity (1961), The Gospel Glory (1962), Tambourines to Glory (1963), Jericho-Jim Crow (1964), and The Prodigal Son (1965). In 1966, Hughes traveled to Dakar, Senegal, to attend the first World Festival of Negro Arts.
1941 (85 years ago)
Tennessee Williams began writing a short story called “Portrait of a Girl in Glass” while living in Key West, Florida. He concurrently worked on the short story and a screenplay version called The Gentlemen Caller, which the film studio rejected. The 16-page story, published in 1948, served as the blueprint for The Glass Menagerie, his first successful play. Williams often experimented with plots and characters in short stories or short plays before expanding them into larger works: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, for instance, was first outlined in a short story, “Three Players of a Summer Game,” that Williams published in The New Yorker in 1952.
1971 (55 years ago)
Black Theatre Workshop in Montreal, Quebec, was founded. The oldest Black theatre company in Canada, it opened with How Now Black Man, an experimental play by founding member Lorris Elliot, exploring Blackness in Canada in the 1960s. In an interview, the company’s first artistic director, Dr. Clarence Bayne, spoke about the early days of the company and the lack of spaces for Black artists at the time. He described the artists involved in the company’s beginning as “people who have a certain sensitivity and a search for something that expresses them and that makes them feel comfortable.” The current artistic director, Dian Marie Bridge, continues the mission today. In a 2025 interview, she said, “I have a very clear understanding that I’m of service to a particular community here in Montreal.”
1986 (40 years ago)
The American Association of Community Theatre (AACT) disassociated from the American Theatre Association (ATA) to become an independently incorporated organization, transitioning under the leadership of president Bea Miller. The organization biennially produces AACTFest, a national community theatre festival, as well as YouthFest and NewPlayFest. It also publishes Spotlight magazine, “featuring the latest news, trends, and stories from the world of community theatre.” Their website (aact.org) is full of resources to support community theatres around the country to navigate the legal and managerial work of putting on plays.
2016 (10 years ago)
Red Speedo, written by Lucas Hnath and directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, premiered Off-Broadway at the New York Theatre Workshop. The play takes place before the Olympic trials, when a doping scandal threatens a swimmer’s chances at a brand deal with Speedo. The set, which contained an actual pool with glass revealing the actor underwater, was designed by Riccardo Hernandez. Critics noted that the play’s exploration of the ruthless ambition of men was germane for the times, drawing connections to the impending presidential election. In The New York Times, Charles Isherwood praised Hnath’s “wonderfully inventive theatrical mind.” Lucas Hnath has since written The Christians, A Doll’s House, Part 2, and Dana H.
