theatre audience in Alabama - early 20th Century
from His Eye Is On the Sparrow, page 161:
Playing theaters of the type we were working in, performers constantly had trouble getting the stagehands to co-operate. These stagehands are usually relatives or favored pals of the owner. Sure of their jobs, they spit at the actors and paid them little mind. This caused me great trouble in Bessemer, Alabama, the coalmining town. For a number called "When You're Lonesome, Telephone Me," I was wearing a radium dress that showed up luminous when all the lights were put out. On opening night there in Bessemer I instructed the theater's electrician to put out all the lights. "I will wave my … more >>
Charles Samuels and Ethel Waters, His Eye Is On the Sparrow (1950), p. 161. https://led.kmi.open.ac.uk/entity/lexp/1429789723847 accessed: 13 October, 2024
Listeners
Listening to
hide composersWhen You're Lonesome, Telephone Me | performed by Ethel Waters |
Experience Information
Date/Time | early 20th Century |
Medium | live |
Listening Environment | in the company of others, indoors, in public |