185. FREDERICK DOUGLASS . . . THROUGH HIS OWN WORDS. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Douglas Turner Ward.

FREDERICK DOUGLASS . . . THROUGH HIS OWN WORDS [Drama/Biographical/

Period/Politics/Race] A: Arthur Burghardt and Michael Egan; SC: writings of Frederick Douglass; S: Edward Burbridge; P: Negro Ensemble Company; T: St. Marks Playhouse (OB); 5/9/72-6/4/72 (32)

A literary evening of readings from the varied writings of famed 19th-century, self-educated black leader and ex-slave Frederick Douglass, presented by three actors—Douglas Turner Ward, Adolph Caesar, and Duane Jones—dressed informally in denim work clothes.

This “enlightening” program, as Edith Oliver dubbed it, was decidedly “undramatic,” though interesting for its revelations about the great man. Walter Kerr was moved but also found it basically untheatrical and lacking in sufficient interest to sustain an audience all the way through.