Don Evans
Don Evans | |
---|---|
Born | Donald Thomas Evans April 27, 1938 Merchantville, New Jersey, United States |
Died | October 16, 2003 Merchantville, New Jersey, United States | (aged 65)
Spouse | Frances Gooding Chapman (div.) |
Donald Thomas Evans (April 27, 1938 – October 16, 2003) was an American
Early life and education
Evans was born April 27, 1938, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania,[1] the son of Mary Evans.[2] After serving in the United States Marine Corps, he graduated from Cheyney State College in 1962 and went on to Temple University, earning a master's degree in 1968 and a Master of Fine Arts in 1972.[2]
Educational career
In 1972, Evans became an associate professor at
He worked from 1978 to 1998 with his friend and fellow playwright August Wilson in forming a National Black Theatre Summit at Dartmouth College, from which was formed the African Grove Institute for the Arts.[5]
Theatre
Evans studied acting, directing, and playwriting at the
In 1976, Evans wrote It’s Showdown Time, a raucous adaptation of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew.[2] In 1978, Evans wrote Mahalia, his first musical, a portrait of gospel vocalist Mahalia Jackson.[7] Louis, Evans' musical portrayal of jazz legend Louis Armstrong, was written in 1981. Other works include Blues for a Gospel Queen, The Trials and Tribulations of Staggerlee Booker T. Brown. One Monkey Don't Stop No Show a tragi-comic look at a middle-class black family, and A Lovesong for Miss Lydia,[8][9] described by The New York Times as a "Pinteresque variation on the Big Bad Wolf story."[10] Evans wrote his final play, When Miss Mollie Hit the Triple Bars, in 1999. It was based on the life of his mother, Mary.[citation needed]
Over the course of his career, Evans received playwriting fellowships from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New Jersey Council of the Arts, and the New Jersey Historical Society.[citation needed] Eighteen of his plays have been produced, both in the US and in countries including Germany, England and Hong Kong.[citation needed] He also served, from 1983 to 1988, as artistic director for the Karamu House[citation needed] in Cleveland, Ohio.
Don Evans was named an AMPARTS Fellow for the United States Information Agency to India in 1984.[citation needed]
Personal life
Evans was divorced from Frances Gooding Chapman. He had by two sons, Todd and Orrin, and a daughter, Rachel Marianno. He died at the age of 65 of a
List of plays
Published
- Sugarmouth Sam Don't Dance No More (Dramatists Play Service, NY)
- The Trials and Tribulations of Staggerlee Booker T. Brown (Dramatists Play Service)
- The Prodigals (Dramatists Play Service)
- One Monkey Don't Stop No Show (Dramatists Play Service)
Produced
- Orrin
- Blues For A Gospel Queen
- Sugarmouth Sam Don't Dance No More
- Matters of Choice
- It's Showdown Time
- A Lovesong for Miss Lydia
- Louis (musical based on the life of Louis Armstrong)
- Mahalia (musical biography of Mahalia Jackson)
- One Monkey Don't Stop No Show
Unpublished
- What Harriet Did
- Honky Tonk
- When Miss Mollie Hit the Triple Bars
References
- ^ "Don Evans Biography (1938-)". FilmReference.com. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ a b c d e f g Saxon, Wolfgang (October 24, 2003). "Don Evans, 65, a Playwright Who Focused on Black Lives, Dies". The New York Times.
- ISBN 978-0-9605160-0-1.
- ^ Evans, Don (April 1974). "The Theater of Confrontation: Ed Bullins, Up Against the Wall". Black World. Johnson Publication: 14.
- ISBN 978-0-19-512724-9.
- JSTOR 812240.
- ISBN 978-0-8108-6276-0.
- ^ Oddy, Julian (ed.). "Don Evans". Dollee.com. Archived from the original on August 31, 2017. Retrieved March 25, 2016.
- ^ Roth, Marty; Rotharchive, Martha (November 2001). "Women on the verge…again". Southside Pride. South Minneapolis, Minnesota. Archived from the original on February 19, 2012.
- ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-11-14.
External links
- Karamu House Official Website
- Biography, partial list of plays City-Data
- "The Ensemble Theatre Presents 'One Monkey Don't Stop No Show'", Globe News Wire, June 19, 2007.
- Kaye, Phyllis Johnson. National playwrights directory. "Don Evans." [includes photo of Evans] Internet Archive. Waterford, Conn. : Eugene O'Neill Theater Center, 1981. p. 98 ISBN 978-0-9605160-0-1.
- Website for the Unity Theatre Ensemble