Calvin Alexander Ramsey
Calvin Alexander Ramsey Sr. is an American playwright and author, mostly known for writing a play called The Green Book which was later written into a popular children's book called Ruth and The Green Book. Ramsey was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and produced his first play, The Green Book in 2001. He later wrote Ruth and The Green Book based on the play in 2010. Currently, Ramsey works as a playwright and author living between his two homes, in New York City and Atalanta, Georgia.
Works[edit]
Plays[edit]
The Green Book[edit]
Ramsey's first play The Green Book was written in 2001.[1] It was a two-act play about the struggles of African American travellers in the Jim Crowe era based on The Negro Motorist Green Book. The play had its world premiere at Atlanta's Theatrical Outfit. It received recognition as a finalist in the 12th Annual Last Frontier Theatre Conference in Valdez, Alaska in June 2004.[2]
After its first release, it had subsequent readings at La MaMa E.T.C. in New York's Village, directed by George Ferencz where it received positive reviews. He picked up on the idea of the Green Book when he heard about it at the funeral of a close friend's son in 2001.[3] The Green Book project now includes a documentary with animation, The Green Book Chronicles. He later went on to write a children's book entitled Ruth and The Green Book in 2010.[4] In 2011, Ruth and The Green Book won Independent Publisher Book Award in the Children's Picture Book category.[5] and Jane Addams Children's Book Award in the book for younger children category.[6]
Sherman Town: Baseball, Apple Pie and the Ku Klux Klan[edit]
Set for the first reading in 2005, the play was switched to a different theatre from the initial one in Stone Mountain as it was challenged over the language that was used in it. This gained the play national attention over issues of censorship. The play was about an out of town salesman that gets stuck in the small town of Shermantown during the annual KKK rally.[7]
Other plays Ramsey has written are Sister Soldier, Damaged Virtues, John Brown, "Canada Lee", and Englightenment.[8]
Musicals[edit]
Bricktop, The Musical[edit]
This was a musical based on Ada 'Bricktop' Smith from Chez Bricktop in Paris. It was co-written by Tom Jones and was opened in 2006. It had a successful first run of 9 weeks and subsequent run of five weeks.[9]
Other musicals Ramsey has written are Somewhere in My Lifetime, The Age of Possibilities,[8] Jhonny Mercer,[10] Kentucky Avenue,[8] Belle, the Last Mule,[11] Ruth and The Green Book,[12] Duke Ellington: A Man for All Seasons.
References[edit]
- ^ "Author/Playwright Calvin Alexander Ramsey To Host Inaugural Celebration Of "The Negro Motorist Green Book" Creators At Morris Jumel Mansion". BroadwayWorld.com.
- ^ "'The Green Book Chronicles': Screening and Discussion with Calvin Alexander Ramsey". Museum of Arts and Design.
- ^ Luongo, Michael T. (July 14, 2015). "Calvin A. Ramsey on How Black Travel Has Changed Since Jim Crow (Published 2015)" – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ "RUTH AND THE GREEN BOOK by Calvin A Ramsey Gwen Strauss Read by Cherise Boothe | Audiobook Review". AudioFile Magazine.
- ^ "Independent Publisher Book Awards | Awards and Honors". LibraryThing.com.
- ^ "Jane Addams Honor Book 'Ruth and the Green Book' Popular in Light of 'Green Book' Film". Jane Addams Peace Association. 17 March 2019.
- ^ Burns, Rebecca (1 December 2010). "Revisiting the Green Book". Atlanta Magazine.
- ^ a b c "New Haven man was first black to earn a doctorate in the US". New Haven Register.
- ^ Rousuck, J. Wynn (18 January 2007). "'Bricktop' is music and history". The Baltimore Sun.
- ^ "EXPERIENCE A MUSICAL JOURNEY THROUGH THE LIFE OF LOWCOUNTRY SONGWRITING LEGEND JOHNNY MERCER". Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.
- ^ "Review of the Day: Belle, the Last Mule at Gee's Bend". School Library Journal. 5 November 2011.
- ^ Magazine, Smithsonian; Townsend, Jacinda. "How the Green Book Helped African-American Tourists Navigate a Segregated Nation". Smithsonian Magazine.