The Omaha guide., 1933-11-11
Green Pastures at
Hone
Z YORK cIaY Nsus.

NEW YORK CITY, November =
tCNS)--It was with doubt and MANY
misgivings that Eowland Stebbins.
producer Of THE Green Pastures
Marc Monnelly'ss great dramatic
vehicle, upon pshich y o
Harrison rode to fame, contemnlated
the prospects Of a Southern aunt
Immediately after that mamornh,o
night, February rs, 1880. il ~
Mansfield Theatre when the n;ooo
rocketed to sudden fame, the IT,
Square oracle dinned in his ears tLo
information that it could never II
displayed in the South. In fact. +bo,,
pointed out, the very idea Of a tour
IN Dixie spelled disaster. The South
erners those seers added, would not
relish the spectacle of a Negro god
and dark skinned angels.
It was originally intended by Mr..
Stebbins to inaugurate the Suthern
tour in Richmond, Virginia. Certain
interests controlling the theatres of
mat city, prevented the showing Of
the play in the erstwhile capital of
the Confederacy. Thwarted again
when an effort was made to book
the show in Norfolk, it was finally
arranged to open the tour in Roa-
noke, Virginia.
Following three sold u perform
ances there the play moved on to
Greensboro, North Carolina, where
Richard B. Harrison, "de Lawd," re-
ceived a token Of appreciation from
the city. The presentation was made
by Mayor Roger N. Harrison and the
token signed by city officials and
prominent educators Of the city. The
citation read; Appreciation to Rich
ard B. Harrison for his outstanding
contribution to the. cause Of educa-
ton for his understanding inter
probation OF Negro life and char
acter on the stage and lecture plat
form, for his constructive influence
in inspiring and preserving harmon
o racial relationships, for his I'M
failing loyalty to his home city and
the dignity which has always char
acterized his representations of
Greensboro abroad, for his kindly
personality and enduring friendship"
Mr.. Harrison, by way Of explanation,
was a faculty member at the Agri-
cultural and Technical College in
Greensboro for many years prior to
undertaking the impersonation of the
Deity in "The Green Pastures" EY-
en- that fact, however, in the opinion
OF certain ~transplanted Southerners,
can hardly account for the warmth
of the reception accorded him, a Ne
gro, by the executives of a Carolina
community.
In the South, the newspaper re-
views reveal, "The Green Pastures"
Is treated with more reverence by
theatre audiences than was the case
in the East and North, where the
play has been considered primarily a
comedy. The critic of "The Green's
boro Daily News, for instance, had
this to say Of the presentation:
Southern audiences, if members of
the cast do not already know it, take
their religion, the religion Of their
Negroes, seriously, r~everently. There
was in the theatre last night what
one might term a holy atmosphere;
a tribute of silence far more effect
We than thunderous applause. South
erners do not applaud in church, and
The Green Pastures seemed
strangely like church"
'The Green Pastures" aside from
r%e-opening theatres many of which
have been dark for a decade, Is tax
ing the spoken drama to the remot-
est sections of the territory it is
playing. Cities like Durham, North
Carolina; Macon, Georgia; Lafay-
cue, Louisiana; and Beaumont, Tex
as, likely have not had a road show
since "Ben Hur" tarried in their