- Active on Broadway in the following productions:
- Stevedore (1934). Drama (revival). Written by Paul Peters and George Sklar. Scenic Design by Sointu Syrjala. Directed by Michael Blankfort and Irving Gordon. Civic Repertory Theatre: 1 Oct 1934- Nov 1934 (closing date unknown/64 performances).
- Sailor, Beware! (1935). Comedy (revival). Written by Kenyon Nicholson and Charles Robinson. Directed by Shepard Traube and Mack Hilliard.
- (1936) Stage Play: Macbeth. Tragedy. Written by William Shakespeare. Arranged in three acts and eight scenes by Orson Welles. Scenic Design by Nat Karson. Costume Design by Nat Karson. Lighting Design by A.H. Feder. Directed by Orson Welles. Lafayette Theatre: 9 Apr 1936- May 1936 (closing date unknown/56 performances). Cast: Abdul (as "Witch Doctor"), Thomas Anderson (as "Lennox, a nobleman"), Service Bell (as "Duncan, King of Scotland"), Gabriel Brown (as "Captain"), Eric Burroughs (as "Hecate"), Jack Carter (as "Macbeth, a general of the Scottish army"), Laurence Chenault (as "Doctor"), Charles Collins (as "Lord"), Carl Crawford (as "Fleance, son of Banquo"), William Cumberbatch (as "Chamberlain"), Frank David (as "Ross, a nobleman"), Viola Dean (as "Page"), Alma Dickson (as "Lady Macbeth, The Duchess"), Maurice Ellis (as "Macduff, a nobleman of Scotland"), Hilda French (as "Page"), Virginia Girvin (as "The Nurse"), Lisle Grenidge (as "Captain"), Bertram Holmes (as "Young Macduff") [Broadway debut], Halle Howard (as "Chamberlain"), J. Louis Johnson (as "Porter"), J.B. Johnson (as "Second Messenger"), Zola King (as "Third Witch"), Larri Lauria (as "Seton, an officer attending on Macbeth"), Canada Lee (as "Banquo, a general of the Scottish army"), Albert McCoy (as "Attendant"), George Nixon (as "First Murderer"), Kenneth Renwick (as "Second Murderer"), Wardell Saunders (as "Malcolm, son of Duncan"), Archie Savage (as "Siward"), Edna Thomas (as "Lady Macbeth"), George Thomas (as "Attendant"), Philandre Thomas (as "First Messenger"), Al Watts (as "The Priest"), Josephine Williams (as "Second Witch"), Wilhelmina Williams (as "First Witch"), Marie Young (as "Lady Macduff"). Produced by Negro Theatre Unit of the Federal Theatre Project of the WPA and John Houseman. Notes: (1) This infamous production became known as the "Voodoo" Macbeth. (2) This production was profiled in the short film documentary We Work Again (1937), produced by the Federal Works Project.
- (1937) Stage Play: One Act Plays of the Sea.
- (1937) Stage Play: Brown Sugar. Melodrama. Written by Bernie Angus. Incidental music by Haven Johnson. Scenic Design by Cirker & Robbins. Directed by George Abbott. Biltmore Theatre: 2 Dec 1937- 4 Dec 1937 (4 performances). Cast: John T.L. Bunn (as "Trot"), Eric Burroughs (as "Musken"), Alvin Childress (as "Slim"), Martin de C. Slade (as "Lonny"), Beth Dixon (as "Stella"), Beulah E. Edmonds (as "Louella"), Ruby Elzy (as "Sarah"), George Fitzpatrick (as "O'Hara"), Georgette Harvey (as "Lily May"), Juan Hernandez (as "Sam"), Irene Hill (as "Cleo"), Bertram Holmes (as "Jeb"), Richard Huey (as "Bartender"), Haven Johnson (as "Rosco"), Ira Johnson (as "Charlie"), Paul Johnson (as "Tar"), Kathryn Lavall (as "Ruby"), Canada Lee (as "Henry"), Richard McMyers (as "Sylvester"), Butterfly McQueen (as "Lucille"), Julian Miles (as "Officer Leroy"), Ernest Rowan (as "First Mate"), John Shellie (as "Pete Malley"), George W. Smith (as "Officer Kent"), T. Burton Smith (as "Tom Warfield"), Allen Tinney (as "George"), William Tinney (as "Walter"), Frederick Wallace (as "McQuade"), Jimmy Waters (as "Man"), Christola Williams (as "Rosalinda"). Produced by George Abbott.
- (1938) Stage Play: Haiti. Incidental music by Leonard De Paur. Written by William Du Bois. Scenic Design by Perry Watkins. Costume Design by James Cochran. Directed by Maurice Clark. Lafayette Theatre: 2 Mar 1938- 24 Sep 1938 (168 performances). Cast: Alfredo Allegro (as "Phillipe"), Mary Barnes, Alvin Childress (as "Jacques"), William Clayton, David Enton, Frederic Gibson, Herbert Glynn, William Greene, Lena Halsey, Emile Hirsch (as "Boule"), Rex Ingram (as "Christophe"), J. Louis Johnson, J. Pope Jones, Elena Karam, Lulu King, Zola King (as "Daughter"), Byron Lane, Catherine Lawrence, Canada Lee (as "Bertram"), Jacqueline Ghant Martin, Richard McCracken, Lester Palmer, Bernard Paté, Lou Polan (as "Roche"), Archie Savage (as "Haitian Soldier"), William Sharon, Louis Sharp, Louis Smith, Susie Sutton, Bennie Tattnall, Arnold Wiley, James Wright. Produced by James R. Ullman and Federal Theatre Project of The WPA.
- (1939) Stage Play: Mamba's Daughters. Written by Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward. Featuring songs by Jerome Kern. Based on the novel by DuBose Heyward. Directed by Guthrie McClintic. Empire Theatre: 3 Jan 1939- May 1939 (closing date unknown/162 performances). Cast: Oliver Barbour (as "The Prosecuting Attorney") [final Broadway role], Edna Beane, Reginald Beane, Altunar Branan, Inez Branan, Anne Brown, Willie Bryant, Georgia Burke (as "Eva"), Doris Champion, Rebecca Champion, Bob Coogan, John Cornell, Helen Dowdy, José Ferrer (as "St. Julien DeC. Wentworth Saint"), Georgette Harvey (as "Mamba"), Mary Holmes, Alberta Hunter, J. Rosamond Johnson (as "The Reverend Quintus Whaley"), Ella Mae Lashley, Canada Lee (as "Drayton"), Assotta Marshall, Fredye Marshall, Henry May, Arthur McLean, Harry Mestayer, Joyce Miller, Rena Mitchell, Dorothy Paul, Hayes Pryor, Ethel Purnello, Robert Raines, Maud Russell (as "Jane"), John Rustad, Louis Sharp, Al Stokes (as "Davey"), Fredi Washington, Edna Waters, Ethel Waters (as "Hagar"), Bradley Wilson, Jimmy Wright. Produced by Guthrie McClintic.
- Mamba's Daughters (1940). Drama. Written by Dorothy Heyward and DuBose Heyward (from his novel). Directed by Guthrie McClintic. Broadway Theatre: 23 Mar 1940- 6 Apr 1940 (17 performances/note: return engagement).
- Big White Fog (1940). Drama.
- Native Son (1941). Drama. Written by Paul Green and Richard Wright. Based on the novel by Richard Wright. Scenic Design by James Morcom. Directed by Orson Welles. St. James Theatre: 24 Mar 1941- 28 Jun 1941 (114 performances). Cast: Jacqueline Ghant Andre (as "A Neighbor"), Frances Bavier (as "Peggy"), John Berry (as "Reporter"), C.M. Bootsie Davis (as "Ernie Jones"), Philip Bourneuf (as "Buckley, D.A."), Eileen Burns (as "Miss Emmett"), Anne Burr (as "Mary Dalton"), Ray Collins (as "Paul Max, Attorney for the Defense"), Evelyn Ellis (as "Hannah Thomas"), Nell Harrison (as "Mrs. Dalton"), Canada Lee (as "Bigger Thomas"), William Malone (as "Judge"), Helen Martin (as "Vera Thomas"), Rena Mitchell (as "Clara"), Joseph Pevney (as "Jan Erlone"), J. Flashe Riley (as "Jack "), Don Roberts (as "A Newspaper Man "), Stephen Roberts (as "A Newspaper Man"), Erskine Sanford (as "Mr. Dalton"), Wardell Saunders (as "Gus Mitchell"), Everett Sloane (as "Britten"), Paul Stewart (as "A Newspaper Man"), Rodester Timmons, Lloyd Warren, George Zorn (as "A Newspaper Man"). Produced by Orson Welles and John Houseman. Associate Producer: Bern Bernard.
- Across the Board on Tomorrow Morning and Talking to You (1942).
- Native Son (1942). Drama (revival).
- (1943) Stage Play: South Pacific. Drama. Written by Howard Rigsby and Dorothy Heyward. Incidental music by Paul Bowles. Directed by Lee Strasberg. Cort Theatre: 29 Dec 1943- 1 Jan 1944 (5 performances). Produced by David Lowe.
- (1944) Stage Play: Anna Lucasta. Written by Philip Yordan. Directed by Harry Wagstaff Gribble. Mansfield Theatre: 30 Aug 1944- 30 Nov 1946 (957 performances). Cast: Georgia Burke (as "Theresa"), Alice Childress (as "Blanche"), Alvin Childress (as "Noah"), Hubert Henry (as "Eddie"), Earle Hyman (as "Rudolf") [Broadway debut], Rosetta LeNoire (as "Stella"), Canada Lee (as "Danny"), Frederick O'Neal (as "Frank"), John Proctor (as "Stanley"), George Randol (as "Joe"), Emory Richardson (as "Officer"), Hilda Simms (as "Anna"), Theodora Smith (as "Katie"), John Tate (as "Lester"). Replacement actors: Roy Allen (as "Stanley") [Alternate], Gerard Beverly (as "Lester") [Alternate], Isabelle Cooley (as "Anna"), Ruby Dee (as "Anna"), Inge Hardison (as "Stella"), [Alternate], Georgette Harvey (as "Theresa") [Alternate], Claire Jay (as "Blanche") [Alternate], Yvonne Machen (as "Anna"), Lionel Monagus (as "Officer"), John Tate (as "Danny"), Slim Thompson (as "Noah") [Alternate], Duke Williams (as "Lester"), Milton Wood (as "Eddie"). Produced by John Wildberg. Note: Filmed by Columbia Pictures Corporation as Anna Lucasta (1949), by Longridge Enterprises [distributed by United Artists] as Anna Lucasta (1958).
- (1945) Stage Play: The Tempest. Comedy (revival).
- (1946) Stage Play: On Whitman Avenue. Drama. Written by Maxine Wood. Lullaby composed by Paul Bowles. Scenic Design and Lighting Design by Donald Oenslager. Directed by Margo Jones. Cort Theatre: 8 May 1946- 14 Sep 1946 (150 performances). Cast: Joanna Albus (as "Edna Reed"), Vivian Baber (as "Wini Bennett"), Ernestine Barrier (as "Kate Tilden"), Philip Clarke (as "Jeff Hall"), Jean Cleveland (as "Ellen Lund"), Will Geer (as "Ed Tilden"), Canada Lee (as "David Bennett"), Betty Greene (as "Little Belle Hall"), Martin Miller (as "Johnnie Tilden"), Abbey Mitchell [credited as Abbie Mitchell] (as "Cora Bennett"), Stephen Roberts (as "Wilbur Reed"), Robert F. Simon [credited as Robert Simon] (as "Walter Lund"), Augustus Smith (as "Gramp Bennett"), Kenneth Terry (as "Bernie Lund"), Hilda Vaughn (as "Aurie Anderson"), Richard Williams (as "Owen Bennett"), Perry Wilson (as "Toni Tilden"). Produced by Canada Lee and Mark Marvin. Produced in association with George McLain.
- (November 20, 1939) He acted in Dorothy and Dubose Heyward's play, "Mamba's Daughters," at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio with Ethel Waters (Hagar); Georgia Burke; Fredi Washington; Maude Russell; Robert Thomsen; Willie Bryant; J. Rosamond Johnson; Vincent Copeland; John Kerr; John O'Connor; Barry Kelley; Al Stokes; Bradley Wilson; Louis Sharp; Ethel Purnello; Edna Waters; Laura Vaughns; Alberta Hunter; Joyce Miller; Rena Mitchell; and Jimmy Wright in the cast. Jerome Kern was composer. Perry Watkins was set designer. Guthrie McClintic was producer and director.
- (November 3, 1941) He acted in Richard Wright's play, "Native Son," at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio.
- (September 24, 1945) He acted in William Shakespeare's play, "The Tempest," at the Hanna Theatre in Cleveland, Ohio with Vera Zorina, Arnold Moss, Benny Baker, Beaumont Bruestle, Angus Cairns, Bram Nossen, Robert Harrison, Joseph Hardy, Eugene Stuckmann, Diana Sinclair, Albert Hachmeister, Jack Bostick, Wallace Acton, Bernard Miller, and Peggy Allardice in the cast. David Diamond was composer. Motley was set and costume designer. Margaret Webster was director. Cheryl Crawford was producer. Eva Le Gallienne adapted the play.
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