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Blind Lemon Blues

Blind Lemon Blues

Created by Alan Govenar and Akin Babatunde.

Product Code: BE1000

Musical

Drama

Cast size: 3m., 3w., extras as desired.


Limited Streaming Rights Available


Rights and availability

This title can be licensed and sold throughout the World.

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Available Formats
$39.95
In Stock
$39.95
(Unprintable)

Min. Royalty Rate: $90.00/perf

Synopsis

Blind Lemon Blues celebrates the legacy of Blind Lemon Jefferson and his profound influence upon the development of American popular music. Jefferson was a blind street musician who played his guitar at the corner of Elm Street and Central Avenue in the Deep Ellum area of Dallas, Texas, until a Paramount Records scout discovered him. Between 1926 and his untimely death in 1929, Jefferson made more than 80 records and became the biggest-selling blues singer in America. Set in New York City in 1948 at the last recording session of the legendary Huddie Ledbetter, better known as Lead Belly, Blind Lemon Blues combines elements of traditional blues, gospel, rhythm and blues, soul, doo-wop and rap to evoke the enduring legacy of Blind Lemon and his contemporaries, Blind Willie Johnson, Lillian Glinn, Hattie Hudson, Bobbie Cadillac, Lillian Miller and Lead Belly himself.

Notes

Limited Streaming Rights Available

The score available for this full version of Blind Lemon Blues does not accurately reflect the manuscript. Music adjustments are permitted for your production. Please contact our customer service department for additional production resources.

This title is in manuscript format. Upon licensing, a permission to photocopy form will be issued.

Details

  • Status In stock
  • Type of Show Musical
  • Product Code BE1000
  • Minimum Cast Size 6
  • Pages of Dialogue 117
  • Min. Royalty Rate $90.00/perf
  • Approx. Run Time 110 min
  • Staging Simple sets.

Categories

  • Target Audience High School | College and Adult
  • Performing Group College Theatre | Community Theatre | Professional Theatre
  • Genre Drama
  • ISBN(13) 9781583428849

* Please note the royalty rate listed is the minimum royalty rate per performance. The actual royalty rate will be determined upon completion of a royalty application.

Media Reviews

"Blues lovers, be grateful. Be very, very grateful." -Variety

"The variety of the music is, in fact, the most surprising part of Blind Lemon's musical story. He didn't just write and sing the blues, he also wrote religious songs ("Lord, I Want to be Like Jesus in My Heart"), comedy numbers ("Fence Breakin' Yellin' Blues"), and protest songs ('"Lectric Chair Blues"). And some of his songs were personal and deeply moving, like "See That My Grave Is Kept Clean." And while they were written more than eight decades ago, most of these songs remain very compelling, as is Blind Lemon's mostly forgotten story." -Theatermania.com

"Babatunde creates a larger-than-life icon. He captures the pain, joy, and earthy humor of Jefferson's country style." -Backstage

"I listened to the music of Blind Lemon every day for five years," Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright August Wilson has said about the artist whose music resonates throughout his plays. "Blind Lemon Jefferson was the voice of black America at that moment." -Variety

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