BEAH RICHARDS
Biography
Beulah Elizabeth Richardson was born in Vicksburg, Mississippi on July 12, 1920. Her father, Wesley R. Richardson, was a Baptist minister; her mother, Beulah Molton Richardson, was a seamstress and an advocate of the Parent-Teacher Association. Richards graduated from Dillard University in New Orleans in 1948 and moved to New York City in 1950 to begin a career as a stage actress. Her first significant role came in 1956 as an eighty-four-year-old grandmother in Louis S. Peterson’s Off-Broadway play, Take a Giant Step, and she reprised this role in the 1959 film version of the play. Although frequently cast as a secondary character—a maid, a mother, or a grandmother—and often as a character much older than her actual age, Richards persevered. In 1965 she received a Tony nomination and a Theater World Award for her role in The Amen Corner. In 1967 she received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as the mother of Sidney Poitier’s character in Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. After the late 1960s, Richards performed primarily on television, with recurring roles on ER, Designing Women, Hearts Afire, Beauty and the Beast, LA Law, and numerous other shows. Richards died in Vicksburg on 14 September 2000. (Full Bio)
Plays
A Black Woman Speaks (1951)
With a blending of form, art, and politics, Beah Richards’ A Black Woman Speaks puts an emphasis on understanding the mechanics of oppression as it applies to race and feminism. Intended for white women, her performance piece points to white supremacy as a tool used to serve white men by oppressing white women and black people. It emphasizes the ways in which white women have been misled into believing that their empowerment depends on maintaining the racial status quo. Through verse, Richards challenges her listeners to recognize the systems that limit all Americans and to join together in the fight for their dissolution.
Cast Requirement: 1 (1f)
Characters: N/A
Publication: 9 Plays by Black Women. Edited by Margaret B. Wilkerson. New American Library, 1986. (Link)
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Orignally conceived as a poem, A Black Woman Speaks of White Womanhood, of White Supremacy, of Peace was written and performed by Beah Richards (then known as Beulah Richardson) in 1951 at the American People's Peace Conference in Chicago.
It was presented in December of that year at the Elks Community Theatre in New York City.
one is a crowd (1950)
One is a Crowd tells of a Black woman’s quest for revenge and regeneration. (Daily
Cast Requirement: 6 (3f, 3m)
Characters: Elizabeth Dundee, Francois Pagon, Ellen Harris, Benjamin Harris, Louella Smith, The Southerner.
Publication: N/A
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One is A Crowd premiered in San Diego at the Globe Theater's Falstaff Tavern in 1950. It was directed by Craig Noel; scenic design by Don Wiggins; lights by Ramon Rodriguez; with the following cast:
- Louella - Donna Woodruff
- Elizabeth - Beah Richards
- Pagon - Richard Joyce
- Ellen - Ethel Chance
- Benjamin - George Louis Allen
- The Southerner - Andy Anderson
The play's next production was in 1971 by the Inner City Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Directed by C. Bernard Jackson; sets and lighting by Juan Lotero; costumes by Terry Soon; with the following cast:
- Elizabeth Dundee - Beah Richards
- Francois Pagon - Jack Crowder
- Ellen Harris - Bette Treadville
- Benjamin Harris - Glynn Turman
- Louella Smith - Gloria Calomee
- The Southerner - Charles M. Krav