Biography

Born in Columbia, North Carolina, Loften Mitchell grew up in New York, where as a young man he began working in theater with the Rose McClendon Players. In 1943 he completed an A.B. at Talladega College in Alabama and studied playwriting with John Glassner at Columbia University. Mitchell's play A Land beyond the River is based on a court case involving Joseph DeLaine, a South Carolina pastor and schoolteacher, that ended school segregation. The play received critical acclaim when it was produced in 1957. He continued to write prolifically. His later works include The Photographer (1962), Ballad of Bimshire (1963), Ballad for the Winter Soldiers (1964), Tell Pharaoh (1967), and the successful musical co-written with Emme Kemp, Bubblin’ Brown Sugar (1975). Mitchell also taught at the State University of New York at Binghamton, published the novel The Stubborn Old Lady Who Resisted Change (1973), and wrote two histories of drama, Black Drama: The Story of the American Negro in the Theatre (1967) and Voices of the Black Theatre (1975). (Source)*

Plays

A LAND BEYOND THE RIVER (1957)

A Land Beyond the River, a drama based on South Carolina pastor and schoolteacher Joseph DeLaine's historic court case, which ended segregation in public schools. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 16 (5f, 11m)

Characters: Mary Raigen, Ruby Waters, Reverend Mr. Layne, Philip Turnham, Duff Waters, Grandma Simms, Reverend Mr. Shell, J.C. Langston, Reverend Mr. Cloud, Ben Ellis, Glenn Raigen, Martha Layne, Willie Lee Waters, Laura Turnham, Bill Raigen, Dr. George Willis

Publication Info: Land Beyond the River: A Play in Three Acts. Pioneer Drama Service. 1975 (Link)

STAR OF THE MORNING (1964)

Star of the Morning is a biographical drama about the life and career of the great vaudevillian actor Bert Williams. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 13+ (4f, 9m)

Characters: N/A

Publication Info: Black Drama Anthology. Edited by Woodie King and Ron Milner. New American Library, 1986. (Link)

TELL PHARAOH (1967)

Tell Pharoah is the story of Harlem, the nation's foremost black community. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 4 (2f, 2m)

Characters: Narrator, Mrs. Black, Miss Black, Mr. Black Sr., Mr. Black Jr.

Publication Info: Tell Pharaoh. Broadway Publishing House, 1987. (Link)

BUBBLIN’ BROWN SUGAR (1975) 

Bubblin’ Brown Sugar tells the story of Harlem in its Golden Years. Taking many of the great songs from the era, Loften Mitchell weaves a tale of a time gone by. (Source)

Cast Requirement: 17+ (8f, 9m)

Characters: Checkers, Dusty, John Sage, Rusty, Irene Paige, Marsha, Young Irene, Ella, Carolyn, Gospel Lady, Female Nightclub Singer, Jim, Male Nightclub Singer, Charlie, Count, Judy, Dutch’s Girl, Bill, Time Man, Bumpy, Emcee, Norma, Laura, Gene, Gospel Lady’s Son, One of the Solitunes, Skip, Young Checkers, One of the Solitunes, Helen, Tony, Waiter, Dutch, Ray, Young Sage, One of the Solitunes 

Publication Info: Bubbling Brown Sugar: a Musical Revue. Broadway Play Publishing, 1985. (Link)