{"id":16980,"date":"2022-11-28T22:56:18","date_gmt":"2022-11-28T22:56:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/?p=16980"},"modified":"2025-04-21T07:16:20","modified_gmt":"2025-04-21T07:16:20","slug":"from-ballet-to-broadway-and-black-orbit-house-of-flowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/2022\/11\/28\/from-ballet-to-broadway-and-black-orbit-house-of-flowers\/","title":{"rendered":"From Ballet to Broadway and Black Orbit: House of Flowers"},"content":{"rendered":"

From Ballet to Broadway and Black and\u00a0House of Flowers<\/em><\/h2>\n
\"\"<\/a>
Back to House of Flowers Orbit in From Ballet To Broadway And Black<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"House<\/p>\n

With over 165 performances in the span of a year, from December 30, 1954 to May 21, 1955, House of Flowers<\/em>\u00a0originated in 1954 and was based on Truman Capote\u2019s short story of the same name. Set in the West Indies, this musical is about two bordellos and a love story that ensues between one of the brothel\u2019s girls and a poor boy named Royal.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The show featured performers like Carmen de Lavallade, Geoffrey Holder, and Louis Johnson, with music by Harold Arlen, and lyrics by Arlen and Capote.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Directed by Peter Brook, choreographed by Herbert Ross, and produced by Saint Subber, \u201cHouse of Flowers\u201d was staged at the Alvin Theater in New York City.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

According to theater critic Brooks Atkinson, captivating dances, costumes, and sets are used to create a visually stunning show. One memorable act includes indigenous ballet to represent sea monsters, accompanied by a \u201chaunting\u201d steel band.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Production:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Book Author: Truman Capote\u00a0<\/span>
\nMusic: Harold Arlen\u00a0<\/span>
\nLyrics: Harold Arlen, Truman Capote\u00a0<\/span>
\nDirector: Peter Brook<\/span>
\nChoreographer: Herbert Ross\u00a0<\/span>
\nStage Manager: Lucia Victor, John Barry Ryan, John Scott<\/span>
\nProducer: Saint Subber<\/span>
\nTheater: Alvin Theater, 250 W. 52nd St., New York, NY\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Cast (Dancers):<\/b><\/p>\n

Carmen de Lavallade<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026Carmen<\/span><\/p>\n

Geoffrey Holder<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026The Champion\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Louis Johnson<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026Townsperson\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Arthur Mitchell<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026Townsperson\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Glory Van Scott<\/span><\/a>\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026\u2026<\/span>Mamselle Cigarette<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

More about the Alvin Theater<\/h2>\n

\"Alvin<\/p>\n

Opened as the Alvin Theater in 1927 and renamed the Neil Simon Theater in 1983, this venue has staged multiple productions involving major LGBT performers and creators, including Cole Porter, Jerome Robbins, Raoul Pene Du Bois, Stephen Sondheim, Michael Bennett, Truman Capote, Marjorie Main, Mary Martin, and Noel Coward, among others.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Sources<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

Alvin Theater<\/a><\/p>\n

House of Flowers Playbill<\/a><\/p>\n

Blackpast.org, Pearl Mae Bailey\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Masterworks Broadway, Pearl Bailey\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

New York Times, <\/span><\/i>\u201cTheater: Truman Capote’s Musical: Alvin Theater Offers ‘House of Flowers\u2019\u201d (1954)<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

Newspapers.com, Juanita Hall<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

The Guide to Musical Theatre, \u201cHouse of Flowers\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nhi Phan<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

From Ballet to Broadway and Black and\u00a0House of Flowers With over 165 performances in the span of a year, from December 30, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":134,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"universe-template.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[301,253],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16980","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-ballet-to-broadway-and-black","category-universe"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16980","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/134"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16980"}],"version-history":[{"count":33,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16980\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":18759,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16980\/revisions\/18759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16980"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16980"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mobballet.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16980"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}