Anna Lucasta (movie)poster, 1958
On this date in 1944, the play "Anna Lucasta" opened on Broadway.
The American Negro Theater produced this first all-Black production with a non-racial theme. It starred Hilda Simms and Frederick O'Neal. The setting was the Lucasta living room in Pennsylvania and Noah's Bar in Brooklyn in early 1941.
Written by Philip Yordan, the story about a waterfront prostitute successfully ran over 950 performances. The play was filmed in 1958, starring Eartha Kitt and Sammy Davis Jr.
The African American Atlas
Black History & Culture an Illustrated Reference
by Molefi K. Asanta and Mark T. Mattson
Macmillan USA, Simon & Schuster, New York
ISBN 0-02-864984-2
