BEN CALDWELL   (1937 - )


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Plays by Ben Caldwell

BEN CALDWELL
All White Caste; after the seperation
1st Produced:
OffBway by NFF, opening Nov. 23, 1973, on a program of five one-act plays, under the prodn. title "WHAT IS GOING ON"
1973
Company:
-
1st Published:
in Black Drama, ed. by Woodie King, Jr. and Ron Milner, New York: Signet
1971
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Melodrama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
1 BM, 2 WM
Notes: -
Synopsis: Rejected by blacks and hated by whites, the white liberal becomes the "nigger" of the future, condemned to life imprisonment in a Harlem ghetto
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BEN CALDWELL
Family Portrait, or My Son the Black Nationalist
1st Produced:
OffBway by NFF, opening Nov. 23, 1973, on a program of five one-act plays, under the prodn. title "WHAT IS GOING ON"
1973
Company:
-
1st Published:
in New Plays from the Black Theater, ed. by Ed Bullins, New York: Bantam
1969
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Domestic Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
2 BM, 1 BF
Notes: -
Synopsis: The dichotomy that exists between a militant black and his parents.
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BEN CALDWELL
Fanatic, The; or, Testifyin'
1st Produced:
-
1968
Company:
-
1st Published:
Unpub. script in the Hatch-Billops Collection
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Morality Play
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
1 BM, 1 WM, 1 WF, extras
Notes: -
Synopsis: The "spirit" at a black church causes white man to confess to the evils and wrongdoings he has inflicted upon blacks
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BEN CALDWELL
First Militant Preacher
1st Produced:
New York
2000
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
Comedy
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: begins with the sounds of a young man breaking into an apartment that he quickly realizes is that of a local preacher. While this fellow is in the midst of robbing the place, the preacher comes home and, before stopping to notice that anything is amiss, falls onto his knees to ask God for guidance about how to deal with the more militant members of his flock. The burglar, hiding in the bedroom, is only too happy to oblige; what follows is a hilarious and pointed account of how the world may have gotten its first militant preacher.
nytheatre.com
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BEN CALDWELL
Great New York City Crisis, The
1st Produced:
Public reading by the Frank Silvera Writers' Workshop (FSWW)
1987
Company:
-
1st Published:
Unpub. script in the FSWW Archives/Schomburg Collection
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: -
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BEN CALDWELL
Hypnotism
1st Produced:
-
1969
Company:
-
1st Published:
Afro-Arts Anthology, Newark, N.J.: Jihad Productions
1966
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Didactic Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
1 BM, 1 BF, 2 WM
Notes: -
Synopsis: Ridicules the philosophy of nonviolence as another device used by whites to "hypnotize" blacks in order to keep them under contro
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BEN CALDWELL
Job, The
1st Produced:
OffBway by NFF, opening Nov. 23, 1973, on a program of five one-act plays, under the prodn. title "WHAT IS GOING ON"
1973
Company:
-
1st Published:
Drama Review, vol. 12, no. 4, Summer
1968
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Ritual Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
5 BM, 2 BF, 1 WM
Notes: -
Synopsis: The condescending attitude of white man costs him his life
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BEN CALDWELL
King Of Soul, The; or, The Devil And Otis Redding
1st Produced:
Black Arts / West
1970
Company:
-
1st Published:
in New Plays from the Black Theater, ed. by Ed Bullins, New York: Bantam
1969
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Morality Ritual
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
6 BM, 1 WM
Notes: written 1967
Synopsis: The manipulation of the career of Otis Redding and the events surrounding his death. Modern version of the Faust legend, in which a black soul singer achieves fame and fortune by making a deal with the White devil
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BEN CALDWELL
Love
1st Produced:
Prod Kasisi Yusef Iman Weusi Kuumba Theatre Troupe, New York
-
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis:
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BEN CALDWELL
Mission Accomplished
1st Produced:
-
1967
Company:
-
1st Published:
Drama Review, vol. 12, no. 4, Summer
1968
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Historical Satire
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
4 BM, 1 WM, 2 WF
Notes: -
Synopsis: Ridicules the work of white missionaries in Africa.
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BEN CALDWELL
Moms
1st Produced:
-
1987
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
Comedy with music
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: -
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BEN CALDWELL
Obscene Play (for Adults Only), An
1st Produced:
-
1971
Company:
-
1st Published:
in Alafia, Winter
1971
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: -
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BEN CALDWELL
Prayer Meeting; or, The First Militant Minister
1st Produced:
Spirit House Movers, Newark, N.J
1967
Company:
-
1st Published:
Black Fire, ed. by LeRoi Jones and Larry Neal, New York: Morrow
1968
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Comedy
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
2 BM
Notes: Also cited frequently by subtitle alone, and as The First Militant Preacher
Synopsis: An "Uncle Tom" preacher is converted into a black militant by a thief posing as the voice of God. Caldwell's most popular play
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BEN CALDWELL
Recognition
1st Produced:
-
1968
Company:
-
1st Published:
Unpub. script in the Hatch-Billops Collection
-
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Morality Ritual
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
3-5 black voices, 2-4 white voices
Notes: -
Synopsis: God assesses the cause of the black man's problems and gives advice as to possible solutions
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BEN CALDWELL
Rights and Reason
1st Produced:
OffBway by NFF, opening Nov. 23, 1973, on a program of five one-act plays, under the prodn. title "WHAT IS GOING ON"
1973
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: -
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BEN CALDWELL
Riot Sale; or, Dollar Psyche Fake Out
1st Produced:
-
1966
Company:
-
1st Published:
Drama Review, vol.12, no.4, Summer
1968
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
10-15 B, 5-10 W
Notes: -
Synopsis: A white policeman breaks up a mob of black freedom rioters by shooting money into the crowd
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BEN CALDWELL
Runaround
1st Produced:
Third World House
1970
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis:
Top of Page
BEN CALDWELL
Top Secret; or, A Few Million After B.C.
1st Produced:
PASLA (the Performing Arts Soc. of Los Angeles)
1969
Company:
-
1st Published:
Drama Review, vol. 12, no. 4, Summer
1968
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
6 BM
Notes: -
Synopsis: Criticizes birth-control (B.C.) schemes as devices used by whites to eliminate the black population.
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BEN CALDWELL
Un-Presidential; or, What Needs To Be Done
1st Produced:
-
1968
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
Drama
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
3 BM, 6-8 WM
Notes: -
Synopsis: Spokesman for civil rights group has a bold and surprising confrontation with U. S. president
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BEN CALDWELL
Wall, The
1st Produced:
-
1967
Company:
-
1st Published:
Scripts, vol. I, no. 7, May
1972
To Buy This Play:
If Publisher (above) is underlined then the play may be purchased by direct click, otherwise
(below) are AbeBooks for secondhand & 1st eds and other Booksellers for new copies
Genre:
-
One Act
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
3 BM, 2 BF, 2 WM, 1 WF, teenagers
Notes: -
Synopsis: Concerns a grafitti wall and its different effects on blacks and whites.
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BEN CALDWELL
What Is Going On
1st Produced:
NFT, New York
1973
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
-
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis:
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BEN CALDWELL
World of Ben Caldwell, The
1st Produced:
Off-Bway by NFT
1982
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
series of skits and monologues, making a full length prodn
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
-
Notes: -
Synopsis: -
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BEN CALDWELL
Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow
1st Produced:
Weusi Kuumba Troupe, The East, New York
1974
Company:
-
1st Published:
-
-
To Buy This Play:
I don't think the play has been published but you could try abebooks.com
or the playwright direct where their email is shown at the top of the page
Genre:
Historical Didactic Play
-
Parts:
Male
-
Female
-
Parts Other:
large black
Notes: written by Ben Caldwell and Yusef Iman
Synopsis: A presentation of the black experience-past, present, and future. Subtitled: The 7 Principles
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