James Baldwin Signed Program. Amen Corner.

BALDWIN, James.

Item Number: 109422

James Baldwin Signed Program on the cover of Amen Corner: A New Musical Ford’s Theatre. Matted and framed with a photograph. This three-act play was Baldwin’s first attempt at theatre. The entire piece measures 13.75 inches by 12 inches.

The Amen Corner is a three-act play by James Baldwin. It was Baldwin's first attempt at theater following Go Tell It on the Mountain. It was first published in 1954, and inspired a 1983 Broadway musical adaptation with the slightly truncated title, Amen Corner. Oscar Nominated Supporting Actress for the film "Imitation of Life" "Juanita Moore" were friends with Marlon Brando and James Baldwin, and it was Moore who asked Brando to lend the $75 to Baldwin to write The Amen Corner. The Amen Corner takes place in two settings: a ‘‘corner’’ church in Harlem and the apartment dwelling of Margaret Alexander, the church pastor, and of her son, David, and sister Odessa. After giving a fiery Sunday morning sermon, Margaret is confronted by the unexpected arrival of her long estranged husband, Luke, who collapses from illness shortly thereafter. Their son, David, along with several elders of the congregation, learn from Luke that, while Margaret had led everyone to believe that he had abandoned her with their son years ago, it was in fact Margaret who had left a dysfunctional Luke and pursued a religious life. This information precipitates confrontations between Margaret and her son, her congregation, and her estranged husband, regarding what they perceive as the hypocritical nature of her religious convictions, and the breakup of her family.