Chaseville Road was the name of the street. I grew up in Arlington in the 1950s-60s and saw many a movie at the Town and Country. It was a classy place — clean and well run.
The Lafayette is significant as the home of the Lafayette Players, the first black professional theater troupe in the country. Organized by Anita Bush, the troupe first performed at the Lafayette on Dec. 27, 1915 in a play titled “Across the Footlights.” The troupe had begun life a month earlier as the Anita Bush Players, performing at the Lincoln Theater, but soon moved to the Lafayette.
The five original members: Bush, Charles Gilpin, Carlotta Freeman, Andrew Bishop and Dooley Wilson (of ‘Casablanca’ fame). All of them went on to long careers in show business.
A favorite note about the players: In January 1916, they performed ‘The Octoroon" in which most of them performed in white face! It must have been an exciting experience for black audiences accustomed to seeing white minstrel performers in black face.
Was there a black theater called the Paramount on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta in the 1920s? The address was 192 ½ Auburn Avenue. I am researching an independent filmmaker who worked in Jacksonville during that decade. His personal records from the time refer to a Paramount Theater on Auburn Avenue.
Also does anyone know anything about these black theaters in Atlanta from the ‘20s? Theater 81, Theater 91 and the Crystal? The first two were on Decatur Street, the last one might have been on Hunter Street. (His handwriting is unclear on that one.)
Chaseville Road was the name of the street. I grew up in Arlington in the 1950s-60s and saw many a movie at the Town and Country. It was a classy place — clean and well run.
The Lafayette is significant as the home of the Lafayette Players, the first black professional theater troupe in the country. Organized by Anita Bush, the troupe first performed at the Lafayette on Dec. 27, 1915 in a play titled “Across the Footlights.” The troupe had begun life a month earlier as the Anita Bush Players, performing at the Lincoln Theater, but soon moved to the Lafayette.
The five original members: Bush, Charles Gilpin, Carlotta Freeman, Andrew Bishop and Dooley Wilson (of ‘Casablanca’ fame). All of them went on to long careers in show business.
A favorite note about the players: In January 1916, they performed ‘The Octoroon" in which most of them performed in white face! It must have been an exciting experience for black audiences accustomed to seeing white minstrel performers in black face.
Was there a black theater called the Paramount on Auburn Avenue in Atlanta in the 1920s? The address was 192 ½ Auburn Avenue. I am researching an independent filmmaker who worked in Jacksonville during that decade. His personal records from the time refer to a Paramount Theater on Auburn Avenue.
Also does anyone know anything about these black theaters in Atlanta from the ‘20s? Theater 81, Theater 91 and the Crystal? The first two were on Decatur Street, the last one might have been on Hunter Street. (His handwriting is unclear on that one.)
Thanks a lot.