Wayside Theatre, Early 1960s?

Extent:

9 items

Scope and content:

The origins and setting of these unmarked prints are unknown, as is the photographer. They were discovered in a file cabinet at the Wayside Theatre in the small city of Middletown, Virginia, close to Washington D.C., which was a cinema built in the 1940s before its transformation in 1962 into a small community theater. It closed in 2013.

The seven glossy black-and-white photographs, all 8 1/8 x 10 inches, and two 8x10 contact sheets show groups of African American and white actors in the middle of an unnamed dramatic production. It seems to have included music; one of the actors holds a tambourine and actors appear to be singing. In some scenes the setting appears to be a church.

The performance may have been staged by the Wayside Theatre or possibly by the Garrick Players, the former home of the director of the Wayside Theatre; or it may be a Free Southern Theater production in Washington D.C. or some other locality. Judging by dress and haircuts, the date appears to be the early to mid 1960s.

Physical facet:

2 contact sheets; 7 prints

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