We’re celebrating black history month on this week’s Dress Circle (2/24 7:00 p.m.) by looking at shows featuring black casts like “Simply Heavenly,” a musical with a book and lyrics by Langston Hughes based on his novel “Simple Takes a Wife” and other “Simple” stories, “Purlie,” a musical based on Ossie Davis’ play “Purlie Victorious,” and “Raisin” based on Lorraine Hansberry’s “Raisin in the Sun.”
We’ll also sample selections from Charlie Small’s “The Wiz” as well as take a look at the black cast recordings of “Hello, Dolly!” which starred Pearl Bailey and Cab Calloway and “Guys and Dolls” which featured James Randolph, Earnestine Jackson, Norma Donaldson, and Robert Guillaume. Along with these, we're planning to add selections from “Five Guys Named Moe,” “Black and Blue,” “The Color Purple,” “House of Flowers,” “Cabin in the Sky,” and more.