Micki Grant

{{Infobox person

|name = Micki Grant

|image = Micki Grant Another World 1968 (cropped).JPG

|caption = Grant on Another World, 1968

|birth_name = Minnie Louise Perkins

|birth_date = {{birth date|1929|6|30}}

|birth_place = Chicago, Illinois, U.S.

|death_date ={{death date and age|2021|8|22|1929|6|30}}

|death_place = New York City, U.S.

|occupation = {{hlist|Actor|composer|writer|singer}}

| alma_mater = Lehman College

| spouse = {{marriage|Ray McCutcheon|1966|1978}}

}}

Micki Grant (born Minnie Louise Perkins, June 30, 1929 – August 22, 2021) was an American singer (soprano), actress, writer, and composer.{{Cite web|url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Micki-Grant-Composer-Playwright-and-Performer-Has-Died-at-Age-80-20210822|title=Micki Grant, Composer, Playwright and Performer, Has Died at Age 92}} She performed in Having Our Say (as Sadie Delaney), Tambourines to Glory and Jericho-Jim Crow both co-written by Langston Hughes, The Gingham Dog, Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope, and received three Tony Award nominations for her writing.[http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/micki-grant-41 "Micki Grant"], The HistoryMakers.

Early life

Perkins was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Gussie and Oscar Perkins on June 30, 1929.{{cite web|title=Micki Grant, Broadway Composer and Lyricist, Dies at 92|last=Beresford|first=Trilby|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/obituary/9620119/micki-grant-obit/|publisher=Billboard|date=August 26, 2021|accessdate=August 26, 2021}}{{cite web|title=Micki Grant, Groundbreaking Broadway Composer, Dies at 92|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/25/theater/micki-grant-dead.html|last=Sandomir|first=Richard|work=The New York Times|date=August 25, 2021|accessdate=August 26, 2021}} Some sources also state that she was born in 1941; Grant was said to have lowered her age early for reasons related to her career.{{cite web|title=Micki Grant Dies: Broadway's Trailblazing 'Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope' Creator Also Pioneered Daytime TV For Black Performers|url=https://deadline.com/2021/08/micki-grant-dead-broadway-another-world-soap-opera-actress-dont-bother-me-i-cant-cope-1234820168/|publisher=Deadline|last=Evans|first=Greg|date=August 23, 2021|accessdate=August 26, 2021}}Allen Woll, Dictionary of the Black Theatre, Greenwood Press, 1983, {{ISBN|0-313-22561-3}}, p. 210. Her father was a self-taught pianist and master barber, and her mother worked for Stanley Products. She began studying music with double-bass lessons at her elementary school.{{cite book |last1=Smith |first1=Jessie Carney |title=Notable Black American Women |date=1992 |publisher=VNR AG |isbn=978-0-8103-9177-2 |pages=256–257 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ssMBzqrUpjwC&q=%22Micki+Grant%22&pg=PA256 |access-date=February 21, 2020 |language=en}} Grant first took piano lessons at the age of eight, and the next year took acting lessons with Susan Porché. After high school, her cousin, film actress Jeni Le Gon took her under her wing when Grant moved to Los Angeles. Following graduation from Englewood High School in Chicago, Grant studied at the Chicago School of Music and attended the University of Illinois, which she left after three years to move to New York City. Years later she went back to school and graduated from Lehman College in 1994 with a degree in English and Theatre, summa cum laude.{{cite web |title=The History Makers |url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/micki-grant-41 |website=The History Makers |access-date=16 June 2022}}{{cite web |title=Honoring Micki Grant with Charlayne Woodard |url=https://www.dramatistsguild.com/thedramatist/honoring-micki-grant-charlayne-woodard |website=Dramatists Guild |access-date=16 June 2022}} In 2015, Lehman College awarded her the degree of Doctor of Fine Arts, honoris causa.{{cite web |title=Lehman College, Honorary Degree Recipients |url=https://www.lehman.edu/lehman-legacy/honorary-degree-recipients.php |website=Lehman College, Honorary Degree Recipients}}

Career

= Theater =

While in Los Angeles, she was cast in Fly Blackbird by James V. Hatch and C. Bernard Jackson. The show was successful and it moved to New York City. She graduated summa cum laude from Lehman College. In the early 1960s, she appeared off-Broadway in Jean Genet's The Blacks (with James Earl Jones and Cicely Tyson), and in Brecht on Brecht, in which she sang "Pirate Jenny". In 1964, Grant appeared as Ella Hammer in Howard da Silva's off-Broadway revival of Marc Blitzstein's The Cradle Will Rock, opposite Jerry Orbach and Rita Gardner.{{Cite book|last=Dietz|first=Dan|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fgOqZWHCLbUC&q=micki+grant+as+ella+hammer&pg=PA99|title=Off Broadway Musicals, 1910–2007: Casts, Credits, Songs, Critical Reception and Performance Data of More Than 1,800 Shows|date=March 10, 2010|publisher=McFarland|isbn=978-0-7864-5731-1|language=en}}

Much of her early work was done with director Vinnette Carroll,Bernard L. Peterson, Jr, A Century of Musicals in Black and White (Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 1993), {{ISBN|0-313-26657-3}}, p. 111. the first African-American woman to direct on Broadway. They collaborated on Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope,{{Cite web|title=Micki Grant's Biography|url=https://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/micki-grant-41|website=The HistoryMakers|language=en|access-date=May 30, 2020}} in which Grant starred and for which she wrote the music, book and lyrics, and Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, for which Grant wrote additional lyrics and music.{{cite web |title=Micki Grant |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/micki-grant-7760 |website=Internet Broadway Database |publisher=The Broadway League |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221023802/https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/micki-grant-7760 |archive-date=February 21, 2020}} Both enjoyed critical acclaim and long Broadway runs. She was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.{{Citation needed |date=February 2020}}

= Television =

File:Barbara Rodell Micki Grant Another World 1968.JPG on Another World, 1968]]

In the first story line written for an African-American in a daytime soap opera, Grant portrayed attorney Peggy Nolan on Another World (1966–1973). She later appeared on The Edge of Night replacing Billie Allen as Ada Chandler {{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oACqry5GZ-sC&q=micki+grant+as+ada+chandler&pg=PA36|title=Ebony|date=March 1978|publisher=Johnson Publishing Company|language=en}} and was in the cast of Guiding Light (1982–1984). She also had a brief stint as host of Around the Corner, a children's show on CBS.

= Radio =

In her early days in New York City, Grant sought to supplement her income by working as a receptionist at a radio station. A meeting with a top executive at the station diverted her attention to working on the air. Readings and Writings featured Grant performing material that she compiled from research at a public library.{{cite news |last1=King |first1=Doreen |title=Micki Grant Dreams of Becoming The First Negro Lady Macbeth |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/45306131/micki_grant/ |access-date=February 21, 2020 |work=Asbury Park-Press |agency=Women's News Service |date=September 20, 1965 |location=New Jersey, Asbury Park |page=8|via = Newspapers.com}}

Personal life and death

Grant married television news film editor Ray McCutcheon in 1966. They were married for 12 years before divorcing in 1978. Grant died on August 22, 2021, at the age of 92 in Manhattan, New York City.

Recognition

Grant received a 1972 Obie Award for Music and Lyrics for her work on Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope.{{cite web |title=1970s |url=http://www.obieawards.com/events/1970s/year-72/ |website=OBIEAWARDS |publisher=Village Voice and American Theatre Wing |access-date=February 21, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200221030458/http://www.obieawards.com/events/1970s/year-72/ |archive-date=February 21, 2020}}

Writing credits

"Pink Shoe Laces" (1959), pop song, recorded by Dodie Stevens, reached number 3 on the U.S single charts. A Spanish-language version was number 1 in Mexico for 9 weeks.
Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1971), musical – music and lyrics, performer
Croesus and the Witch (1971), musical – music and lyrics
Step Lively, Boy (1973), musical – music and lyrics
The Prodigal Sister (1974), musical – music and lyrics
Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1976), musical – additional music and lyrics
The Ups and Downs of Theophilis Maitland (1976), musical – music and lyrics
I'm Laughing but I Ain't Tickled (1976), musical – music and lyrics
Alice (1978), musical – music and lyrics
Working (1978), musical – music and lyrics with Stephen Schwartz, Craig Carnelia, James Taylor, Mary Rodgers and Susan Birkenhead
Eubie! (1978), musical revue – additional lyrics
It's So Nice to Be Civilized (1980), musical – book, music and lyrics
Phillis (1986), musical – music and lyrics
Step into My World (1989), revue – music and lyrics
Carver (Don't Underestimate a Nut) (1996) – music, lyrics, and book[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HgDB48esu1g&t=145s "Micki Grant & Charlayne Woodard"], Dramatists Guild Foundation, 2016. YouTube video.

References

External links

{{IMDb name|0335569}}
{{IBDB name}}
[http://www.thehistorymakers.org/biography/micki-grant-41 Listing from The History Makers]
[https://deadline.com/2021/08/micki-grant-dead-broadway-another-world-soap-opera-actress-dont-bother-me-i-cant-cope-1234820168/ Micki Grant Dies: Broadway's Trailblazing 'Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope' Creator Also Pioneered Daytime TV For Black Performers]

Category:1929 births

Category:2021 deaths

Category:Actresses from Chicago

Category:African-American composers

Category:African-American women composers

Category:American women composers

Category:American musical theatre composers

Category:American musical theatre lyricists

Category:American soap opera actresses

Category:American sopranos

Category:Women musical theatre composers

Category:Grammy Award winners