Susie Sutton
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Short description|American actress}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Susie Sutton
| image = Susie Sutton.png
| alt = Press Photo of Susie Sutton (1923)
| caption = Press Photo of Susie Sutton (1923)
| birth_name =
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| death_date =
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| other_names =
| occupation = Actress, performer
| years_active = 1913–1938
| known_for = Theater monologues, member of the Lafayette Players, role in The Green Pastures
| notable_works =
}}
Susie Sutton (died February 1956) was an American actress who appeared in theater and films. She was a member of the Lafayette Players from 1917 until 1922 before joining productions by I. M. Weingarden from 1922 to 1924. In later theater productions she continued with Weingarden's company troupe until founding her own vaudeville troupe in 1926 called the Susie Sutton Company, though she also took part in productions with the Alhambra Players in the late 1920s. Her role in The Green Pastures in 1930 as Noah's wife is one of her most well known stage roles.
Career
As a child, Sutton participated in church and sunday school singing and performing. She had a role in a production of "Little Buttercup". Her early theatrical work took place at the Crown Garden Theater in Indianapolis, with her presenting comedic drama monologues such as "The Maid" and "Italian Woman" from 1913 through 1915.{{cite journal |author= |date=November 29, 1913 |title=Susie Sutton: Monologuist, Character Delineator |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=FIkAGs9z2eEC&dat=19131129&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |journal=Indianapolis Freeman |issue=5 |pages=5 |access-date=December 22, 2021}}{{cite journal |author= |date=February 14, 1914 |title=Susie Sutton: Character Delineator, Entertainer |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=FIkAGs9z2eEC&dat=19140214&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |journal=Indianapolis Freeman |issue=2 |pages=5 |access-date=December 22, 2021}}{{cite journal |author= |date=November 14, 1914 |title=Susie Sutton |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=FIkAGs9z2eEC&dat=19141114&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |journal=Indianapolis Freeman |issue=2 |pages=5 |access-date=December 22, 2021}}{{cite journal |author= |date=August 7, 1915 |title=Susie Sutton |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=FIkAGs9z2eEC&dat=19150807&printsec=frontpage&hl=en |journal=Indianapolis Freeman |issue=1 |pages=5 |access-date=December 22, 2021}} This led to her joining the Lafayette Players in 1917 and starred in multiple theater acts with them until 1922. During that time period, she quickly became considered the head of the African American comedy troupe among the Players.
After leaving the troupe in 1922, she joined in with theater productions by showrunner I.M. Weingarden in New York.{{cite magazine |last1=Jackson |first1=J.A. |date=December 23, 1922 |title="Keep It Up" |url=https://archive.org/details/sim_billboard_1922-12-23_34_51/page/48/mode/2up?q=%22susie+sutton%22 |magazine=Billboard |volume=34 |issue=51 |pages=48 |access-date=December 22, 2021}} The immense success of Weingarden's Follow Me show from 1922-1924 resulted in the troupe being frequently referred to as the "Follow Me company" during later presentations and had Sutton attributed as the lead of the show.{{cite news |author= |date=February 12, 1926 |title=Susie Sutton's Big "Follow Me" Company 81 Midnight Frolic |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90943651/susie-suttons-big-follow-me-company/ |work=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} She was noted for both her comedic and dramatic routines as well as her singing. She did character sketches, skits, and covered popular songs.{{cite news |author= |date=February 7, 1926 |title=Midnight Frolic At 81 Theater Friday |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90948498/midnight-frolic-at-81-theater-friday/ |work=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} She also danced.{{cite news |author= |date=April 4, 1926 |title=Susie Sutton Revue 81 Frolic Feature |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90965043/susie-sutton-revue-81-frolic-feature/ |work=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
A followup show named Keep It Up was performed at the Lafayette Theater, with Sutton presenting a singing performance titled "The Bridge of Sighs". The show did not have as much success as Weingarden's previous works.{{cite news |author= |date=December 2, 1922 |title=At The Lafayette Theatre |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90968335/at-the-lafayette-theatre/ |work=The New York Age |access-date=December 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} The Follow Me company later started a new show titled the Bon Ton Revue, which they began performing in 1925.{{cite news |author= |date=April 6, 1926 |title=81 Theater |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90964749/81-theater/ |work=The Atlanta Constitution |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Sutton officially organized the Susie Sutton Company under her name in 1926 as a new vaudeville troupe and performed in theaters throughout the TOBA Circuit and in Nashville, Tennessee.{{cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Bernard L. |last2=Gore |first2=Lena McPhatter |date=1997 |title=The African American Theatre Directory, 1816-1960: A Comprehensive Guide to Early Black Theatre Organizations, Companies, Theatres, and Performing Groups |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=pH2npoewU5cC |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |page=190 |isbn=9780313295379}} She also continued performing with the Lafayette Players on and off at the Alhambra Theater, until the Players moved to Los Angeles in August 1928. Choosing to stay at the Alhambra Theater, Sutton continued performing as a part of the Alhambra Players.{{cite news |author= |date=August 11, 1928 |title=Susie Sutton - Alhambra |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90968980/susie-sutton-alhambra/ |work=The Pittsburgh Courier |access-date=December 22, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} Her role as Noah's wife in the 1930 production of The Green Pastures earned significant praise from critics on Broadway.{{cite news |author= |date=June 28, 1930 |title=Actress Likes Role In 'Green Pastures' |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90962928/actress-likes-role-in-green-pastures/ |work=The Pittsburgh Courier |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} An attempt to recreate the theater company system akin to the Lafayette Players occurred in 1943, with Sutton being one of several Lafayette members who joined the initial creation.{{cite journal |last1=Black |first1=Cheryl |date=June 2004 |title="New Negro" performance in art and life: Fredi Washington and the theatrical columns of The People's Voice, 1943-47 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A118742368/ITOF?u=wikipedia&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=33a06f42 |journal=Theatre History Studies |volume=24 |access-date=December 28, 2021 |via=Gale}}
Sutton became ill in late 1955{{cite news |last=Murrain |first=Edward |date=December 3, 1955 |title=Front and Center |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91264082/the-new-york-age/ |work=The New York Age |access-date=December 27, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}} and died the following year in February 1956.{{cite news |author= |date=February 18, 1956 |title=Bronx Limited |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91263554/the-new-york-age/ |work=The New York Age |access-date=December 27, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Theater
- Keep It Up (1922){{cite book |last=Peterson |first=Bernard L. |date=October 25, 1993 |title=A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works By, About, or Involving African Americans |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IJQyBe_wDj8C |publisher=ABC-CLIO |page=207 |isbn=9780313064548}}
- Follow Me (1922-1924){{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Delos R. |date=July 3, 1926 |title=Reviewing the Show At The Elmore Theater |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90943181/reviewing-the-show-at-the-elmore-theater/ |work=The Pittsburgh Courier |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- Meek Mose (1928) as Miss Minnie{{cite news |last=H. |first=G. |date=February 7, 1928 |title="Meek Mose," Amateurish Play of Negro Life, Opens at Princess |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90965372/meek-mose-amateurish-play-of-negro/ |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- The Green Pastures (1930) as Noah's Wife
- Stevedore (April 18, 1934 - July 1934) as Bertha Williams{{cite news |last=Pollock |first=Arthur |date=April 19, 1934 |title='Stevedore,' a Play About Negroes and Injustice in the South, Opens at the Civic Repertory |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90965885/stevedore-a-play-about-negroes-and/ |work=The Brooklyn Daily Eagle |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- Noah (1935) as Noah's Wife{{cite news |last=Rowe |first=Billy |date=October 17, 1936 |title=Presentation of 'Noah' Ineffective, Says Billy Rowe |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90964425/presentation-of-noah-ineffective/ |work=The Pittsburgh Courier |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- Haiti (1938){{cite news |author= |date=January 29, 1938 |title=Arthur Schomburg In Lecture On Scheduled "Haiti" Production |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63150109/arturo-alfonso-schomburg-lecture-haiti/ |work=The New York Age |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
Films
- The Brute (1920){{cite news |author= |date=October 2, 1920 |title="The Brute" Proves the Biggest and Best of the Colored Productions |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/90966417/the-brute-proves-the-biggest-and-best/ |work=The Kansas City Sun |access-date=December 21, 2021 |via=Newspapers.com}}
- The Midnight Ace (1928)
References
{{Reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Susie}}
Category:Year of birth missing
Category:American film actresses
Category:American stage actresses
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:20th-century African-American women singers
Category:20th-century American women singers