J. E. Franklin

J. E. Franklin
Born Jennie Elizabeth Franklin
10 August 1937 (1937-08-10) (age 74)
Houston, Texas, USA
Occupation Playwright
Nationality United States
Information
Magnum opus Black Girl
Awards Drama Desk Award (1971-1972) for Black Girl

J. E. Franklin is an American playwright, best known for her play, Black Girl, which was later made into a 1972 feature film.

Biography

She was born Jennie Elizabeth Franklin in Houston, Texas to Robert Franklin and Mathie Randle.[1] Ms. Franklin has written several plays, but is best known for Black Girl. It was originally produced by public television station WGBH, Boston in 1969. It was staged off-Broadway in 1971 by Shauneille Perry at the New Federal Theatre. Franklin subsequently received a Drama Desk Award for most promising playwright.[2] Her feature film adaptation of the play was released in 1972.

Her first play to receive a major stage production was Mau Mau Room, which was also directed by Shauneille Perry. It was produced at the Negro Ensemble Company, just prior to Black Girl.[3]

Other plays by Franklin include The In-Crowd, Prodigal Daughter and Cut Out the Lights and Call the Law. Prodigal Daughter was adapted into a musical entitled, Prodigal Sister which was produced by the Negro Ensemble Company in 1974.[2]

References

  1. ^ "Texas Birth Index, 1903-1997 [database on-line"]. Provo, Utah: The Generations Network. 2005. http://www.ancestry.com. Retrieved 2009-12-03. 
  2. ^ a b Peterson Jr. (Ed.), Bernard L. (1988). Contemporary Black American Playwrights and Their Plays: A Biographical Directory and Dramatic Index (First ed.). New York, Westport, Connecticut & London: Greenwood Press. pp. 175–177. ISBN 0-313-25190-8. 
  3. ^ Johnson, John H., ed. (April 1973) "Black women 'star' behind scenes in New York drama" Ebony 6 (Chicago, Illinois: Johnson Publishing Company, Inc.) 28