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''The Death of Bessie Smith'' is a one-act play by American playwright Edward Albee, written in 1959 and premiered in West Berlin the following year. The play consists of a series of conversations between Bernie and his friend Jack, Jack and an off-stage Bessie, and black and white staff of a 'whites-only' hospital in Memphis, Tennessee on the death date of the famous blues singer, Bessie Smith, who died in a car wreck. ==Production history== The play premiered in West Berlin at the Schlosspark Theatre, Berlin, Germany on April 21, 1960.〔Albee, Edward.("The Death of Bessie Smith" )''The American Dream ; The Death of Bessie Smith ; Fam and Yam: Three Plays''. Dramatists Play Service, Inc., 1962, ISBN 0-8222-0030-9,pp.46-48〕 It premiered Off-Broadway at the York Playhouse on March 1, 1961, in a double bill with Albee's ''The American Dream.'' Directed by Lawrence Arrick, the nurse was played by Rae Allen, and Ben Piazza played "the young man".〔Taubman, Howard. "Theatre: Intense Hour", ''The New York Times'', March 2, 1961〕〔("'The Death of Bessie Smith', 1961" ) Internet Off-Broadway Database Listing, accessed March 7, 2011〕 The play opened on Broadway in repertory with other Albee plays, at the Billy Rose Theatre on October 2, 1968, for 12 performances. Directed by Michael Kahn, Rosemary Murphy played the nurse, and Ben Piazza played the intern.〔("The Death of Bessie Smith', 1968" ) Internet Broadway Database Listing, accessed March 7, 2011〕〔Sullivan, Dan.("Theater: Albee's 'Bessie Smith' and 'Dream' Revived" ) ''The New York Times'' (abstract), October 3, 1968, p. 55〕 As part of an Albee Festival, the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, presented ''The Death of Bessie Smith'' in 2003.〔Weiss, Hedy.("Article: Early Edward Albee one-acts get their due" ) ''Chicago Sun-Times'' (abstract), October 23, 2003〕 New Brooklyn Theatre produced ''The Death of Bessie Smith'' in January 2014 at Interfaith Medical Center to raise awareness about several New York City hospitals in danger of closing.〔http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/09/theater/edward-albees-bessie-smith-at-interfaith-medical-center.html〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「The Death of Bessie Smith」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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