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supporters on the other. The issue to be decided at the trial is whether or not Jim has committed a crime. Jim admits he hit Dave but denies it was a crime. Elder Simms argues on Jim's behalf that a weapon is necessary to commit a crime, and nowhere in the Bible does it say a mule bone is a weapon.
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Their work was almost complete in June, when
Hurston went away for the summer. She took her notes and said she would return in the fall, and they could finish the play. When Hurston came back, she would not return telephone calls from Hughes. She felt he wanted Thompson to be considered a third
294:
In the meantime, the Gilpin
Players wanted to stage the play. The work was still somewhat rough, but Hughes was in Cleveland, and he offered to help rewrite portions of the play. Hurston sent a telegram advising that she refused to allow the production. A day later, she sent another telegram
213:
to try to show which of them loves Daisy more. The contest ends when it becomes clear that Daisy expects her man to work for the white people who employ her. Jim and Dave are reconciled, and neither remains interested in courting Daisy. The two men return to
Eatonville.
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Act III takes place some time later, with Daisy encountering Jim outside of town. She tells him she's been worried about him, but he's skeptical. She demonstrates the sincerity of her affection and Dave comes upon the couple. The two men engage in a
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authorizing the production on the condition that she be allowed to work with Hughes on changes. That same day, Hughes received a letter from
Hurston saying that no part of the play had been written by him.
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used a donkey's jawbone to kill 3,000 men (citing Judges 18:18), so the hock bone of a mule must be even more powerful. Joe Clarke declares Jim guilty and banishes him from town for two years.
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wrote that it was "an evening that can most kindly be described as innocuous". He described it as a "broad, often bland quasi-musical". Also writing in
264:(Mrs. Rufus Osgood Mason). Reviewers have conjectured that Hurston may have been trying to protect her own relationship with Mason by shunning Hughes.
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354:: "it's just not a very good play." Both critics suggested the play might have been much better had Hughes and Hurston finished their collaboration.
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On Monday, the trial begins in the
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114:. The process of writing the play led Hughes and Hurston, who had been close friends, to sever their relationship.
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In light of all the off-stage drama, the Gilpin
Players decided not to proceed with their production. The copy of
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for copyright in
October 1930, listing herself as the only author. In January 1931, Hughes learned that a copy of
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810:: Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston's Dream Deferred of an African-American Theatre of the Black Word".
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has a hand-written notation by Hughes: "This play was never done because the authors fell out."
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in March 1930. They wanted to write a comedy about
African-American life that didn't consist of
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bone from a mule and knocks Dave out. Jim is arrested and held for trial in Joe Clarke's barn.
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Bass, George
Houston (1991). "Another Bone of Contention: Reclaiming Our Gift of Laughter".
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For comedic effect, Childers cites the wrong verse and misquotes scripture. In fact,
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field trips. The two writers dictated their work to Louise
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845:: The Battle for Artistic Authority in the Hurston-Hughes Collaboration".
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collaborator in the project, a proposal to which she strongly objected.
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was not staged until 1991, when it was produced in New York City by the
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The production closed on April 14, 1991, after 68 performances.
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which Hurston had collected in Florida during one of her
841:
Rosenberg, Rachel A. (April 1999). "Looking for Zora's
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Zora and Langston: A Story of Friendship and Betrayal
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says Samson killed 1,000 men with a donkey's jawbone.
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on February 14, 1991, to generally negative reviews.
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694:(1991) . "The Life of Langston Hughes: 1902-1941".
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1930 play by Langston Hughes and Zora Neale Hurston
275:bearing only Hurston's name, had been sent to the
196:supporters sit on one side of the church, Dave's
317:was produced for the first time in 1991 by the
1360:Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo"
676:. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois Press.
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880:. New York: W. W. Norton & Company.
673:Zora Neale Hurston: A Literary Biography
201:Elder Childers, representing Dave, says
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1462:Zora Neale Hurston Museum of Fine Arts
229:Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes
750:"English Tea and a Florida Folk Tale"
748:Richards, David (February 24, 1991).
241:. They decided to base the plot on a
7:
647:"Why the 'Mule Bone' Debate Goes On"
728:"A Difficult Birth For 'Mule Bone'"
279:, an all-black theater company in
14:
788:Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
697:Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
616:Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
302:in the Langston Hughes papers at
233:Hughes and Hurston began writing
154:A domestic servant and Methodist.
99:Mule Bone: A Comedy of Negro Life
19:For the album by Taj Mahal, see
806:Manuel, Carme (Spring 2001). "
1:
1498:All-Black cast Broadway shows
1337:How It Feels To Be Colored Me
1439:Their Eyes Were Watching God
1302:Their Eyes Were Watching God
1041:Let America be America Again
1513:Plays by Zora Neale Hurston
1467:Hurston-Wright Legacy Award
1096:Montage of a Dream Deferred
1034:Come to the Waldorf Astoria
791:. New York: HarperCollins.
708:. New York: HarperCollins.
627:. New York: HarperCollins.
61:February 14, 1991
1534:
1310:Moses, Man of the Mountain
1182:The Sweet Flypaper of Life
1048:Note on Commercial Theatre
999:The Negro Speaks of Rivers
943:Internet Broadway Database
572:Internet Broadway Database
148:. He is Jim's best friend.
18:
350:, David Richards said of
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1508:Plays by Langston Hughes
1457:Zora Neale Hurston House
1237:Langston Hughes Society
1088:The Ways of White Folks
1080:Fine Clothes to the Jew
938:Mule Bone
813:African American Review
643:Gates, Jr., Henry Louis
510:Rampersad, pp. 200–202.
492:Rampersad, pp. 197–199.
469:Rampersad, pp. 194–196.
451:Rampersad, pp. 193–194.
433:Rampersad, pp. 192–193.
323:Ethel Barrymore Theatre
160:The mayor, a Methodist.
77:Ethel Barrymore Theatre
1225:Charles Henry Langston
1219:Carrie Langston Hughes
876:Taylor, Yuval (2019).
501:Hemenway, pp. 140–141.
415:Hemenway, pp. 152–154.
406:Hemenway, pp. 151–152.
384:Hemenway, pp. 150–151.
319:Lincoln Center Theater
262:Charlotte Osgood Mason
230:
120:Lincoln Center Theater
1352:Dust Tracks on a Road
1318:Seraph on the Suwanee
1091:(short stories, 1934)
861:10.1353/mod.1999.0021
726:(February 15, 1991).
645:(February 10, 1991).
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1518:Plays set in Florida
1231:John Mercer Langston
1174:Not Without Laughter
1139:Tambourines to Glory
106:by American authors
1413:The Gilded Six Bits
1390:(1930, staged 1991)
919:Library of Congress
848:Modernism/modernity
783:Hurston, Zora Neale
668:Hemenway, Robert E.
183:Eatonville, Florida
181:The play begins in
166:Methodist minister.
1294:Jonah's Gourd Vine
1279:Zora Neale Hurston
755:The New York Times
733:The New York Times
706:Zora Neale Hurston
652:The New York Times
625:Zora Neale Hurston
528:Rampersad, p. 203.
348:The New York Times
339:The New York Times
267:Hurston submitted
239:racial stereotypes
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112:Zora Neale Hurston
52:Zora Neale Hurston
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931:Project Gutenberg
887:978-0-393-24391-8
692:Rampersad, Arnold
519:Hemenway, p. 144.
483:Hemenway, p. 140.
460:Hemenway, p. 139.
442:Hemenway, p. 138.
424:Hemenway, p. 137.
172:Baptist minister.
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724:Rich, Frank
658:February 7,
537:Bass, p. 2.
163:Elder Simms
141:Dave Carter
1493:1991 plays
1488:1930 plays
1482:Categories
1329:Nonfiction
606:References
344:Frank Rich
332:Reviewing
273:Mule Bone,
157:Joe Clarke
131:Jim Weston
126:Characters
102:is a 1930
65:1991-02-14
43:Written by
1387:Mule Bone
1115:Mule Bone
926:Mule Bone
914:Mule Bone
869:145282332
843:Mule Bone
808:Mule Bone
785:(1991) .
599:Richards.
562:Mule Bone
373:Footnotes
352:Mule Bone
334:Mule Bone
315:Mule Bone
300:Mule Bone
285:Mule Bone
281:Cleveland
269:Mule Bone
235:Mule Bone
220:Mule Bone
194:Methodist
136:Methodist
116:Mule Bone
29:Mule Bone
1415:" (1933)
1408:" (1926)
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1221:(mother)
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670:(1977).
568:IBDB.com
361:See also
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243:folktale
218:Writing
82:New York
1450:Related
1212:Related
1123:Mulatto
1027:Pierrot
941:at the
917:at the
834:2903336
198:Baptist
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1442:(2005)
1434:(1989)
1382:(1925)
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1355:(1942)
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1321:(1948)
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1305:(1937)
1297:(1934)
1286:Novels
1204:(1939)
1185:(1955)
1177:(1930)
1166:Novels
1158:(1964)
1150:(1961)
1142:(1956)
1134:(1947)
1126:(1935)
1118:(1931)
1055:Harlem
1013:I, Too
884:
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546:Gates.
203:Samson
91:Comedy
1431:Spunk
1406:Sweat
1371:Plays
1193:Films
1107:Plays
991:Poems
865:S2CID
830:JSTOR
587:Rich.
88:Genre
882:ISBN
793:ISBN
763:2009
741:2009
710:ISBN
704:and
678:ISBN
660:2009
629:ISBN
623:and
336:for
187:hock
110:and
104:play
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325:on
287:to
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