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Nan Bagby Stephens

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Nan Bagby Stephens
Nan Bagby Stephens, a white woman wearing a brimmed hat
Nan Bagby Stephens, from a 1928 publication
Born
Nannie Bagby Stephens

1883
Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
DiedDecember 29, 1946 (age 63)
Georgia, U.S.
Occupation(s)Dramatist, writer, composer, librettist
Notable workRoseanne (1923), Cabildo (1932)
RelativesLouis Hasselmans (brother-in-law)

Nannie "Nan" Bagby Stephens (1883 – December 29, 1946) was an American playwright and composer, best known for the libretto of Cabildo (1932), an opera, with music by Amy Beach.

Early life and education

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Stephens was from Atlanta, Georgia,[1] the daughter of James McConnell Stephens and Zipporah Bagby Stephens. Both of her grandfathers were slaveowners in Georgia.[2][3] Her younger sister Frances married French opera conductor Louis Hasselmans.[4] She graduated from Girls High School in Atlanta and Agnes Scott College,[5] and trained as a pianist in Vienna with Johanna Müller and Theodor Leschetizky.[6]

Career

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Stephens, who was white, was known for writing songs and plays based on traditional "negro music" of the American South, often with regional themes and dialect lyrics.[7] Her Broadway play Roseanne was initially produced in 1923 with white performers in blackface, including Chrystal Herne.[8][9] Soon after, in 1924, it was produced with a Black cast, including Charles Sidney Gilpin, Paul Robeson, and Rose McClendon.[10] Roseanne became a source for Oscar Micheaux's film Body and Soul (1925).[1][11][12] Black critic Eric D. Walrond called Roseanne "good art and punk propaganda" in his 1924 review.[8] Roseanne was revived in 1945, at the Ogunquit Playhouse in Maine.[13]

Stephens was a vice-president of the National Federation of Music Clubs, representing the South Atlantic states,[14] and taught play writing at Agnes Scott College in the late 1920s.[6]

Works

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  • "Lafayette, we have come!" (1918, song, words by J. W. Greer)[15]
  • Tradition's Daughter (1918, play)[16]
  • Lazy Daisy (1918, play)[16]
  • Noblesse Oblige (1918, a comedy)[16]
  • Angelo (1918, play)[16]
  • "Morning Song"; "Plantation Ditty"; "Little Tin Ho'n" (1921, songs, words by Frank L. Stanton)[17]
  • "My Dearie", "When the Little Boy Ran Away", "Hymn to Mother" (1921, songs, words by Frank L. Stanton)[17]
  • "A Song of Georgia" (1921, song)[17]
  • Roseanne (1923–1924, play)
  • "Negro Spirituals" (1924, essay in The New York Times)[7]
  • John Barleycorn (1927, play)[18]
  • Tares (1927, play)[19]
  • The Auction Block (1927, one-act play)[19]
  • Charivari (1927, one-act comedy set in Louisiana)[19]
  • Barbed Wire (1931)[20]
  • Cabildo (1932, one-act opera, music by Amy Beach)
  • Glory (1932, novel based on the same story as Roseanne)[21]
  • Rome and July (1933, radio serial)[22]
  • First Lady, or, Madam President (1933, a play about Mary Todd Lincoln)[22]
  • Cousin George (1933, a comedy about a ghost, also known as The Green Vine)[22][23]
  • "Habeas Corpus" (1935, short story)[24]
  • Lily (1940, play)[25]
  • If I Ever Cease to Love (1941, play)[25][26]

Personal life and legacy

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Stephens died in 1946, in Georgia.[5] Her 1932 collaboration with composer Amy Beach, a one-act opera named Cabildo, about a prison in New Orleans, was first recorded in 1965,[27] and saw its first professional production in 1995, at Lincoln Center.[28] It was part of the Muffled Voices Festival, with performances in Moscow and other Russian cities in 2024.[29] Her letters to Beach are in the Amy Beach paprers at the University of New Hampshire.[30]

References

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  1. ^ a b Carby, Hazel V. (2009-07-01). Race Men. Harvard University Press. pp. 69–70. ISBN 978-0-674-02919-4.
  2. ^ Brown, Sterling A. (1996). A Son's Return: Selected Essays of Sterling A. Brown. UPNE. p. 182. ISBN 978-1-55553-275-8.
  3. ^ Stephens, Nan Bagby (1924-01-06). "Her Colored Cook Inspired 'Roseanne'; Author Tells History of New Play". Daily News. p. 141. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ "Louis Hasselmans Weds in Atlanta; Metropolitan Conductor Takes Miss Frances Stephens as His Bride". The New York Times. 1933-08-25. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  5. ^ a b "Miss Nan Stephens, Musician, Author, Dies". The Atlanta Journal. 1946-12-30. p. 15. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b "Nan Bagby Stephens, Playwriting Instructor". Billboard. Vol. 40. June 23, 1928. p. 35.
  7. ^ a b Stephens, Nan Bagby (January 27, 1924). "Negro Spirituals". The New York Times. p. 4. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  8. ^ a b Walrond, Eric D. (February 1924). "Roseanne". Opportunity. 2: 60.
  9. ^ "Miss Stephens' Play 'Roseanne' Wins Unstinted Praise of Critics". The Atlanta Constitution. 1924-01-04. p. 13. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Negroes Play 'Roseanne'; Charles Gilpin Proves Disappointing in Role of Preacher". The New York Times. March 11, 1924. p. 16. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  11. ^ Bernstein, Matthew (2009). Screening a Lynching: The Leo Frank Case on Film and Television. University of Georgia Press. pp. 281, note 44. ISBN 978-0-8203-2752-5.
  12. ^ Fullerton, John (2004). Screen Culture: History and Textuality. Indiana University Press. p. 13. ISBN 978-0-86196-645-5.
  13. ^ "Atlantian's Negro Play, 'Roseanne', is Revived". The Atlanta Journal. 1945-08-19. p. 39. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  14. ^ "President of Atlantic District". The Atlanta Journal. 1922-02-12. p. 42. Retrieved 2025-01-24 – via Newspapers.com.
  15. ^ "Lafayette, we have come! : song". Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  16. ^ a b c d Library of Congress Copyright Office (1919). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [B] Group 2. Pamphlets, Etc. New Series. pp. 49, 54, 55, 252.
  17. ^ a b c Catalog of Copyright Entries: Musical compositions. Library of Congress, Copyright Office. 1922. pp. 1394, 1419, 1433, 1436, 1454, 1473, 1498.
  18. ^ "To Give 'Success' and 'Barleycorn.'". The New York Times. November 28, 1927. p. 15. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  19. ^ a b c Catalogue of Copyright Entries: Pamphlets, leaflets, contributions to newspapers or periodicals, etc.; lectures, sermons, addresses for oral delivery; dramatic compositions; maps; motion pictures. U.S. Government Printing Office. 1927. pp. 153, 155, 344.
  20. ^ "Theatrical Notes". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  21. ^ Stafford, Bessie S. (1932-02-02). "Nan Bagby Stephens First Novel is Entitled 'Glory'". The Atlanta Constitution. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  22. ^ a b c Library of Congress Copyright Office (1933). Catalogue of Title Entries of Books and Other Articles Entered in the Office of the Register of Copyrights, Library of Congress, at Washington, D.C. U.S. Government Printing Office. pp. 8, 224, 262.
  23. ^ "'The Green Vine' Junior Play to be Given Nov. 22d". Seward County Independent. 1946-11-13. p. 1. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  24. ^ Stephens, Nan Bagby (1935-04-17). "Habeas Corpus". The Toronto Star. p. 52. Retrieved 2025-01-23 – via Newspapers.com.
  25. ^ a b Library of Congress Copyright Office (1941). Catalog of Copyright Entries. Part 1. [C] Group 3. Dramatic Composition and Motion Pictures. New Series. pp. 99, 200.
  26. ^ "Abbott Cancels Tour of 'Pal Joey'; Gene Kelly Signed by Selznick for Hitchcock Film, So Show Will Close Here Sept. 27". The New York Times. July 22, 1941. p. 21. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  27. ^ Wlaschin, Ken (2024-10-16). Encyclopedia of American Opera. McFarland. p. 58. ISBN 978-1-4766-1238-6.
  28. ^ Ellison, Cori (May 7, 1995). "Classical Music: A Woman's Work Well Done". The New York Times. p. 29. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  29. ^ "Inaugural 'Muffled Voices' Festival Announced". OperaWire. 2024-02-06. Retrieved 2025-01-23.
  30. ^ Bomberger, E. Douglas (2023-11-02). The Cambridge Companion to Amy Beach. Cambridge University Press. pp. 225–226, notes 49 and 50. ISBN 978-1-108-84584-7.
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