Theatre Register

Abbie Mitchell

Shows · Abbie Mitchell

Actor 1884–1960 On stage 19041946

Abriea "Abbie" Mitchell Cook (née Mitchell; 25 September 1884 – 16 March 1960), also billed as Abbey Mitchell, was an American soprano opera singer. She performed the role of Clara in the premiere production of George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess in 1935, and was also the first to record "Summertime" from that musical.

On stage 9 productions, 42 years

1904 The Southerners New York Theatre · Original · directed by Joseph C. Smith 36 perf.
1909 The Red Moon Majestic Theatre · Original · directed by Benny Jones 32 perf.
1926 In Abraham's Bosom Provincetown Playhouse · Original · directed by Jasper Deeter 200 perf.
1927 Coquette Maxine Elliotts Theatre · Original 366 perf.
1927 House of Shadows Longacre Theatre · Original 29 perf.
1927 In Abraham's Bosom Provincetown Playhouse · Revival · directed by Jasper Deeter 88 perf.
1935 Porgy and Bess Alvin Theatre · Original · directed by Rouben Mamoulian 124 perf.
1939 The Little Foxes National Theatre · Original 410 perf.
1946 On Whitman Avenue Cort Theatre · Original · directed by Margo Jones 150 perf.

Each row is a staging this name appears in the cast list of, read from the production record rather than from the person record. The person record names works instead, and a work cannot say which run somebody was in — that is how Elaine Stritch ends up filed under Show Boat 1927 when she was in the 1994 revival. No row here says what part was played, because no cast list records it.

Worked with more than once9 names

Thomas Mosley 2 productions
Stanley Greene 2 productions
Rose Mcclendon 2 productions
R J Huey 2 productions
Melvin Greene 2 productions
L Rufus Hill 2 productions
James Dunmore 2 productions
Frank Wilson 2 productions
Armithine Lattimer 2 productions

Both names in the same cast list, more than once. It is not evidence of a partnership — a long-running company puts the same forty people together every night — but it is where one would start looking. 8 of these names are not links because we hold no record behind them; the name is set from the identifier and its punctuation may be wrong.

In the literature4 passages

  • 27 . Abbie Mitchell: Gershwin Performs Gershwin: Rare Recordings 1931–1935 , Music Masters 5062–2-C (1991); Helen Jepson: Gershwin Plays Gershwin , Pearl GEMM CDS 9483 (1991); Anne Brown: Porgy and Bess , Decca MCAD-10520 (1992).ebooks/Block, Geoffrey/Enchanted Evenings_The Broadway Musical from 'Show Boat' to Sondheim and Lloyd Webber - Geoffrey Block.txt
  • Cast: Todd Duncan, Anne Brown, Warren Coleman, John W. Bubbles, Abbie Mitchell, Ruby Elzy, Georgette Harvey, Edward Matthews, Helen Dowdy, J. Rosamond Johnsonebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • (Sportin’ Life), Ruby Elzy (Serena), Warren Coleman (Crown), Abbie Mitchell (Clara), Edward Matthews (Jake), Georgette Harvey (Maria), J. Rosamond Johnson (Frazier), Helen Dowdy (Lily), Ford L. Buck (Mingo), and the Eva Jessye Choir.theatre-pdfs/The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin - Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983.txt
  • Clark, Bobby in Sweethearts Cléopatre, Sarah Bernhardt in Clorindy, the Origin of the Cakewalk, by Will Marion Cook Clorindy, Abbie Mitchell in Clowns Without Circus, by Ashley Dukes ‘Clown and Jack-in-the-Hat,’ painting by Everett Shinn Cocteau,theatre-pdfs/sim_theatre-arts_1947_31_index.txt

Passages naming this person, found by keyword across 178 books. A keyword match is not a biography, and a common name will pull in the wrong one.

What this page does not know

  • What this person played. No cast list we hold records a character against a performer.
  • Which of the credits above the roles on this record — actor — apply to. The roles sit on the person and never on a credit, so a director who also acted looks the same here as one who did not.

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