Theatre Register

Mercedes Ellington

Shows · Mercedes Ellington

Actor b. 1939 On stage 1971–1981

Mercedes Ellington (born 1939) is an American dancer, choreographer, art director, and educator. Ellington was born in New York City. She is the daughter of Mercer Ellington and the granddaughter of Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington. She attended the Juilliard School graduating in 1960. Her teachers included José Limón and Martha Graham. In 1963 Ellington became a member of the June Taylor Dancers. She was the first Black member of the company, appearing regularly on The Jackie Gleason Show. Ellington was one of the choreographers of the musical Sophisticated Ladies which premiered in 1981 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre. She founded the Duke Ellington Center for the Arts in 2004.

On stage 3 productions, 10 years

1971 No, No, Nanette 46th Street Theatre · Revival · directed by Busby Berkeley 861 perf.
1975 The Night That Made America Famous Ethel Barrymore Theatre · Original · directed by Gene Frankel 47 perf.
1981 Sophisticated Ladies Lunt-Fontanne Theatre · Original · directed by Michael Smuin 767 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.

In the literature8 passages

  • Cast: Gregory Hines, Judith Jamison, Phyllis Hyman, P. J. Benjamin, Hinton Battle, Terri Klausner, Gregg Burge, Mercedes Ellington, Priscilla Baskervilleebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • tions, Philp J. Lang; Dance Music Arranged by Peter Howard; Vocal Arrangements, Donald Pippin; Assistant Choreographer, Mercedes Ellington; Hair Designs and Makeup, Vincenzo Prestia; Sound, Jack Mann; Wardrobe, Adelaide Laurino; Assistant Conduc-theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1978-79, v. 35 (Willis).txt
  • Meehan; Music, George Gershwin; Lyrics, Ira Gershwin; Direction and Choreography, Donald Saddler; Associate Choreographer, Mercedes Ellington, Producer, Cyma Rubin; Associate Producers, Raoul Pene du Bois, Nathan J. Miller, Keith Davies; Produced in association with The Kennedy Center for Performing Arts; Production Design, Raoul Pene du…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1978-79, v. 35 (Willis).txt
  • Cast Beatrice Arthur, Michael Burstyn, Maria Burton, Imogene Coca, John Cullum, Mercedes Ellington, Joanna Gleason, Judy Kaye, Terri Klausner, Adriane Lenox, Michael Mark, John Miller, Monteith and Rand, Tony Orlando, Juliet Prowse, Lee Roy Reams, Wanda Richert, Nancy Ringham, Chita Rivera, George Rose, Virginia Sandifur, Joseph Saulter,…theatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1981-82 Season, v. 38 (Willis).txt
  • CAST Hinton Battlefl Gregg Burget2 Gregory Hmest3 Judith Jamison Mercedes Ellingtontheatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1981-82 Season, v. 38 (Willis).txt
  • SOPHISTICATED LADIES AND GENTLEMEN: LesUe Dockery, Mercedes Ellington, Darcy Phifer, Christina Saffran, Adrian Bailey, Calvin McRae, Richard Pessagno, T. A. Stephenstheatre-pdfs/Theatre World/Theatre World, 1981-82 Season, v. 38 (Willis).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.
  • Any portrait. 1,626 of 7,139 people have one, so this is the usual case rather than the exception.
  • 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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