Theatre Register

Warren Coleman

Shows · Warren Coleman

Actor 1901–1968 On stage 19341949

Warren Coleman (24 August 1900 – 13 January 1968 in West Tisbury, Martha's Vineyard) was an American operatic baritone. He created the roles of Crown in George Gershwin's Porgy and Bess and the role of John Kumalo in Kurt Weill's Lost in the Stars, in the premieres of each show on Broadway. Coleman performed regularly on the Broadway stage from 1934 until 1950. In addition to Lost in the Stars and two productions of Porgy and Bess, Coleman also starred in Roll, Sweet Chariot, Sing Out the News, and Anna Lucasta.

On stage 9 productions, 15 years

1934 Roll, Sweet Chariot Cort Theatre · Original · directed by Emjo Basshe 7 perf.
1935 Porgy and Bess Alvin Theatre · Original · directed by Rouben Mamoulian 124 perf.
1938 Sing Out the News Music Box Theatre · Original · directed by Ned McGurn 105 perf.
1939 Swingin' The Dream Center Theatre · Original · directed by Philip Loeb 13 perf.
1942 Porgy and Bess Majestic Theatre · Revival · directed by Robert Ross 286 perf.
1943 Porgy and Bess 44th Street Theatre · Revival · directed by Robert Ross 24 perf.
1944 Porgy and Bess City Center · Revival · directed by Robert Ross 64 perf.
1947 Anna Lucasta National Theatre · Revival · directed by Harry Wagstaff Gribble 32 perf.
1949 Lost in the Stars Music Box · Original · directed by Rouben Mamoulian 273 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 once12 names

Georgette Harvey 5 productions
Todd Duncan 4 productions
Sadie Mcgill 4 productions
Henry Davis 4 productions
Edward Matthews 4 productions
Zelda Shelton 3 productions
William C Smith 3 productions
Robert Tucker 3 productions
Musa Williams 3 productions
Harriet Jackson 3 productions
Etta Moten 3 productions
Avon Long 3 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 literature6 passages

  • Studio cast (1951) : Lawrence Winters, Camilla Williams, Inez Matthews, Warren Coleman, Avon Long, J. Rosamond Johnson Chorus, Lehman Engel (conductor). Columbia OSL 163; reissued on Odyssey 32 36 0018 (nearly complete on three LPs).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
  • Cast: Todd Duncan, Leslie Banks, Warren Coleman, Inez Matthews, Julian Mayfield, Frank Roane, Sheila Guyse, Herbert Colemanebooks/Green, Stanley/Broadway Musicals, Show By Show - Seventh Edition - Stanley Green & Cary Ginell.txt
  • Lost in the Stars. Warren Coleman, Todd Duncan, and Herbert Coleman. (Karger-Pix)ebooks/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
  • A REDHEADED WOMAN Published in the complete piano-vocal score September 1935. Lyrics by Ira Gershwin. Introduced by Warren Coleman (Crown) and ensemble.theatre-pdfs/The Complete Lyrics of Ira Gershwin - Gershwin, Ira, 1896-1983.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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