–>I’m<-- Taking a Chance on Love
Most people know about The Wiz, but there’s actually another less heard of musical that I love even more that also features an all black cast:
Cabin in the Sky is an American Broadway musical which opened in 1940. A motion picture based on the musical was produced by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and released in 1943.The film version of Cabin in the Sky starred Ethel Waters as Petunia and Eddie “Rochester” Anderson of Jack Benny fame as Little Joe. Lena Horne co-starred as the temptress Georgia Brown in her first and only leading role in an MGM musical. Other cast members included Louis Armstrong as one of Lucifer Junior’s minions, Rex Ingram as Lucifer Junior, and Duke Ellington and his Orchestra, who have a showcase musical number.
Cabin in the Sky tells a version of the Faust legend in which Little Joe, a man killed over gambling debts, is given six months to redeem his soul and become worthy of entering Heaven — otherwise his soul will be condemned to Hell. – wikipedia
(more…)