Lot 137
It is signed on the bottom. The Duncan Sisters in Topsy and Eva. Rosetta and Vivian Duncan were well-known vaudeville stars in 1923 when they asked Catherine Chisholm Cushing to write a musical for them "Based on 'Uncle Tom's Cabin.'" Cushing used Stowe's characters, but drastically rewrote the story. As you can see from the script available below, what plot the piece has depends mainly on the romantic relationship between George Shelby and an added character named Marietta, and on the misunderstandings between Mrs. Shelby and Augustine St. Clare, whom the script turns into her former beau. The show was essentially an occasion for singing, dancing and comic turns by the Sisters, especially Rosetta "in half-nudity and burnt-cork" as Topsy. The play was very popular. After engagements in Los Angeles and San Francisco, it ran for 47 weeks in Chicago, played on Broadway for about four months, then went on the road for a national tour through 1926. In 1927 the Duncans combined the stage show with an 80-minute movie (on which D. W. Griffith did some of the directing). They "revived" the show twice in the 30s, with new songs, again in 1942, and apparently kept coming before America as Topsy and Eva well into the 1950's. Although by now past their prime, the Duncan Sisters continued as a popular night club entertainers act for several more decades. They also appeared in several soundies and also on television's You Asked For It. In the late 1940s the Duncans wrote and recorded four Christmas selections for the Hollywood Recording Guild Inc.: "Dear Santy", "The Angel on the Top of the X-mas Tree", "Twimmin' de Cwis'mas Twee" and "Jolly Ole Fella". These appeared on 7" extended play 78rpm kiddie records. In 1956 both Rosetta and Vivian appeared on Liberace's television show. They sang some of their songs and did their Topsy and Eva routine. Please ask specific questions on details, condition, and shipping prior to bidding, ALL ITEMS ARE SOLD AS IS, and the bidder will be responsible for payment. We box and ship what we can to keep costs low, and use USPS and UPS. Large items, extremely fragile, and high value items will be packed by UPS. Quotes available on request
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Condition:
- Excellent Unused Condition
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