Ceremonies in Dark Old Men

About the Project

Ceremonies in Dark Old Men is a play by Lonne Elder III that follows an African American family living in Harlem, New York during the 1950’s. The play was originally presented as a dramatic reading in 1965 and was produced by the Negro Ensemble Company and first performed at St. Mark’s Playhouse in 1969. The play was very successful and was the runner-up for the 1969 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. Ceremonies in Dark Old Men was adopted into a television movie in 1975 and in 1958, the New York Times called the play a “contemporary classic.” Help us transcribe this galley proof of the script of Ceremonies in Dark Old Men and see why this play was such a success.

Lonne Elder III (1927–1996) was an actor, playwright, and screenwriter. Elder was born in Georgia and grew up impoverished during the Great Depression. He was orphaned at a young age and moved to New Jersey to live with relatives. In 1952, Elder was drafted into the army and was stationed near Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. There he met the poet and playwright Robert Hayden who inspired him to write. Elder moved back to New York in 1953, immersed himself in Harlem’s literary scene, and began to study acting. Elder’s first role was in the renowned Broadway play, “A Raisin in the Sun.” He was the head playwright of the Negro Ensemble Company’s playwrights’ division from 1967 until 1969, when his play “Ceremonies in Dark Old Men” was selected for production. In 1971, Elder shifted to writing television and films, including the Academy Award nominated “Souder.” By the 1980s, Elder became disillusioned with Hollywood due to the lack of movement in changing the way African Americans were portrayed in Hollywood films.

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