Simply Heavenly

by Langston Hughes

The New York Journal-American called Simply Heavenly "a treat. This story by Langston Hughes, based on his novels about Jesse B. Semple, a Joe Doakes Harlemite, seems to capture the color and the humor and poetry of these neighbors-to-the-North as no outlander could imitate. This is the story of the New York Negro written from the inside out; it is a happy and exciting evening. There is a mood and a temper about this show that is unique." The New York Post describes the play: "It possesses such unhackneyed freshness and cheeriness of spirit, such humorous decency and regard for the human spirit, that, as offered last night at the 85th Street Playhouse, it was a real delight. Its great merit is that Mr. Hughes contemplates the people he is writing about with a respect that never becomes patronizing or stuffy and always retains its sense of humor."

72 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

About the author

Through poetry, prose, and drama, American writer James Langston Hughes made important contributions to the Harlem renaissance; his best-known works include Weary Blues (1926) and The Ways of White Folks (1934).

People best know this social activist, novelist, playwright, and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes, one of the earliest innovators of the then-new literary art form jazz poetry, for his famous written work about the period, when "Harlem was in vogue."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langsto...

Reviews

[Aaron Thomas]

Charming from start to finish with a great balance of upbeat numbers, ballads, blues, and love songs.