HALF-CENTURY magazine edited by Katherine
Williams Irvin. “Rich Man, Poor Man,” which ap-
peared in the May 1920 issue of The Half Century,
addressed African-American domesticity and the
consequences that racism had on African-Ameri-
can employment and families.
The protagonist, Drusilla, is determined to
marry a man who can provide for her. She falls in
love with John Condon. A baker by trade, Condon is
a good prospect, but he is unable to secure employ-
ment because of his race. When he falls ill, Drusilla
is forced to revisit her pledge not to work for any
man. To meet their debts and to generate some in-
come during John’s illness, Drusilla begins to sell her
fine clothes. In spite of the contemporary belief that
a woman of color can always find work while a man
of color cannot, Drusilla is determined that she will
not become the primary or sole provider for her fam-
ily. Invested in the reality and promise of black mas-
culinity, Drusilla prevails and maintains her pledge to
share, but not assume, domestic responsibilities.
The story’s focus on African-American wom-
anhood, marriage, and family complemented other
works that Coleman published in The Half-Century,
THECRISIS,and OPPORTUNITY.
Rideout, Ransom (unknown)
The playwright and screenwriter known best for
his 1928 play GOIN’ HOME,a play about World
War I soldiers in FRANCE. Goin’ Home, which
opened on BROADWAY in 1928 at the Hudson
Theatre, gave him the opportunity to work with
producer Brock Pemberton. One year later, in
1929, Rideout was involved in the making of Hal-
lelujah, the major African-American Hollywood
musical production directed by King Vidor. Other
Rideout works include the play Boots(1924) which
opened at the Pasadena Playhouse in May 1924.
Rider of Dreams, The Ridgely Torrence
(1917)
One of three plays by the white poet, writer, and
NEW REPUBLIC editor RIDGELY TORRENCE that
were created expressly for “a Negro Theatre.” The
plays in the collection, published by Macmillan in
1917, included The Rider of Dreams, GRANNY
MAUMEE,and SIMON THECYRENIAN.The accom-
plished performer PAULROBESONmade his stage
debut in the last. The three plays, which focused on
African-American life and were tailored to African-
American casts, positively influenced the national
effort to constitute an African-American theater
movement.
The Rider of Dreamsopened in early April at
the Garden Theatre. In mid-April, the production
was relocated to the Garrick Theatre. As producer
of the three plays, the philanthropist and theater
enthusiast EMILIEHAPGOODinvested thousands of
dollars in the shows. The troupe that performed
Torrence’s work included Inez Clough and Opal
Cooper and was referred to as the EMILIEHAP-
GOODPLAYERS.
The one-act play, written in dialect, revolves
around the Sparrow family of Lucy, Madison, and
Booker. Lucy, a God-fearing woman and hardwork-
ing washerwoman, does her best to inculcate spiri-
tual awareness in her son, Booker, and to rein in
the reckless schemes of her husband, Madison.
Madison returns home one evening with a guitar
and with plans to go into business with a wily
friend. Lucy soon finds out not only that the guitar
is stolen but also that her husband and his friend
have forged her signature and withdrawn the hard-
earned savings that she has amassed over 12 years.
In the mayhem that ensues when Madison discov-
ers that he has lost the money, their neighbor
Uncle Wilson stops by on the pretense of buying
one of their appliances. As the play ensues, the
neighbor finally reveals that he is the rightful
owner of the guitar and that he retrieved the
money from Madison when he accidentally
dropped it. Uncle Wilson, the owner of the Spar-
rows’ cottage, intervenes, restores Lucy’s dream of
purchasing the house, and challenges Madison to
use the guitar to advance his dreams and to pro-
vide for his wife and child. The play closes as
Madison bemoans the fact that he is always subject
to other people’s directions and unable to indulge
himself in his own dreams.
The play’s focus on domesticity provided a
traditional, even stereotypical view of African-
American men. Torrence’s play was deemed of
value, however, because it offered a substantial,
rather than comedic and caricatured, presentation
of African-American life.452 Rideout, Ransom