Learn More About Karamu House

Pictured is the original Playhouse Settlement (Neighborhood Assoc.) building located at the corner of East 38th Street and Central Avenue in Cleveland, Ohio. The Jelliffes soon discovered the arts provided the perfect common ground, and in 1917, plays at the settlement began.

In 1920, the Jelliffes sponsored a group of young adults known as the Dumas Dramatic Club. In January 1922, they changed their name to the Gilpin Players, after famed stage actor Charles Gilpin attended one of their rehearsals, complimented their work and left $50 on the stage.

The Jelliffes were staunch supporters of Shirley Graham’s work. In 1932 they recommended her one-act play Tom Tom be considered by Lawrence Higgins, an affluent scenic designer who produced for the Stadium Opera in Cleveland. Graham was commissioned to expand her play into a three-act composed opera. Tom Tom became the first produced opera by an African American woman.

In 1935 Karamu Artists, Inc. was formed to support a group of artists funded through the Works Progress Administration (WPA) project. This group included artists such as Hughie Lee-Smith, Elmer W. Brown,  Charles Sallée, Jr., William E. Smith, Zell Ingram, and Fred Carlo. In 1942, they held their first major show in NYC- the largest of African American artwork. (Sallée, Charles. Watercolor print. cir. 1935)

Pictured are Minnie Gentry & Jesse Firse in I Gotta Home, written by Shirley Graham, directed by the Gilpin Players in Feb. 1940. The play was performed at Case Western Reserve University's Eldred Hall Theatre. They were rehearsing this play in the Karamu Theatre at the time of the fire.

In 1941 the Playhouse Settlement formally changed its name to Karamu House, Inc. Pictured is the groundbreaking ceremony on Feb. 6, 1945 at their new home, located at the corner of E89th Street & Quincy Avenue in the Fairfax neighborhood.

Pictured is the front of Karamu's main stage and black box theatre building. The building's dedication ceremony was held on December 6, 1949. The first stage performance, The Medium starring Zelma George, opened on December 10, 1949.

Neither Ruby Dee or Ossie Davis ever appeared in a Karamu stage production but both had significant presence and impact in the organization and in the lives of Karamu artists. They often visited for speaking engagements, to instruct master classes, and to  support Karamu's mission. Ossie Davis’ play Purlie Victorious was produced multiple times at Karamu in the late 1960s through the 1970s.

Pictured are Director of Musical Productions, Benno Frank & Musical Director, Helmuth Wolfes with the cast of Karamu's 1959 musical production of Carousel. Notables include Robert Guillaume, Minnie Gentry, Beverly Todd, Al Fann, Ron O'Neal, Herbert Kerr and Angela Berry.

Karamu's longest running production was Jamaica from Sept. 22, 1959 - Feb. 20, 1960. The musical included a large cast of actors, several who went on to be successful professionals. At the end of the production, Mrs. Jelliffe presented a framed acknowledgement of this historic event to the cast for their professionalism, commitment, and success.

Martin Luther King, Jr. traveled to Cleveland, Ohio multiple times for various purposes. He stopped by Karamu on at least two occasions. Karamu House archive guestbook reflects his signature, dated September 1963. This visit was with Zelma George.