Synopsis
Knock Me a Kiss - USA/Canada ONLY
Published by Dramatic Publishing
3 Male 3 Female
The marriage marked the height of the Harlem Renaissance and was viewed as the perfect union of Negro talent and beauty
It also united the daughter of America's foremost black intellectual, co-founder of the NAACP and publisher of Crisis Magazine, with a poet whose work was considered to be one of the flagships for the New Negro movement
The play opens as jazz bandleader, Jimmy Lunceford, continues his pursuit of a willing but apprehensive Yolande
She demurs, insisting that she and Jimmy be married in a manner consistent with her stature
Meanwhile, Du Bois tries to convince Cullen to take a wife of great breeding, stature and education
When Countee realizes that Yolande possesses all of the attributes outlined by the elder Du Bois, he sets out to win her affection
But when Yolande is forced to choose between her passion for Jimmy and marrying Countee, her devotion to her father overwhelms her heart
The marriage is a triumph of pomp and pageantry but fails to be a union of man and woman
Eventually Countee goes to Paris with his close friend Harold Jackman, and Yolande returns to Jimmy only to find that she is no longer wanted
Single set - runs about 2 hours