James Baldwin didn't want to write this play... at first. He thought the American Theater was “…a series, simply, of commercial speculations, stale, repetitive, and timid” (Baldwin 4). In other words, he thought it was a lot like today's Hollywood: the same money that produces melodramatic plots that are worked out over and over again so that no one has to gamble on projects that push the envelope. It wasn't until his friend, Medgar Evers, took him through the Mississippi woods to investigate the 1955 murder of a young black teenager named Emmett Till, and Evers' subsequent death, that Baldwin decided to write his first work theatrical. Baldwin assisted in Evers' inspections and silenced the investigation throughout the night while they were followed by state police. Years later, these memories forced Baldwin to finish Blues for Mister Charlie (4-6). The original Broadway production premiered at the ANTA Playhouse owned by the American National Theater and Academy in 1964 (IBDB). The theater still stands to this day, but due to numerous changes in ownership, it is now known as the August Wilson Theatre, named after its recently deceased owner. Previews began Tuesday, April 14, just before the spring season on Broadway. Previews are a way for productions to test a show before it officially opens. Technical and acting changes could still be made, and in worst-case scenarios, a show could be stopped mid-performance to fix something. For this reason tickets are usually cheaper. After 8 previews, the show officially opened a week later, on Thursday 23rd. The production lasted the entire season and closed on Saturday 29th August of the same year with a total of 148 performances. This is not considered a particularly long period. ...... middle of paper ......rlem Arts Theatre. Announcement. New Arts Theater in Haarlem. The City College of New York. Network. June 04, 2011. .• Taubman, Howard. "Theatre: 'Blues for Mister Charlie'" Rev. of Blues For Mister Charlie: A Drama in Three Acts. New York Times [New York] April 24, 1964. The New York Times. The New York Times Company. Network. May 30, 2011. .• Turner, Darwin T. “Visions of Love and Manhood in a Blackened World: Dramas of Black Life from 1953 to 1970.” The Iowa Review Spring 6.2 (1975): 82-99. JSTOR. Network. May 30, 2011. .• Untold Story by Emmett Louis Till, The. Dir. Keith Beauchamp. Till Freedom Come Productions, LLC, 2005. The Untold Story of Emmett Louis Till. TH!NKFiLM COMPANY INC. June 3 2011. .