Ruth Chorpenning
A young white woman wearing academic cap and gown
Ruth Chorpenning, from the 1920 yearbook of Radcliffe College
Born
Ruth Barrows Chorpenning

February 11, 1898
Springfield, Ohio
Diedafter 1977
Other namesRuth Chorpenning Norris (married name)
Occupation(s)Actress, monologuist
Parent

Ruth Barrows Chorpenning Norris (born February 11, 1898 – died after 1977) was an American stage actress and monologuist. She originated the character "Ado Annie" in Green Grow the Lilacs.

Early life and education

Chorpenning was born in Springfield, Ohio and raised in Colorado and Minnesota, the daughter of John C. Chorpenning and Charlotte Barrows Chorpenning. Her mother was a teacher, poet, and playwright.[1][2] She survived spinal meningitis as a baby, and her father died of tuberculosis when she was a teen.[3] She graduated from Radcliffe College in 1920,[4] and from the School of the Theatre in 1922.[5]

Career

Chorpenning appeared on Broadway in the shows The Jolly Roger (1923),[6] Cyrano de Bergerac (1923, 1926),[6] Charley's Aunt (1925), Sam Abramovitch (1927),[7] Hot Pan (1928), Him (1928), Dorian Gray (1928), The International (1928), Fiesta (1929), Red Rust (1929),[8] The Garrick Gaieties (1930),[9][10] Green Grow the Lilacs (1931),[9] Lost Boy (1932), Jamboree (1932), Marathon (1933), Ah, Wilderness! (1933), The Puritan (1936), Swing Your Lady (1936), Sun Kissed (1937), Love in My Fashion (1937), Family Portrait (1939), and Ring Around Elizabeth (1941).[11] Caricature artist Al Hirschfeld sketched Chorpenning with other cast members of The Garrick Gaieties in 1930.[12]

Beyond her Broadway career, Chorpenning choreographed and performed at a May Day pageant at Ohio State University in 1916.[13] She worked with her husband on community theatre projects for the Eastern Cooperative League, the University of Louisville School of Social Work, and the Federal Negro Theatre.[14][15] [16] In 1942 she played all the roles in an NBC radio serial written her husband, titled Brownstone Front.[17]

Publications

  • "Romey and Julie": A Romantic Comedy (1936, with Robert Dunmore, James Norris, and Margaret Bonds)[16]
  • "Recreation in Cooperatives" (1943)[14]

Personal life

Chorpenning married fellow actor and playwright James Norris.[15][18] In the 1970s she and her husband lived in Florida, and gave interviews to two scholars researching Charlotte Chorpenning for their dissertations.[3][19]

References

  1. ↑ "Women in World's News of Today". The Long Beach Telegram and The Long Beach Daily News. 1915-11-22. p. 8. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ↑ "Charlotte Barrows Chorpenning Collection 1948-1977". Arizona State University. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  3. 1 2 Bedard, Roger Lee. "The Life and Work of Charlotte B. Chorpenning" (Ph.D. dissertation, University of Kansas 1979).
  4. ↑ "Final Performance of Play". The Harvard Crimson. March 23, 1917. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  5. ↑ "Thespians Graduated; School of the Theatre Gives Two One-Act Plays With Skill". The New York Times. 1922-08-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  6. 1 2 Lawren, Joseph (1924). The Drama Year Book. J. Lawren. pp. 67–68, 86.
  7. ↑ Mantle, Burns; Sherwood, Garrison P. (1927). The Best Plays and the Year Book of the Drama in America. Dodd, Mead. p. 463.
  8. ↑ Barranger, Milly S. (2010-07-01). A Gambler's Instinct: The Story of Broadway Producer Cheryl Crawford. SIU Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-0-8093-8570-6.
  9. 1 2 Dietz, Dan (2018-03-29). The Complete Book of 1930s Broadway Musicals. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 39, 74, 96–97. ISBN 978-1-5381-0277-0.
  10. ↑ "She Got Idea to Revive 'Gaieties'--also a part". Daily News. 1930-08-03. p. 520. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ↑ "Cowl Comedy, Operetta Stay". The Philadelphia Inquirer. 1941-11-09. p. 61. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ↑ Hirschfeld, Al (1930). "Garrick Gaeities". Al Hirschfeld Foundation. Retrieved 2023-03-19.
  13. ↑ Teachnor, Margaret V. (June 1916). "An Elizabethan May Frolic". Ohio State University Monthly. 7 (10): 18.
  14. 1 2 Norris, Ruth Chorpenning (1943). "Recreation in Cooperatives". The Journal of Educational Sociology. 16 (8): 480–489. doi:10.2307/2262666. ISSN 0885-3525. JSTOR 2262666.
  15. 1 2 Talley, Rhea (1944-09-13). "Playlets Help Develop Leaders". The Courier-Journal. p. 16. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  16. 1 2 Dunmore, Robert; Chorpenning, Ruth; Norris, James (1936). "Romey and Julie": A Romantic Comedy.
  17. ↑ "A Woman of Parts". The Morning Call. 1942-06-13. p. 19. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  18. ↑ "College to Present Entertaining Star". The Ada Evening News. 1940-06-30. p. 13. Retrieved 2023-03-19 – via Newspapers.com.
  19. ↑ Rubin, Janet Elaine. "The Literary and Theatrical Contributions of Charlotte B. Chorpenning to Children's Theatre" (Ph.D. dissertation, Ohio State University 1978).
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