Dorothy West and the Harlem Renaissance artists and activists get settled into the Grand Hotel, and enjoy the lavish luxuries the Soviets have to offer. Caviar anyone?
While exploring Moscow, Mildred Jones and Langston Hughes push the prim and proper Dorothy out of her comfort zone. While partying, the group finally meets the director of the film, Carl Jungans but the all-Black cast sees red flags as the filmmaker reveals himself to be quite ignorant when it comes to race.
CAST:
J IVY AS LANGSTON HUGHES
EVAN FRAZIER AS DOROTHY WEST
NANCY GILLIAM AS RACHEL WEST
BREANNA COSETTE AS MILDRED JONES
SUSAYE LAWSON AS LOUISE THOMPSON
STEPHAN RUMPHORTS AS CARL JUNGHANS
AND BRODERICK CLAVERY AS JAMES THE TRANSLATOR
HARLEM AND MOSCOW WRITTEN BY ALLE MIMS
DIRECTORS: ARES HARPER AND REGINA GRIFFIN ARE THE DIRECTORS
PRODUCER & SOUND DESIGNER SAM RIDDELL
AUDIO ENGINEERS AARON REPPERT AND CAREY DURHAM.
Full Transcript Below:
Announcer: You are now listening to theGrio’s Black Podcast Network, Black Culture Amplified. Hello, you’re listening to Harlem and Moscow, an original audio play presented by the Griot Black Podcast Network. Harlem in Moscow is a six-episode drama with three additional companion podcasts. Harlem in Moscow: Red Flags.
Narrator: Harlem in Moscow is based on a true story. Episode three, When in Moscow. Stars Jay Ivey as Langston Hughes, Evan Fraser as Dorothy West, and featuring Nancy Gilliam, Brianna Cosette, and Stéphane Rumphorst. I am your narrator, commenter, and teller of tales, Jared Alexander.
Last time on Harlem in Moscow.
The young writer Dorothy West began to tell her mother of her year long trip across the sea to make a film in the Soviet Union. Although her mother seemed more interested in the men that accompanied her. The trip began when Dorothy accepted the invitation from her beau, Henry Lee, a reporter for a Black newspaper, and Louise Thompson, a professor and political organizer.
After writing home to her father for ship fare, and with a little encouragement from her cousin Helen, Dorothy found herself on a ship with 20 other Harlem Renaissance artists, waiting for none other then Langston Hughes himself to join them. Once everyone was accounted for, the group traveled first by ship, then by train, where Dorothy and Henry Lee had a tense conversation about expectations.
well abroad. The talk ended with Dorothy storming out of the car and out of the relationship. Luckily, Langston and visual artist Mildred Jones were more than happy to adopt the now unattached Dorothy into their group. And with that, we return to Dorothy’s family house where she can continue her tale of Harlem and Moscow.
Dorothy West: You sit down mom. I’ll get the dishes. Where is Maria? I thought she was here every day to help.
Rachel West: Thanks, honey. I can’t be spending all my money on a maid. I knew you’d be home to help your mother. The little ones are out of the house, so now it’s time for the rest of your Moscow story. What was so steamy you had to wait for their little ears to leave?
And remember, your mom doesn’t need to know Every little thing. Even if it has to do with Mr. Langston Hughes? I can use my imagination for the bits you leave out. I have a feeling the party got a little wilder than you wrote about in your letters. You never were the type to be out every night, but you hardly wrote once you got to Moscow.
Dorothy West: The Soviets filled our spare time to the brim with activity.
Rachel West: Activities you apparently didn’t want your mother to know about. When you did start to write again in the fall, I sensed a change in you. It no longer felt like you were simply reporting on other people’s lives. You were writing about your own.
Dorothy West: So much happened in those first few weeks. Some of which you know, some of which I’ve been nervous to share until now. After we arrived in mid June, a man from the production company, Meshrapom, led us to the Grand Hotel. I don’t think I’ve ever stayed anywhere as beautiful, except Oak Bluffs, of course. But what is a beach cottage compared to an old hotel built for a czar?
They had good food and hot baths almost every day. I didn’t want to leave our room, both because of the comforts, and because I was scared of getting lost in the city. It was Mil who convinced me to walk a little further every day, until we found a little market. We bought a bunch of strawberries from a man with a cart.
Since when do you know Russian?
Mildred Jones: I only know how to say, Thank you, comrade. I have a feeling we’ll be using it a lot.
Dorothy West: You don’t think he’s an official or an actor or something, paid to just stand here?
Mildred Jones: Dot, just enjoy the strawberries. They’re perfect. Here. Take a bite.
Dorothy West: Ah, fine. Mmm, that is fresh. Ugh, I think there was a bit of dirt on that one.
Mildred Jones: Now you’ve truly got a bit of Russia inside you. See? This is no different than walking through any other city.
Dorothy West: That’s exactly what I’m afraid of. People are staring. I feel like I’m in a zoo.
Mildred Jones: Let them look. They’re staring because you’re beautiful.
Dorothy West: They’re staring because I have dark skin.
Langston Hughes: Hello, comrades..
Mildred Jones: Langston! Hello, Lang. Strawberry?
Langston Hughes: Don’t mind if I do. Mmm. What are you two up to on this lovely day?
Mildred Jones: Strolling the city, spending rubles, looking for Soviet spies.
Dorothy West: I only meant the whole interaction felt too pleasant. He even gave us a discount.
Langston Hughes: I have to write that one down. Dot found the Soviet Union too pleasant for her tastes.
I would think someone like you would be used to a more pleasant life.
Dorothy West: Perhaps around our own people, but not with whites.
Langston Hughes: Think of them. As Russians, not whites. I promise you, the distinction is important.
Mildred Jones: Dorothy has actually been writing about the less pleasant parts of Moscow as well. She’s been writing practically every day since we got here.
Langston Hughes: Oh, really? I would love to read what you’ve written sometime, kid.
Dorothy West: That would be an honor, Mr. Hughes.
Langston Hughes: You’re still holding on to your misters, comrade. We must work on that. I would love to join your stroll, but I must get home to this. The much anticipated script Black and White. The title is a bit on the nose, but that’s alright. Russians are very literal.
Meschrapbom asked me to look it over before rehearsals.
Dorothy West: I would love to read it.
Langston Hughes: I promised I would keep it a secret for now. I’ll be sure to share my thoughts with you when the time is right. You both ended up in the same room.
Dorothy West: Yes.
Langston Hughes: And how are you liking your arrangement?
Dorothy West: Mil definitely encourages me to explore.
Langston Hughes: Wonderful. I’ll see you back at the hotel, Mildred, Dorothy.
Mildred Jones: Goodbye.
Dorothy West: Bye, Lang. Do you think it’s alright that I call him Lang? Or should I have gone with comrade?
Mildred Jones: Lang is his name to his friends. You’re his friend. And his comrade. Although comrades rarely moon over each other.
Dorothy West: I was not mooning. Oh, Langston,
Mildred Jones: I would just love to come back to the hotel with you and read over your shoulder.
Dorothy West: That is not how I sounded.
Mildred Jones: Oh, you’re only defensive because you know it’s true.
Dorothy West: I want to be a writer. I don’t think it’s so unusual that I would want to spend more time with him and hear his thoughts.
Mildred Jones: And no one could blame you for the thoughts I’m sure you’re thinking. Look at this poster. We should see this show.
Dorothy West: We don’t even know what it is. There’s just a girl in a dress. Hold on. Is that a man dressed as a woman?
Mildred Jones: Isn’t it fantastic?
Dorothy West: They do not do this sort of thing in Boston.
Mildred Jones: Sure they do. They probably just don’t invite you.
Dorothy West: I get invited to plenty of things.
Mildred Jones: Well Dot, won’t you accept my invitation to go see a man sing and dance in a dress?
Dorothy West: He sings and dances as well?
Mildred Jones: I should hope so. Or else it wouldn’t be a very good show.
Dorothy West: My mother would not approve of seeing a show like this in the middle of the day.
Mildred Jones: Good thing your mother isn’t here. Let’s go, Dot. And we can call on Comrade Lang later. Tell him everything we saw.
Dorothy West: Okay, but you must not tease me in front of him.
He already calls me kid.
Mildred Jones: I promise I won’t.
Dorothy West: Are you sure you don’t mind me dragging you along everywhere? I assumed Henry Lee would be my escort, but now I’ve dumped that responsibility on you, and forced my way between you and Langston to boot.
Mildred Jones: It’s all right. I don’t mind sharing. Let’s have some fun before they put us to work.
Dorothy West: We had an abundance of leisure time. At night, we went out in small groups, with a guide from Meschrapbom always in tow, but more often than not, Mel and I spent our days together.
Narrator: If the thought of going to a drag show is a bit much for the prim and proper Dorothy West, she’s about to get tested. When her not so secret crush, Langston Hughes, knocks on her hotel room door and offers to read her writing.
Dorothy West: Come in.
Langston Hughes: If you insist.
Dorothy West: Lang! I’m so sorry. If you’re looking for Mil, she’ll be back any minute.
Langston Hughes: I did have a few things for her to type, but I don’t mind waiting with you. Please, don’t let me interrupt your writing. Is This the story you’ve been working on?
Dorothy West: Yes. Something happened the other day and I wanted to write it down.
Langston Hughes: Do you mind if I have a look?
Dorothy West: Not at all. I’m surprised you even asked. Most people would just snatch it. Here.
Langston Hughes: Charming. A visitor who ate all your butter. I can guess who that is. She did the same thing to me last week. You have quite a few things to say about the currency exchange.
Dorothy West: It’s ridiculous! The bureaucracy, the waiting, and now inflation?
It’s practically impossible to send money home. In addition to that, we’re visiting as honored guests. Our ration cards are not like those of regular citizens. We get two different caviar ration cards a week. That’s absurd. No one needs that many fish eggs. The red is awful anyway.
Langston Hughes: You’d think so. I can’t stand the Black ones myself.
Dorothy West: Would you like to trade? I have a small stack I’ve been accumulating.
Langston Hughes: Beautiful and resourceful. Thank you, Dot. I understand your frustration. The redtape An inevitable part of the transition this country is going through. Would you mind if I showed you something?
Dorothy West: Something you wrote?
Langston Hughes: No, no. You’ll be able to read plenty later in print.
It’s something out in the plaza.
Dorothy West: Mil is on her way.
Langston Hughes: We’ll likely run into her. Come on.
Dorothy West: He offered his arm. I took it and my heart leapt. It had been a while since a man had offered me his arm. Lang and I chatted a bit out as we left the hotel and strolled to the plaza, but my tongue would not listen to my brain, so I stayed quiet.
We ended in front of a statue Mil and I had passed dozens of times.
Langston Hughes: Do you know who this is? A dead man. You’re not wrong. This is Pushkin. Have you ever read him? He was a poet and he wrote plays as well. But he was also the great grandson of Abram Petrovich, the Negro of Peter the Great.
Dorothy West: There were Negroes in Russia that long ago?
Langston Hughes: We’ve been everywhere, kid. It’s said Petrovich was kidnapped from Africa as a child and found his way to Peter’s court, rising through the ranks and eventually becoming a well decorated soldier. He even married a duchess. Pushkin started to write a novel about his famous ancestor, but he never finished.
Still, with his poems and stories, the country embraced him as the Russian Shakespeare. Pushkin was a great poet in his own right, but there have been countless Russian poets. It was his Negro blood that set him apart and made his story different. Better. Think of it. An entire country that sees Negroes as noble and artistic and worthy of a statue in the center of Moscow.
That is what I think of when I think of the Soviet Union fighting for us. When was the last time a white in America erected a statue of someone with Negro blood? If Russians believed in our revolution, nothing can stop us.
Dorothy West: You make it all sound so good.
Langston Hughes: That’s my job. I see a familiar face. Hey Mil.
Mildred Jones: Hey Lang.
Fancy seeing you here. How did you get Dot to leave her room?
Dorothy West: He promised we’d meet you on the way.
Mildred Jones: I hope I didn’t keep you waiting too long. I had to pop over to grab Butter.
Langston Hughes: Seems we have a repeat offender if Dorothy’s pages can be believed.
Mildred Jones: You finally showed Lang your pages? So, what’s the verdict?
Langston Hughes: The kid can write.
No doubt about that. I think she’d make a damn good editor as well. For someone who doesn’t talk much, you sure take your time crafting your stories. Don’t you? I can see the care you put into them.
Dorothy West: Thank you. You have no idea what that means to me.
Langston Hughes: I only speak the truth. I have to go, so I will leave you two ladies to admire Pushkin.
Mil, I have a few things I could use typed up when you have time.
Mildred Jones: I heard we start rehearsal in a few days, so you better get it to me quick.
Langston Hughes: I’ll send the papers to your room tonight. How about we get together? All three of us. After your first rehearsal? You can tell me all about it and I can tell you about the script.
Perhaps over champagne? Hide the butter when you get to your room.
Dorothy West: Mil! Don’t look at me like that.
Mildred Jones: Oh, Lange, you have no idea what that means to me. Let’s go! Yes, Lange, let’s go!
Dorothy West: After three weeks of exploring the city, Louise let us know that we would finally be meeting our esteemed director, Carl Junghans. Who traveled from Germany for the project. It was obvious by now that there was some delay in production.
We suspected it had to do with the script, but Lang never let on the night we were to meet Junghans, I had just arrived at the lobby where Mildred and Louise were having a cup of tea together.
Mildred Jones: That’s a pretty dress. The cream color looks lovely on you.
Dorothy West: Thank you, Mil. I thought it was silly to pack something this fine, but now I’m glad I did.
I want to make a good impression on the director.
Louise Thompson: And you think a nice dress will do that?
Dorothy West: I want him to know I’m a serious actress. I’m not here to just gallivant all around town. I heard Ted didn’t get in until 4 a. m. this morning.
Mildred Jones: I heard Henry Lee didn’t come home at all.
Dorothy West: What do those boys do all night?
Louise Thompson: Is that a rhetorical question?
Dorothy West: You’re teasing me again, Mil.
Mildred Jones: Lang isn’t here, so I’m allowed.
Louise Thompson: The men are doing what the men always do when they’re abroad. White women.
Dorothy West: Henry Lee doesn’t even like white women.
Louise Thompson: Because they never liked him.
Mildred Jones: It’s not like there are many brown skinned girls running around Russia.
Dorothy West: There are plenty of eligible women in our group. Let’s put it this way. A Negro doesn’t sail halfway across the world to take another Negro out on a date. Wayland’s already talking about marrying a Russian girl.
Mildred Jones: Wayland didn’t deal in coal before this trip, so that’s no surprise.
Dorothy West: And what are the women supposed to do while we’re here?
Louise Thompson: The women are doing the same thing. They just have the decency to not go to the bar beating their gums about all the pink toes they’ve had in their beds. Finish your tea, Mil. It’s about time we head to the party.
Dorothy West: Wait, I don’t see Lang. Is he not coming with us?
Mildred Jones: He’s still with the script tonight. Try not to look so disappointed, Dot.
Come on.
Dorothy West: We all gathered in the lobby, dressed to the tens. We started out as if we were the mayors of Moscow ourselves. We laughed loudly and sang songs on the street. I could tell we were all becoming more comfortable in the city. Not just me. Next thing I knew, we were at Carl Junghan’s hotel. He introduced himself.
Carl Junghans: Hello. I am Carl Junghans. My English is not so good. My Russian even worse. My Spanish is improving, but I know film, ja? Tomorrow we rehearse. Tonight we party.
Dorothy West: He also brought along
James The Translator: I’m James, Mr. Junghans translator and wrangler. He welcomes you and asks that you all make yourself at home here.
Dorothy West: They had spared even less expense for the director.
He was listening to jazz on his own personal record player. He had every type of caviar, bottles of vodka. Don’t worry, I wasn’t drinking liquor, but Junghans was.
Carl Junghans: To the revolution! Prost! Prost! I confess, you Africans are not what was expected. Not what was promised.
Louise Thompson: Negros, Junghans. We’re Americans, not African.
Carl Junghans: Jaja, still, most of you are, you know, gemischtrassig.
James The Translator: In English, mixed race.
Louise Thompson: Perhaps a few, but this is how many Negros look in America.
Carl Junghans: Is disappointing all the same. On film, contrast with Black skin is more shocking. If only, if only you all looked like her. Yeah, you in the corner. Wie heisst du? What is your name?
Dorothy West: Me? I’m Dorothy, sir. Dorothy West.
Carl Junghans: No, sir. We are comrades, ja?
Dorothy West: Yes. Comrade Carl, sir.
Carl Junghans: I like this one. And her skin, so dark. A real African.
Oh, this song. Dorothy, do you dance?
Dorothy West: Yes, when I’m in the mood.
Carl Junghans: Wunderbar. Here, clear a space, everyone. There plenty of room
Dorothy West: Sir? Comrade? I’m not sure I know the step.
Carl Junghans: All Africans have the rhythm in their blood. Dance, comrade dance for me. I
Dorothy West: would rather not. I’m enjoying myself and
Carl Junghans: I, I am Carl Junghans And you will dance for me.
Oh, no, no, no, no, no. Please don’t cut. Wait, wait
James The Translator: In English. Shit.
Narrator: Next time on Harlem in Moscow, Episode 4, Russian Reality Check.
Langston Hughes: They don’t let Negroes sit in the same part of the train as whites, but the Soviets think they spend their nights dancing together?
Henry Lee Moon: You can leave other people’s opinions behind.
You should try it.
Sylvia Gardner: How are we supposed to make a world class film with a bunch of amateurs?
Dorothy West: To tell the truth, there was a proposal on the trip. In fact, there were two.
Boris The Russian Sargeant: Now we
Rachel West: I don’t need to hear nothing about my baby lying down with anybody.
Louise Thompson: Who’s that out on the road?
Henry Lee Moon: Comrades.
Louise Thompson: We’ve been screwed.
Narrator: Thank you for listening to Harlem and Moscow, an original audio play presented by theGrio Black Podcast Network. Harlem and Moscow was written by Alle Mims and directed by Aries Harper and Regina Griffin. Sam Riddell is the producer and sound designer. Our audio engineers are Aaron Reppert and Carey Durham.
With music by Transitions. We’d like to thank our amazing cast, J. Ivy as Langston Hughes, Evan Frazier as Dorothy West, Nancy Gilliam as Rachel West. Brianna Cosette as Mildred Jones, Susaye Lawson as Louise Thompson, Stephan Rumphorst as Carl Hans. And Broderick Clavery as James the translator. Harlem in Moscow continues with Episode 4, Russian Reality Check.
But first, if you’re dying for more on the real story and the real people, check out our companion podcast, Harlem in Moscow: Red Flags. Harlem in Moscow is such a powerful story that few people know about. Please rate, review, and subscribe. Share and tell a friend about this important adventure in Black history.
