Philip Rose (July 4, 1921 – May 31, 2011) was a Broadway theatrical producer of such productions as A Raisin in the Sun, The Owl and the Pussycat, Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie?, Purlie, and Shenandoah. His work was particularly notable for its social insight and distinctive social conscience.

Art and social justice

Philip Rose was born Philip Rosenberg on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, to Russian Jewish parents. As a young man, he earned money singing at weddings and funerals and later worked briefly as a bill collector. His family moved to Washington, D.C. during the Great Depression and he began working at 16 for many of the local stores in the area. While working in mostly black neighborhoods, he ended up going into people's homes and was accepted by some of the families forming personal friendships. It was there that he learned about Gospel music and Jazz. Washington, D.C., at the time, was a segregated city, but he found ways to spend time with friends he made there. He attributed this experience with segregation as having changed his life. His father, Max Rosenberg, always expressed himself differently on racial matters than the people in the neighborhood. He was very critical of racism and this made a lasting impression on the young Rose. In 1945, after arriving in New York City, Philip Rose toured with an opera company. He was in a Gilbert & Sullivan company in Greenwich Village where he met his wife, actress Doris Belack. Shortly afterward, he began touring for a whole season doing musicals. Rose went to Harlem and began to sing jazz. He became instantly involved in the Civil Rights Movement. While in Harlem, he got to know struggling black artists including William Marshall, who was one of the few black actors to have a career. William Marshall was among the artists Philip Rose invited to his apartment for a meeting concerning the Mississippi lynching of Emmett Till. When he decided to produce A Raisin in the Sun for Broadway, the first person he called was Sidney Poitier, not just because he wanted him to play the lead, but also because he had no idea where to begin in the casting process. Sidney Poitier got an attorney for him, and assisted him in the whole process, They remained good friends until Rose's death.

Struggle against racism

Philip Rose, in his work and his life, struggled against racism and discrimination in all its multifarious forms and disguises. He has observed that though racism has been extant in numerous contexts, it began in America as a business proposition: Slavery. The social consciousness of the work he has produced reflects his own perceptive, empathic consciousness. In two anecdotes relating to Raisin in the Sun, he pointed out that in 1959, the year the play was first produced, there was a man seated in the best seat in the house (fourth row center). This man asked at intermission to change his seat. There did not appear to be a problem with the seat and the house was completely sold out. The man was permitted to stand in the back of the theater. Rose went to the man's seat and noticed that there was a black couple on either side of the seat he had occupied. This man preferred to stand at the back of the theater for the entire performance rather than in the best seat in the house situated between two black couples, an interesting commentary on the irrationality of prejudice. Also, while Raisin in the Sun was touring Washington D.C. Near the end of the play, Walter Lee Younger says:"'We have decided to move into our house because my father — my father — he earned it for us brick by brick.'."

Innovation and diversity on Broadway

Philip Rose was honored in 1995 with the Actors' Equity Rosetta Lenoire Award for "being an innovator in the theater" and for showcasing "a vast and rich array of actors and playwrights and for exposing Broadway audiences to a world of diversity." In Ossie Davis' Purlie Victorious and the musical Purlie, the issue was racism; In Shenandoah, the issue was war; in Sun Flower, the issue was women's rights; and in My Old Friends, the issue was old age. Rose was an innovator in non-traditional casting too. In 1964, he cast the black actress Diana Sands opposite Alan Alda in the two-character comedy/love story The Owl and the Pussycat. When fellow producer Alexander Cohen requested that the script be rewritten for Diana Sands, Philip Rose stated, "She's doing it exactly as it is written — a woman who falls in love." After the opening, Cohen acknowledged, "I was all wrong." The Owl and the Pussycat became a Broadway hit, running for 428 performances.

Death

Philip Rose died in Englewood, New Jersey on May 31, 2011, aged 89. His wife, actress Doris Belack died later that year, on October 4, 2011.

Theatrical credits

Productions

Produced by Philip Rose; Executive Producer: Philip Rose May 15, 1990 - Jul 1, 1990 Produced by Philip Rose; Executive Producer: Philip Rose April 22, 1990 - May 20, 1990 Directed by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose August 8, 1989 - September 2, 1989 Produced by Philip Rose August 4, 1988 - December 31, 1988 Directed by Philip Rose October 15, 1987 - October 17, 1987 Directed by Philip Rose; Associate Produced by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose November 10, 1983 - December 4, 1983 Directed by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose Dec 20, 1979 - Jan 27, 1980 Directed by Philip Rose Apr 12, 1979 - May 27, 1979 Directed by Philip Rose; Produced by Philip Rose May 10, 1978 - May 13, 1978 Produced by Philip Rose Jan 4, 1977 - Mar 5, 1977 Produced by Philip Rose Sep 27, 1976 - Oct 18, 1976 Directed by Philip Rose; Produced by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose Jan 7, 1975 - Aug 7, 1977 Directed by Philip Rose; Produced by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose Dec 27, 1972 - Jan 7, 1973 Directed by Philip Rose; Produced by Philip Rose; Book by Philip Rose March 15, 1970 - November 6, 1971 Produced by Philip Rose Feb 25, 1969 - Mar 29, 1969 Directed by Philip Rose; Produced by Philip Rose Nov 6, 1967 - Nov 25, 1967 Produced by Philip Rose Feb 25, 1966 - Feb 26, 1966 Produced by Philip Rose Nov 18, 1964 - Nov 27, 1965 Produced by Philip Rose Apr 17, 1964 - Apr 18, 1964 Produced by Philip Rose Dec 19, 1963 - Jun 20, 1964 Produced by Philip Rose Feb 19, 1963 - Mar 9, 1963 Produced by Philip Rose May 19, 1962 - Sep 15, 1962 Produced by Philip Rose Sep 28, 1961 - May 12, 1962 Produced by Philip Rose Mar 10, 1960 - Mar 12, 1960 Produced by Philip Rose Mar 11, 1959 - Jun 25, 1960

Filmography

Producer, miscellaneous crew, actor, writer, self producer

Miscellaneous crew

Actor

Writer

Self