(CAMDEN, NJ) -- Rutgers–Camden Theater kicks off 2026 with Kenneth Elliott's, Hand Me Down the Silver Trumpet, which celebrates the legacy of great African American musical artists of the 1920s and 30s who recorded "race records" for the Victor Talking Machine Company, and features performances of classic blues, jazz, and spirituals performed by special guest artists, students, alumni, and a truly swinging band.
This production is a part of Rutgers–Camden Chancellor Dr. Antonio Tillis's Year of the Arts celebration.
Conceived and directed by Kenneth Elliott, the show will run from Friday, February 6 through Sunday, February 15, 2026, at the Walter K. Gordon Theater located on the Rutgers University–Camden Campus. Tickets are $15 for General Admission, $5 for Camden Residents Senior Citizens, Faculty/Staff, and Alumni, and Free for Rutgers Students with a valid ID. Tickets are available for purchase online.
Race records were 78 rpm phonograph records marketed to African American audiences during the 1920s and 30's. The recordings were primarily what was known as "race music," comprised of a variety of African American musical genres including blues, jazz, and spiritual music, at the time considered unsuitable for the general population. Artists included Bessie Smith, Jelly Roll Morton, and Louis Armstrong.
Pictured: Pages from Race Record Catalog as part of Dr. John Davis' presentation, courtesy of Hamilton Library
The cast of ten features guest artist Tiara Green, as Mamie, a 20s blues singer. Rutgers theater student Caden Adams plays her son, James, who discovers a trove of old 78s in his great-grandmother's attic and is magically transported back in time to a recording session at Victor Records circa 1928. Guest artist Brian Anthony Wilson plays the Rev. McGee, who arrives at the session to record one of his most popular three-minute sermons. Theater student Andrew Merkle is Smithers, the recording engineer.
The cast also includes guest artists Dana Orange as Benny and Zero X as slim.
Theater student Alana Rivera-Mills plays Alberta and Freshman student Myra'Cal West plays Ethel. Also in the cast are theater students Addy Adebo and Kirsten Fair.
The 12 piece on-stage, orchestra is directed by Daniel Spearman, trumpeter, pianist composer, and Camden native. The musicians include some of the best professional jazz musicians in the area, along with students and alumni from Rutgers–Camden.
The score consists of 18 tunes, some familiar and some obscure, written by top composers and lyricists of the 20s and 30s, and all of which were recorded for Victor's "race catalog." Stefán Örn Arnarson, is handling the arrangements and orchestrations, many of which were transcribed from the original recordings.
Choreography is by Samuel Antonio Reyes, who was nominated for a Barrymore Award for his choreography on Alter Boyz at the 11th Hour Theatre Company. Professor James Mobley will design the authentic-looking recording studio and attic scenery for the piece. Costume design is by Millie Hiibel, Costume Director at Opera Philadelphia and freelance costume designer; lighting is by Drew Billiau; Brandy Lee Hatcher is the stage manager.
Dr. Kenneth Elliott is a professor of theater chair of Rutgers–Camden's Visual, Media, and Performing Arts Department. Elliott wrote the book for the musical Hand Me Down the Silver Trumpet which had a workshop production in 2014. Elliot co-founded the Off-Off Broadway company Theatre-in-Limbo with Charles Busch, and directed, produced, and sometimes acted in the original productions of many of Mr. Busch's comedies, including Psycho Beach Party, Times Square Angel, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. Each of these transferred to commercial Off-Broadway runs, and Vampire Lesbians ran for five years at the historic Provincetown Playhouse.
His recent book, Beyond Ridiculous: Making Gay Theatre with Charles Busch in 1980s New York (University of Iowa Press, 2023), chronicles his collaboration with Mr. Busch. He co-authored Devil Boys from Beyond (with Buddy Thomas) and directed its premiere at the 2009 New York International Fringe Festival (Fringe Award for Outstanding Play), as well as the 2010 Off-Broadway transfer to New World Stages. Devil Boys has since been performed at dozens of theaters across the country and internationally.
He directed the first New York revival of Mart Crowley's The Boys in the Band (WPA Theatre/Lucille Lortel Theatre) in 1996 and staged it again the following year in London's West End (Aldwych Theatre). Other New York credits include The Green Heart (Manhattan Theatre Club), Harry Kondoleon's Zero Positive, and the Todd Rundgren/Joe Orton musical Up Against It (Public Theater). Regional credits include The Asolo Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Denver Center, The Wilma Theatre, Bay Street Theatre Festival, Prince Music Theatre, the Cape Playhouse, and The Cleveland Playhouse. He received his B.S. and M.A. in Theatre from Northwestern University, and his Ph.D. in Theatre from U.C.L.A. His Rutgers productions have included Rent, Romeo and Juliet, Clybourne Park, Hedda Gabler, Tartuffe, Angels in America, Measure for Measure, Dracula, A Doll's House, The Glass Menagerie, and The Importance of Being Earnest. He adapted the libretto for his production of Henry Purcell's opera The Fairy Queen.
