J. E. Franklin
J. E. Franklin is an American playwright, best known for her 1969 play Black Girl, which was later made into a 1972 feature film.Biography
She was born Jennie Elizabeth Franklin in Houston, Texas, to Robert Franklin and Mathie Randle. She has written several plays, but is best known for Black Girl, which was originally produced by public television station WGBH, Boston, in 1969. It was staged off-Broadway in 1971 by Shauneille Perry at the New Federal Theatre. Franklin subsequently received a Drama Desk Award for most promising playwright. Her feature-film adaptation of the play was released in 1972.
Her first play to receive a major stage production was Mau Mau Room, which was also directed by Shauneille Perry. It was produced at the Negro Ensemble Company, just prior to Black Girl.
Other plays by Franklin include The In-Crowd, Prodigal Daughter and Cut Out the Lights and Call the Law. Prodigal Daughter was adapted into a musical entitled Prodigal Sister, which was produced by the Negro Ensemble Company in 1974.
