A theatrical production of Lillian Smith's 1944 controversial novel Strange Fruit opened on Broadway at The Royale Theater on November 29, 1945. The story of an interracial couple was featured in Life magazine, and Eleanor Roosevelt gave it a positive review. Nevertheless, the drama closed soon after—on January 19, 1946. Billie Holiday had claimed that Smith named the novel after her song, but Smith maintained the title was about people who are products of America's racist culture at the time.
Here's the program, courtesy of Chris, whose friend Betty had an autographed copy...
