Blues for an Alabama Sky

Blues for an Alabama Sky Summary | Act 1, Scene 1 Summary

Blues for an Alabama Sky takes place in Harlem, New York, in the summer of 1930. The first scene takes place on a New York City street at three in the morning. Guy Jacobs, a black homosexual man about 30 years old, is helping a friend, Angel Allen, a 34-year-old black woman. Angel is a singer at the famous Cotton Club and is obviously quite drunk. Guy's effort to get Angel home is aided by Leland Cunningham, a man who happened to meet the two friends on the street.

As it turns out, Angel has experienced two devastating events this evening at the Club. Angel learned that her boss and boyfriend, Nick, had married another woman. During her performance that evening, Angel stopped the show to yell derogatory comments at Nick, whom she spotted in the audience; before the night was over, Angel was fired. It will be a few weeks before she discovers that Guy, a costume designer at the Club, has also lost his job because he defended Angel.

Guy and Leland successfully get Angel home to Guy's apartment but Guy's neighbor, Delia, is awakened by the commotion. Delia is a social worker and hopes to follow in the footsteps of Margaret Sanger, the famous family planning advocate, by opening a clinic in Harlem. Although Delia's quiet lifestyle and naïve background keep her in awe of Guy's blatant homosexuality and costume designer profession, the two are friends.

Guy's fervent wish is to go to Paris and design costumes for Josephine Baker; there is a large portrait of the French entertainer hanging over Guy's work area in the apartment.