Edna Thomas

Edna Lewis Thomas (November 1, 1885 – July 22, 1974) was an American stage actress whose career began in New York City during the Harlem Renaissance. She appeared on Broadway, with the Lafayette Players theater company, and in productions by the Federal Theater Project of the Works Progress Administration. Her portrayal of Lady Macbeth in Orson Welles' all-Black "Voodoo" Macbeth in 1936 was much acclaimed. She was an influential figure in Black theater, and was a member of the Alhambra Players and the Harlem Experimental Theatre. She only appeared on screen once, in the 1951 film A Streetcar Named Desire.

Thomas was born in Virginia and raised in Boston. After moving to New York around 1916, she worked as a social secretary for the beauty entrepreneur Madam C. J. Walker. Though she was married to Lloyd Thomas, she started a long-term romantic relationship with British socialite Olivia Wyndham around 1930 and the three lived together for many years in a Harlem co-op.

Early life Edna Lewis was born on November 1, 1885, in Lawrenceville, Virginia. Author Saidiya Hartman, in Wayward Lives, Beautiful Experiments, wrote that Lewis's father was a white man who raped her Black mother in his household when she was a 12-year-old nursemaid. Edna grew up in Boston where she attended public schools.

She married around 1914 and moved with her husband to New York City, possibly in 1916. She worked as a social secretary for the Black beauty entrepreneur Madam C.J. Walker and through her was introduced to a variety of people in Harlem and Greenwich Village.

Stage career Thomas was a prolific actress in all-Black vaudeville productions and theaters. She acted and sang in numerous productions at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem, making her stage debut with the Lafayette Players in the 1920 play Turn to the Right. She was then cast in the plays Confidence (1920), The Heartbreaker (1921), and Comedy of Errors (1923). She had her Broadway debut in 1925 Rose McClendon was originally cast for her part, but Thomas took the role after McClendon became critically ill. Thomas's performance garnered positive reviews, with one reviewer calling her portrayal "sensitive and magnificent" Thomas supported her husband financially during the Great Depression.

Theater productions + Year Title Role Notes 1920 Turn to the Right 1920 Confidence 1921 The Heartbreaker 1923 Comedy of Errors 1925 The Dreamy Kid / The Emperor Jones Irene / Spectator 1926–1927 Lulu Belle Valma Custer 1927 Porgy Clara Thomas also appeared in a 1929 production of Porgy. 1936 Macbeth Lady Macbeth This production had an all-Black cast and was nicknamed Voodoo Macbeth. 1938–1939 Androcles and the Lion Lavinia 1944 Harriet Sukey Following the original run in March and April, Thomas reprised her role in a second run from September to October. 1945–1946 Strange Fruit Mamie McIntosh 1947–1949 A Streetcar Named Desire Mexican Woman Thomas reprised the role in revivals in 1950 and 1956.