Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope

Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope (1972), a musical revue by Micki Grant (music, lyrics). [Playhouse Theatre, 1,065 perf.] Vinnette Carroll, the artistic director of Off Broadway's Urban Arts Corps Theatre, devised and directed this sly look at contemporary life and the pressures of modern living as viewed by African Americans, and it was so popular in her little theatre that the revue transferred to Broadway for a long run. The songs by Micki Grant and the dances by George Faison ranged from rock and gospel to calypso and blues and used both humor and anger in covering a variety of issues. Notable songs: Don't Bother Me, I Can't Cope; Fighting for Pharaoh; Thank Heaven for You. Micki GRANT was born in Chicago and educated at the University of Illinois, Roosevelt University, and De Paul University. She started performing in New York in 1962 and eight years later formed a partnership with Carroll and presented a series of musical revues at the Urban Arts Corps. Grant contributed to several scores in the 1970s, including Your Arms Too Short to Box with God (1976), Working (1978), Eubie (1978), and It's So Nice to Be Civilized (1979). Vinnette CARROLL (1922–2002) was one of the earliest African‐American women to run her own theatre company. She trained with Erwin Piscator, Lee Strasberg, and Stella Adler before beginning her acting and directing career, then turned to teaching and later founding the Ghetto Arts Program in Manhattan. After running the Urban Arts Corp, Carroll ran a repertory company in Florida.