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Your Arms Too Short to Box with God
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Your Arms Too Short to Box with God, subtitled "A Soaring Celebration in Song and Dance", was a Broadway musical based on the Biblical Book of Matthew, with music and lyrics by Alex Bradford and a book by Vinnette Carroll, who also directed. Micki Grant was credited for "additional music and lyrics".
Produced by Frankie Hewitt and the Shubert Organization, it opened December 22, 1976 at Broadway's Lyceum Theatre in New York City. It moved to the Eugene O'Neill Theatre on Nov. 16, 1977, and closed January 1, 1978, after 429 performances.
With this musical, Carroll became the first African-American woman to direct for Broadway theatre.
Your Arms Too Short to Box with God was revived twice on Broadway, first at the Ambassador Theatre and the Belasco Theatre (June 2-Oct. 12, 1980), then at the Alvin Theatre (Sept. 9-Nov. 7, 1982).
The phrase has survived in modern culture and is sometimes used in hip-hop songs. Your arms are too short to (hot)box with God is a line used by rapper Xzibit in Eminem's "Bitch Please 2". Xzibit had used a variation of the line ("Your little lungs is too weak to hotbox with God") on an earlier work with rapper Talib Kweli. The phrase also appears in Black Star's "Thieves in the Night," in the line "your firearms are too short to box with God."
The line also appears in "Drunk Daddy" by the Cherry Poppin' Daddies.
Delores Hall won the 1977 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Carroll earned Tony nominations for Best Book of a Musical and Best Direction of a Musical, with Talley Beatty nominated for Best Choreography.