DOCSLIB.ORG

The Theatrical Career of Jed Harris in New York, 1925-1956. Patricia Lynn Burroughs Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The Theatrical Career of Jed Harris in New York, 1925-1956. Patricia Lynn Burroughs Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Louisiana State University LSU Digital Commons LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses Graduate School 1978 The Theatrical Career of Jed Harris in New York, 1925-1956. Patricia Lynn Burroughs Louisiana State University and Agricultural & Mechanical College Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses Recommended Citation Burroughs, Patricia Lynn, "The Theatrical Career of Jed Harris in New York, 1925-1956." (1978). LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses. 3224. https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/gradschool_disstheses/3224 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at LSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses by an authorized administrator of LSU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. INFORMATION TO USERS This material was produced from a microfilm copy of the original document. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the original submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or patterns which may appear on this reproduction. 1. The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)". If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting thru an image and duplicating adjacent pages to insure you complete continuity. 2. When an imagB on the film is obliterated with a large round black mark, it is an indication that the photographer suspected that the copy may have moved during exposure and thus cause a blurred image. You will find ja good image of the page in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., was part of the material being photographed the photographer followed a definite method in "sectioning" the material. It is customary to begin photoing at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue photoing from left to right in equal sections with a small overlap. If necessary, sectioning is continued again - beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete. 4. The majority of users indicate that the textual content is of greatest value, however, a somewhat higher quality reproduction could be made from "photographs" if essential to the understanding of the dissertation. Silver prints of "photographs" may be ordered at additional charge by writing the Order Department, giving the catalog number, title, author and specific pages you wish reproduced. 6. PLEASE NOTE: Some pages may have indistinct print. Filmed as receivad. University Microfilms International 300 North Zeeb Road Ann Arbor. Michigan 46106 USA St. John's Road, Tyler's Green High Wycombe, Bucks. England HP10 8HR 7903119 BURROUGHS, PATRICIA LYNN THE THEATRICAL CAREER OF JED HARRIS IN NEW YORK, 1925-1956. THE LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY AND AGRICULTURAL AND MECHANICAL COL., PH.D., 1978 University. Microfilms International 300 n. z i e b r o a d, a n n a h b o, rm i 4s io6 © 1978 PATRICIA LYNN BURROUGHS ALL RIGHTS RESERVED THE THEATRICAL CAREER OF JED HARRIS IN NEW YORK, 1925-1956 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the. degree of Doctor of Philosophy in The Department of Speech by Patricia Lynn Burroughs B.A., Ouachita university M.A., Louisiana State university August, 1978 DEDICATION To my mother, Lute Reeves Burroughs, who spent her Life teaching children in school; and who somehow found the time in the midst of her professional work and house­ hold duties to teach me a great deal, sometimes by means of lessons, but always by example. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT The author sincerely appreciates the patient guidance and encouragement given by Dr. Bill J. Harbin in the writ­ ing of this dissertation. Also, special thanks to Dr. Gresdna Doty for her help in the selection of the topic and her generous assis­ tance throughout the researching of this study. iil TABLE OF CONTENTS Page DEDICATION.................................. ii ACKNOWLEDGMENT.............................. iii ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................. V INTRODUCTION................................ I CHAPTER I.............. II CHAPTER I I .................................. 43 CHAPTER III.................................. 77 CHAPTER I V .................................. 182 CHAPTER V .................................... 281 CONCLUSION................................ 358 BIBLIOGRAPHY ................................ 375 APPENDICES.................................. 387 VITA ........................................ 391 iv ABSTRACT Between 1925 and 1955 Jed Harris (1900- } pro­ duced and/or directed thirty Broadway productions, with his first big hit, Broadway (1926), at the age of twenty- six, Harris achieved instant fame and was hailed as the "Wonder Boy" of the American theatre. During his first five years in the theatre he produced four exceptional and three moderate successes. Having had no previous experience or training in the theatre prior to his first production, Harris explains his sudden rise to fame as the result of being born with an almost perfect dramatic sense. Few would dispute that claim. Harris became a legend, both for his ability to produce one success after another and because of his unique uncompromising person­ ality. Referred to as Broadway's most successful eccen­ tric, Harris never attended the opening nights nor read reviews of his plays, generally disliked actors, play­ wrights, and critics and rarely appeared at any type of social gathering. His interests and talents extended far beyond the theatre into music, art, sports, literature, vaudeville, writing, yachting, animals and cooking. Since rewriting the script constituted the initial step in the process of each Jed Harris production, Harris' insistance upon his own ideas frequently led to clashes with authors, such as Georgs Abbott, George Kau£man and Thornton Wilder. Nevertheless, as a director, Harris earned the sincere respect and love o£ nearly all his actors, many of whom reappeared In numerous Harris shows. Among those players whose career and talents were directly affected by Harris are Helen Hayes, Laurence Olivier, Osgood Perkins, Charles Laughton, Basil Rathbone, Wendy Hiller and Charles Boyer. This study examines the theatrical career of Jed Harris in New York as a producer and/or director. The data for the study have been drawn primarily from news­ papers, periodicals, memoirs, biographers, and personal interviews with Jed Harris. The scope of the work of Harris ranges from popuLar melodrama and comedy, as in Broadway (1926), The Royal Family (1927) and The Front | it Page (1928), to serious drama such as A Doll's House (1938), Uncle vanya (1930) and Oar Town (1938). Primarily known as a man of high artistic standards and a genius in thea­ trical casting and directing, Harris* reputation for innovative productions and risk-taking ventures further enhanced his status as the Broadway Napoleon. For example, Harris often created a hit from a script which had been rejected by numerous other producers. And with his produc­ tion of The Heiress (1948), he transformed a play which had failed eight months earlier into a resounding success. Of the thirty Broadway productions he Introduced, vi eleven were extremely successful, in all but three of the remainder Harris' work was soundly praised. His influence encompasses actors, playwrights, producers, directors, press agents and stage managers. Books and plays have been written about him. He is considered one of the greatest American director-producers during the first half of the twentieth century. vii INTRODUCTION The purpose of this study is to investigate the the­ atrical career of Jed Harris as a director and producer in New York between 1925 and 1956. During these years, Harris was responsible for a total of thirty Broadway shows. In each of these his influence was visible, since even as only producer he cast and managed the entire production. Indeed, Harris' autocratic methods made him the object of both fear and respect among his contemporaries. The scope of the work of Jed Harris ranges from popu­ lar melodrama and comedy, as in Broadway (1926), The Royal Family (1927) and The Front Page (1928), to serious drama, such as Ibsen's A Doll's House (1938), Chekhov's Uncle Vanya (1930) and Wilder's Our Town (1938). Primarily known as a man of high artistic standards, Harris1 innovative spirit led him to Introduce the first picture of organized crime on the American stage (Broadway), the first big hit centering around actors (The Royal Family) and the experi­ mental production of Our Town. Though frequently these gam­ bles resulted in a hit, Harris was never one who consciously sought to please the public. He knew only what he liked, and therefore attempted to please only himself, in doing this, Harris often found himself at odds with others, particularly authors. Harris1 career Involves twenty theatrical seasons over a period of thirty-two years. Between 1925 and 1929 he produced eight plays on Broadway. At the end of 1929 he officially retired from the theatre. Late in 1930, how­ ever, he returned to New York and over the next nine years
Load more

Recommended publications
  • FY14 Tappin' Study Guide
    Student Matinee Series Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life Study Guide Created by Miller Grove High School Drama Class of Joyce Scott As part of the Alliance Theatre Institute for Educators and Teaching Artists’ Dramaturgy by Students Under the guidance of Teaching Artist Barry Stewart Mann Maurice Hines is Tappin’ Thru Life was produced at the Arena Theatre in Washington, DC, from Nov. 15 to Dec. 29, 2013 The Alliance Theatre Production runs from April 2 to May 4, 2014 The production will travel to Beverly Hills, California from May 9-24, 2014, and to the Cleveland Playhouse from May 30 to June 29, 2014. Reviews Keith Loria, on theatermania.com, called the show “a tender glimpse into the Hineses’ rise to fame and a touching tribute to a brother.” Benjamin Tomchik wrote in Broadway World, that the show “seems determined not only to love the audience, but to entertain them, and it succeeds at doing just that! While Tappin' Thru Life does have some flaws, it's hard to find anyone who isn't won over by Hines showmanship, humor, timing and above all else, talent.” In The Washington Post, Nelson Pressley wrote, “’Tappin’ is basically a breezy, personable concert. The show doesn’t flinch from hard-core nostalgia; the heart-on-his-sleeve Hines is too sentimental for that. It’s frankly schmaltzy, and it’s barely written — it zips through selected moments of Hines’s life, creating a mood more than telling a story. it’s a pleasure to be in the company of a shameless, ebullient vaudeville heart.” Maurice Hines Is .
    [Show full text]
  • An Analysis and Evaluation of the Acting Career Of
    AN ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE ACTING CAREER OF TALLULAH BANKHEAD APPROVED: Major Professor m Minor Professor Directororf? DepartmenDepa t of Speech and Drama Dean of the Graduate School AN ANALYSIS AND EVALUATION OF THE ACTING CAREER OF TALLULAH BANKHEAD THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF SCIENCE By Jan Buttram Denton, Texas January, 1970 TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter Page I. THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS 1 II. ACTING, ACTORS AND THE THEATRE 15 III. THE ROLES SHE USUALLY SHOULD NOT HAVE ACCEPTED • 37 IV. SIX WITH MERIT 76 V. IN SUMMARY OF TALLULAH 103 APPENDIX 114 BIBLIOGRAPHY. 129 CHAPTER I THE BEGINNING OF SUCCESS Tallulah Bankhead's family tree was filled with ancestors who had served their country; but none, with the exception of Tallulah, had served in the theatre. Both her grandfather and her mother's grandfather were wealthy Alabamians. The common belief was that Tallulah received much of her acting talent from her father, but accounts of her mother1s younger days show proof that both of her parents were vivacious and talented. A stranger once told Tallulah, "Your mother was the most beautiful thing that ever lived. Many people have said you get your acting talent from your father, but I disagree. I was at school with Ada Eugenia and I knew Will well. Did you know that she could faint on 1 cue?11 Tallulahfs mother possessed grace and beauty and was quite flamboyant. She loved beautiful clothes and enjoyed creating a ruckus in her own Southern world.* Indeed, Tallulah inherited her mother's joy in turning social taboos upside down.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ideal of Ensemble Practice in Twentieth-Century British Theatre, 1900-1968 Philippa Burt Goldsmiths, University of London P
    The Ideal of Ensemble Practice in Twentieth-century British Theatre, 1900-1968 Philippa Burt Goldsmiths, University of London PhD January 2015 1 I hereby declare that the work presented in this thesis is my own and has not been and will not be submitted, in whole or in part, to any other university for the award of any other degree. Philippa Burt 2 Acknowledgements This thesis benefitted from the help, support and advice of a great number of people. First and foremost, I would like to thank Professor Maria Shevtsova for her tireless encouragement, support, faith, humour and wise counsel. Words cannot begin to express the depth of my gratitude to her. She has shaped my view of the theatre and my view of the world, and she has shown me the importance of maintaining one’s integrity at all costs. She has been an indispensable and inspirational guide throughout this process, and I am truly honoured to have her as a mentor, walking by my side on my journey into academia. The archival research at the centre of this thesis was made possible by the assistance, co-operation and generosity of staff at several libraries and institutions, including the V&A Archive at Blythe House, the Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, the National Archives in Kew, the Fabian Archives at the London School of Economics, the National Theatre Archive and the Clive Barker Archive at Rose Bruford College. Dale Stinchcomb and Michael Gilmore were particularly helpful in providing me with remote access to invaluable material held at the Houghton Library, Harvard and the Harry Ransom Center at the University of Texas, Austin, respectively.
    [Show full text]
  • J Ohn F. a Ndrews
    J OHN F . A NDREWS OBE JOHN F. ANDREWS is an editor, educator, and cultural leader with wide experience as a writer, lecturer, consultant, and event producer. From 1974 to 1984 he enjoyed a decade as Director of Academic Programs at the FOLGER SHAKESPEARE LIBRARY. In that capacity he redesigned and augmented the scope and appeal of SHAKESPEARE QUARTERLY, supervised the Library’s book-publishing operation, and orchestrated a period of dynamic growth in the FOLGER INSTITUTE, a center for advanced studies in the Renaissance whose outreach he extended and whose consortium grew under his guidance from five co-sponsoring universities to twenty-two, with Duke, Georgetown, Johns Hopkins, North Carolina, North Carolina State, Penn, Penn State, Princeton, Rutgers, Virginia, and Yale among the additions. During his time at the Folger, Mr. Andrews also raised more than four million dollars in grant funds and helped organize and promote the library’s multifaceted eight- city touring exhibition, SHAKESPEARE: THE GLOBE AND THE WORLD, which opened in San Francisco in October 1979 and proceeded to popular engagements in Kansas City, Pittsburgh, Dallas, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, and Washington. Between 1979 and 1985 Mr. Andrews chaired America’s National Advisory Panel for THE SHAKESPEARE PLAYS, the BBC/TIME-LIFE TELEVISION canon. He then became one of the creative principals for THE SHAKESPEARE HOUR, a fifteen-week, five-play PBS recasting of the original series, with brief documentary segments in each installment to illuminate key themes; these one-hour programs aired in the spring of 1986 with Walter Matthau as host and Morgan Bank and NEH as primary sponsors.
    [Show full text]
  • GAILY, GAILY the NIGHT THEY RAIDED MINSKY's “In 1925, There
    The one area where it succeeded perfectly was So, Rosenblum began refashioning the film, in its score by Henry Mancini. By this time, using a clever device of stock footage that Mancini was already a legend. After toiling in the would lead into the production footage, rear - GAILY, GAILY music department at Universal (the highlight of ranging and restructuring scenes, and spend - his tenure there would be Orson Welles’ Touch ing a year doing so – the result was stylish and Of Evil) , he hit it big, first with his TV score to visually interesting and it transformed the film THE NIGHT Peter Gunn – which not only provided that from disaster into a hit. THEY RAIDED MINSKY’S Blake Edwards series with its signature sound, but which also produced a best-selling album The score for Minsky’s was written by Charles on RCA – and then in a series of films for which Strouse, who’d already written several Broad - “In 1925, he provided amazing scores, one right after an - way shows, as well as the score for the film other – Breakfast At Tiffany’s, Charade, Hatari, Bonnie and Clyde . The lyrics were by Lee there was this real The Pink Panther, Days Of Wine and Roses , Adams, with whom Strouse had written the religious girl” and many others. Many of those films also pro - Broadway shows Bye Bye Birdie, All-American, duced best-selling albums. Mancini not only Golden Boy, It’s A Bird, It’s A Plane, It’s Super - knew how to score a film perfectly, but he was man and others.
    [Show full text]
  • Chicago's Goodman Theatres the Transition from a Division of the Art Institute of Chicago to an Independent Regional Theatre
    INFORMATION TO USERS This was produced from a copy of a document sent to us for microfilming. While the most advanced technological means to photograph and reproduce this document have been used, the quality is heavily dependent upon the quality of the material submitted. The following explanation of techniques is provided to help you understand markings or notations which may appear on this reproduction. 1.The sign or "target" for pages apparently lacking from the document photographed is "Missing Page(s)”. If it was possible to obtain the missing page(s) or section, they are spliced into the film along with adjacent pages. This may have necessitated cutting through an image and duplicating adjacent pages to assure you of complete continuity. 2. When an image on the film is obliterated with a round black mark it is an indication that the film inspector noticed either blurred copy because of movement during exposure, or duplicate copy. Unless we meant to delete copyrighted materials that should not have been filmed, you will find a good image of the page in the adjacent frame. If copyrighted materials were deleted you will find a target note listing the pages in the adjacent frame. 3. When a map, drawing or chart, etc., is part of the material being photo­ graphed the photographer has followed a definite method in "sectioning” the material. It is customary to begin filming at the upper left hand corner of a large sheet and to continue from left to right in equal sections with small overlaps. If necessary, sectioning is continued again—beginning below the first row and continuing on until complete.
    [Show full text]
  • Nothing Sacred (United Artists Pressbook, 1937)
    SEE THE BIG FIGHT! DAVID O. SELZNICK’S Sensational Technicolor Comedy NOTHING SACRED WITH CAROLE LOMBARD FREDRIC MARCH CHARLES WINNINCER WALTER CONNOLLY by the producer and director of "A Star is Born■ Directed by WILLIAM A. WELLMAN * Screen play by BEN HECHT * Released thru United Artists Coyrighted MCMXXXVII by United Artists Corporation, New York, N. Y. KNOCKOUT'- * IT'S & A KNOCKOUT TO^E^ ^&re With two great stars 1 about cAROLE {or you to talk, smg greatest comedy LOMBARD, at her top the crest ol pop- role. EREDWC MARC ^ ^ ^feer great ularity horn A s‘* ‘ cWSD.» The power oi triumph in -NOTHING SA oi yfillxanr Selznick production, h glowing beauty oi Wellman direction, combination ^ranced Technicolor {tn star ls . tS made a oi a ^ ““new 11t>en “^ ”«»•>- with selling angles- I KNOCKOUT TO SEE; » It pulls no P“che%afanXioustocount.Beveald laughs that come too to ot Carole Lomb^ mg the gorgeous, gold® the suave chmm ior the fast “JXighest powered rolejhrs oi Fredric March m the g ^ glamorous Jat star has ever had. It 9 J the scieen has great star st unusual story toeS production to th will come m on “IsOVEB:' FASHION PROMOTION ON “NOTHING SACHEH” 1AUNCHING a new type of style promotion on “The centrated in the leading style magazines and papers. And J Prisoner of Zenda,” Selznick International again local distributors of these garments will be well-equipped offers you this superior promotional effort on to go to town with you in a bang-up cooperative campaign “Nothing Sacred.” Through the agency of Lisbeth, on “Nothing Sacred.” In addition, cosmetic tie-ups are nationally famous stylist, the pick of the glamorous being made with one of the country’s leading beauticians.
    [Show full text]
  • West Side Story” (Original Cast Recording) (1957) Added to the National Registry: 2008 Essay by Robert L
    “West Side Story” (Original cast recording) (1957) Added to the National Registry: 2008 Essay by Robert L. McLaughlin (guest essay)* Original “West Side Story” cast members at recording session (from left: Elizabeth Taylor, Carmen Gutierrez, Marilyn Cooper, Carol Lawrence) “West Side Story” is among the best and most important of Broadway musicals. It was both a culmination of the Rodgers and Hammerstein integrated musical, bringing together music, dance, language and design in service of a powerful narrative, and an arrow pointing toward the future, creating new possibilities for what a musical can be and how it can work. Its cast recording preserves its score and the original performances. “West Side Story’s” journey to theater immortality was not easy. The show’s origins came in the late 1940s when director/choreographer Jerome Robbins, composer Leonard Bernstein, and playwright Arthur Laurents imagined an updated retelling of “Romeo and Juliet,” with the star- crossed lovers thwarted by their contentious Catholic and Jewish families. After some work, the men decided that such a musical would evoke “Abie’s Irish Rose” more than Shakespeare and so they set the project aside. A few years later, however, Bernstein and Laurents were struck by news reports of gang violence in New York and, with Robbins, reconceived the piece as a story of two lovers set against Caucasian and Puerto Rican gang warfare. The musical’s “Prologue” establishes the rivalry between the Jets, a gang of white teens, children mostly of immigrant parents and claimants of a block of turf on New York City’s west side, and the Sharks, a gang of Puerto Rican teens, recently come to the city and, as the play begins, finally numerous enough to challenge the Jets’ dominion.
    [Show full text]
  • Macbeth on Three Levels Wrap Around a Deep Thrust Stage—With Only Nine Rows Dramatis Personae 14 Separating the Farthest Seat from the Stage
    Weird Sister, rendering by Mieka Van Der Ploeg, 2019 Table of Contents Barbara Gaines Preface 1 Artistic Director Art That Lives 2 Carl and Marilynn Thoma Bard’s Bio 3 Endowed Chair The First Folio 3 Shakespeare’s England 5 Criss Henderson The English Renaissance Theater 6 Executive Director Courtyard-Style Theater 7 Chicago Shakespeare Theater is Chicago’s professional theater A Brief History of Touring Shakespeare 9 Timeline 12 dedicated to the works of William Shakespeare. Founded as Shakespeare Repertory in 1986, the company moved to its seven-story home on Navy Pier in 1999. In its Elizabethan-style Courtyard Theater, 500 seats Shakespeare's Macbeth on three levels wrap around a deep thrust stage—with only nine rows Dramatis Personae 14 separating the farthest seat from the stage. Chicago Shakespeare also The Story 15 features a flexible 180-seat black box studio theater, a Teacher Resource Act by Act Synopsis 15 Center, and a Shakespeare specialty bookstall. In 2017, a new, innovative S omething Borrowed, Something New: performance venue, The Yard at Chicago Shakespeare, expanded CST's Shakespeare’s Sources 18 campus to include three theaters. The year-round, flexible venue can 1606 and All That 19 be configured in a variety of shapes and sizes with audience capacities Shakespeare, Tragedy, and Us 21 ranging from 150 to 850, defining the audience-artist relationship to best serve each production. Now in its thirty-second season, the Theater has Scholars' Perspectives produced nearly the entire Shakespeare canon: All’s Well That Ends
    [Show full text]
  • INTRODUCTION Fatal Attraction and Scarface
    1 introduction Fatal Attraction and Scarface How We Think about Movies People respond to movies in different ways, and there are many reasons for this. We have all stood in the lobby of a theater and heard conflicting opin- ions from people who have just seen the same film. Some loved it, some were annoyed by it, some found it just OK. Perhaps we’ve thought, “Well, what do they know? Maybe they just didn’t get it.” So we go to the reviewers whose business it is to “get it.” But often they do not agree. One reviewer will love it, the next will tell us to save our money. What thrills one person may bore or even offend another. Disagreements and controversies, however, can reveal a great deal about the assumptions underlying these varying responses. If we explore these assumptions, we can ask questions about how sound they are. Questioning our assumptions and those of others is a good way to start think- ing about movies. We will soon see that there are many productive ways of thinking about movies and many approaches that we can use to analyze them. In Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (1992), the actor playing Bruce Lee sits in an American movie theater (figure 1.1) and watches a scene from Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961) in which Audrey Hepburn’s glamorous character awakens her upstairs neighbor, Mr Yunioshi. Half awake, he jumps up, bangs his head on a low-hanging, “Oriental”-style lamp, and stumbles around his apart- ment crashing into things.
    [Show full text]
  • Our Town by Thornton Wilder
    The Guide A Theatergoer’s Resource Our Town By Thornton Wilder Education & Community Programs Staff Kelsey Tyler Education & Community Programs Director Clara Hillier Education Programs Coordinator RJ Hodde Community Programs Coordinator Matthew B. Zrebski Resident Teaching Artist Resource Guide Contributors Benjamin Fainstein Literary Manager Mary Blair Production Dramaturg & Literary Associate Nicholas Kessler Stage Door Teaching Artist Table of Contents Mikey Mann Synopsis . 2 Graphic Designer By the Numbers. 2 PCS’s 2015–16 Education & Community Programs are Overview . 2 generously supported by: Characters . 3 Profoundly Populist: Our Town History . 5 Questions . 5 Biography of the Playwright. 7 In His Own Words . 7 Contemporaries: Stella Adler On Thornton Wilder . 8 Writing Exercises . 9 PCS’s education programs are supported in part by a grant from the Performance Exercises . 9 Oregon Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts. Stage Door Program . 10-12 with additional support from Craig & Y. Lynne Johnston Holzman Foundation Mentor Graphics Foundation Juan Young Trust Autzen Foundation and other generous donors. 1 “The life of a village against the life of the stars.” - Thornton Wilder describing Our Town Synopsis A meditation on small-town life, Our Town celebrates the marvel of everyday existence through the fictional citizens of one New England community at the beginning of the twentieth century. The play is conducted by it’s narrator, the Stage Manager of a theater in which the story is performed. It is divided into three distinct acts, covering commonplace and milestone moments in the lives of its characters: daily life, love and marriage, death and dying. Setting 42 degrees 40 minutes north latitude and 70 degrees 37 minutes west longitude Time May 7, 1901 (Act I) • July 7, 1904 (Act II) • Summer 1913 (Act III) Context 76 m.
    [Show full text]
  • ANTA Theater and the Proposed Designation of the Related Landmark Site (Item No
    Landmarks Preservation Commission August 6, 1985; Designation List 182 l.P-1309 ANTA THFATER (originally Guild Theater, noN Virginia Theater), 243-259 West 52nd Street, Manhattan. Built 1924-25; architects, Crane & Franzheim. Landmark Site: Borough of Manhattan Tax Map Block 1024, Lot 7. On June 14 and 15, 1982, the Landmarks Preservation Commission held a public hearing on the proposed designation as a Landmark of the ANTA Theater and the proposed designation of the related Landmark Site (Item No. 5). The hearing was continued to October 19, 1982. Both hearings had been duly advertised in accordance with the provisions of law. Eighty-three witnesses spoke in favor of designation. Two witnesses spoke in opposition to designation. The owner, with his representatives, appeared at the hearing, and indicated that he had not formulated an opinion regarding designation. The Commission has received many letters and other expressions of support in favor of this designation. DESCRIPTION AND ANALYSIS The ANTA Theater survives today as one of the historic theaters that symbolize American theater for both New York and the nation. Built in the 1924-25, the ANTA was constructed for the Theater Guild as a subscription playhouse, named the Guild Theater. The fourrling Guild members, including actors, playwrights, designers, attorneys and bankers, formed the Theater Guild to present high quality plays which they believed would be artistically superior to the current offerings of the commercial Broadway houses. More than just an auditorium, however, the Guild Theater was designed to be a theater resource center, with classrooms, studios, and a library. The theater also included the rrost up-to-date staging technology.
    [Show full text]