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The First Of The Modern Directors: The Actor-Manager Career Of William Charles Macready, Abe J. Bassett

Theatre Faculty Publications

“My ambition,” wrote William Charles Macready on retiring from the stage in February 1851, was “to establish a theatre, in regard to decorum and taste, worthy of our country, and to have in it the plays of our divine Shakespeare fitfully illustrated.” Although this was undoubtedly a life-long aspiration, which spanned over forty years of his professional career it was best expressed in the four theatrical seasons in which Macready managed Covent Garden theatre (from 1837 to 1839) and Drury Lane theatre (from 1841 to 1843.) It has been the purpose of this study to examine the contributions that Macready …

Ladies In Retirement

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1961 performance of Ladies in Retirement by Edward Percy and Reginald Denham.

Ladies in Retirement tells the story of a retired actress living in a remote home with her housekeeper and maid, and what happens when the housekeeper invites her two rambunctious younger sisters to live with them.

Tartuffe, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1961-1962 Season

Jean Baptiste Poquelin, later known to posterity as Moliere, was born in Paris in 1622, the son of the upholsterer to the King of France. He received his first training in the theatre as a student in a Jesuit college. At the age of 22 he formed his own troupe, called the Illustrous Theatre, and toured the provinces of France for more than twelve years. Here he came under the influences of the Commedia dell'Arte, learning first hand what amused audiences and developing his dramatic art to perfection. After this apprenticeship, he returned to Paris to become the King's Royal …

Ua68/17/2 Missouri Legend, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of Missouri Legend.

The Hasty Heart

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1961 performance of The Hasty Heart by John Patrick.

The Hasty Heart tells the story of a group of Allied soldiers in a temporary British hospital after World War II, and their efforts to befriend a rather distant soldier with a terminal illness.

The Boy Friend, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1961-1962 Season

Set against the backdrop of the French Riviera, this romantic spoof of 1920s musical comedies tells the story of English heiress, Polly, who is longing for only one thing: a boy friend. Polly's father, convinced that any boy who isn't wealthy will court Polly strictly for her financial situation, forbids her to engage any potential suitors. Honoring his wishes, Polly explains to Tony, the messenger boy with whom she's fallen in love, that she is no rich girl. This is just the tip of the mistaken identity iceberg, as love proceeds to find its way charmingly through nearly every member …

Inherit The Wind, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

Inherit the Wind is a fictionalized account of the 1925 Scopes "Monkey" Trial, which resulted in John T. Scopes' conviction for teaching Charles Darwin's theory of evolution to a high school science class, contrary to a Tennessee state law.

J.B.

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1961 performance of J.B. by Archibald MacLeish.

J.B. is a retelling of the Biblical story of Job by two old circus performers by the name of Zuss and Nickles (Zeus and Satan), who make a wager and play out Job’s story in modern America where Job is a millionaire named J.B..

This was part of the 1961 Fine Arts Festival and performed in Maytag Auditorium.

Ua68/17/2 Dark Of The Moon, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of Dark of the Moon.

The Bald Soprano, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

The Smiths are a traditional couple from London who have invited another couple, the Martins, over for a visit. They are joined later by the Smiths' maid, Mary, and the local fire chief, who is also Mary's lover. The two families engage in meaningless banter, telling stories and relating nonsensical poems. At one point, Mrs. Martin converses with her husband as if he were a stranger she just met. As the fire chief turns to leave, he mentions "the bald soprano" in passing, which has a very unsettling effect on the others. Mrs. Smith replies that "she always styles her …

The Glass Menagerie, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

The Glass Menagerie opened in New York City at the Playhouse Theatre on March 31, 1945, and closed after 563 performances.

Thomas Lanier (Tennessee) Williams was born in 1914 in Columbus, Mississippi, the son of a traveling shoe salesman and an Episcopal clergyman's daughter. At the age of 13 his family moved to St. Louis and it was here that his sister Rose began a collection of glass animals. After failing out of the University of Missouri, he attended the State University of Iowa, studying play writing under E.C.Mabie. During the early 1940's he wrote many one act plays. The …

The Glass Menagerie

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1961 performance of The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams.

The Glass Menagerie is a memory play narrated and led by a young man named Tom, who recounts life with his mother Amanda and sister Laura. The play has strong autobiographical elements of the playwright Tennessee and his experience growing up with his mother and sister.

Ua68/17/2 The Male Animal, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of The Male Animal.

Campus Lights 1961, Murray State College

Campus Lights

No abstract provided.

R.U.R. (1961), Theatre Arts

Productions 1960-1969

Director:

Set Design:

Costume Design:

1961-1962 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Ua68/17/2 Winterset, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program from the WKU Western Players' production of Winterset.

The Gazebo, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

The Gazebo is an upbeat play by Alec Coppel. Elliott Nash, a television playwright is married to Nell, a successful Broadway thespian. Nell had an ignominious moment in her past when she posed for some photos best left in obscurity and now Elliott is being blackmailed by the owner of the photos. Elliot's solution is to carry out a carefully executed murder and then bury the body underneath a gazebo being constructed in the backyard. Although the dastardly deed goes off without a hitch, the body of the blackmailer turns up elsewhere, leaving Elliott to track down who it was …

An Evening With Benet

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1960 performance of An Evening with Benet, arranged by Gladys Greathouse.

An Evening with Benet is a reader’s theater featuring the writings of Stephen Vincent Benet, including, Johnny Pye and the Foolkiller, A Child is Born, and The Devil and Daniel Webster.

The Matchmaker

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Fall 1960 performance of The Matchmaker by Thornton Wilder.

Before the world fell in love with Hello, Dolly!, Thornton Wilder’s uproarious play The Matchmaker introduced Ms. Dolly Gallagher Levi: a cunning, crafty, and thoroughly modern woman who knows a good catch when she sees one. When the wealthy Horace Vandergelder hires matchmaker Ms. Levi to find him a wife, Dolly doesn't need to look far to find his perfect mate. While Dolly is “arranging things” for Mr. Vandergelder, the young, hopeless romantics of Yonkers reap the rewards of Dolly’s generosity.

Ua68/17/2 Oklahoma!, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of Oklahoma!

Teahouse Of The August Moon, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1960-1961 Season

In the aftermath of World War II, the island of Okinawa was occupied by the American military. Captain Fisby, a young army officer, is transferred to a tiny Okinawa island town called Tobiki by his commanding officer, Colonel Purdy. Fisby is tasked with the job of implementing "Plan B". The plan calls for teaching the natives all things American and the first step for Capt. Fisby is to establish a democratically elected mayor, chief of agriculture, chief of police, and president of the Ladies League for Democratic Action. Plan "B" also calls for the building of a schoolhouse (Pentagon shaped), …

Ten Nights In A Barroom, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1959-1960 Season

In the course of which play such alternate scenes of joy and misery, hope and despair, will be portrayed as cannot fail to rivet the attention of the spectator and excite the warmest sympathies of the suffering so patiently endured. The author has put his inventions to rack and every power of his imagination to full flight to embody such characters never yet essayed in any drama.

The fine and appropriate sceneries of beautiful hues and rich tints in one general and grand effect and bringing into request the complete machineries of this elaborately constructed stage and executed by eminent …

The York Nativity Plays

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1960 performance of The York Nativity Plays edited by J. S. Purvis.

The York Nativity Plays are selections taken from the larger, English mystery play cycle the York Mystery Plays. The original was comprised of 48 simple pageants telling the story of the Old and New Testaments from Creation to the Last Judgement. Each was performed by a different craft guild.

This performance featured eight of the 48 pageants, covering the events of the Nativity from the angel bringing the news to Mary to Herod’s slaughter of the children.

The Trojan Women

Taylor Theatre Playbills

The playbill for Taylor University’s Spring 1960 performance of The Trojan Women by Euripides.

The Trojan Women tells the story of the fates of four women after the fall of the city of Troy.

King Of Hearts, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1959-1960 Season

The play was originally conceived by Eleanor Brooke and was written as an exercise in the drama course at Catholic University in which she was a pupil of Walter Kerr, drama critic of the New York Herald Tribune. Her teacher encouraged her to rewrite the play, which she did several times, and she finally asked a fellow drama student Jean Kerr, wife of Mr. Kerr, to collaborate with her in the final revision.

The play opened on April 1, 1954, with Cloris Leachman, Jackie Cooper, and Donald Cook in starring roles, and closed on November 27 of the same year. …

Campus Lights 1960, Murray State College

Campus Lights

No abstract provided.

1960-1961 Season Brochure, Otterbein University Department Of Theatre And Dance

Theatre and Dance Annual Brochures

Annual promotional piece of the upcoming season's shows.

Ua68/17/2 Our Town, Wku Western Players

WKU Administration Documents

Program for WKU Western Players' production of Our Town.

The Diary Of Anne Frank, Otterbein University Theatre And Dance Department

1959-1960 Season

The Diary of Anne Frank, found by Anne's father after the young girl's death, was translated into English and published in a two-part condensation in the magazine, Commentary, and then in book form · in 1952. Its simplicity and candor moved it immediately to the best seller list. Producer Cheryl Crawford obtained the state rights to the book not long after it was published, and Meyer Levin was assigned to its adaptation. But then, quietly, Miss Crawford allowed her option on the rights to drop. Kermit Bloomgarden, veteran producer, immediately picked up the stage rights and elected the husband …