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| "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| I went to the Paley Center recently to view some early TV work directed by Sidney Lumet (sparked by watching a great documentary about him), and one I watched was "The Show-Off". It appeared in CBS' "Best of Broadway" series that ran in the mid-1950s and starred Jackie Gleason. I really enjoyed it. It ran less than an hour, so I'm sure a lot was cut from the original play. In looking up the play, I see it ran 7 times on Broadway (or maybe 6, if the Dec 5, 1967 - Jun 22, 1968 & Sep 13, 1968 - Sep 28, 1968 run at the Lyceum listed on IBDB with mostly the same cast, including Helen Hayes, was one production - does anyone know what happened there? Is it just that it skipped the summer?). IBDB also notes that it played in repertory with one play for the first segment, and three for the second. I was surprised to see Boyd Gaines played the title role in the last production, in 1992 at the Criterion - surprised because I don't think of him and Jackie Gleason playing the same characters. Did anyone here see it? It also featured Pat Carroll and was directed by Brian Murray. I saw another George Kelly play at the Mint ("Philip Goes Forth") and liked it - I think they did another of his. But I don't know if his Pulitzer Prize winning "Craig's Wife" has ever been revived. His first play "“The Torch-Bearers" played at Williamstown in 2009. According to Wikipedia, "At the time of his death, four of his plays remained unperformed and have yet to premiere." |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: comedywest 07:03 pm EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| The Peccadillo Theater company did The Show-Off a couple of years ago. It's not a great play, but not bad. I remember seeing Daisy Mayme at the Pearl 15 years or so ago. I liked that much better. |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: Snowgrace 09:54 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| Ann, yes, I saw that production with Boyd Gaines...I was studying with Laura Esterman at the time, and she was in it too. Strong all around, as I remember. Gaines did a lot of work with the Roundabout (housed at the Criterion in the early 90s) back then... | |
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| How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:32 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| I hadn’t heard of the older one til now. | |
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| re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Last Edit: AlanScott 03:54 am EST 02/17/19 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 03:52 am EST 02/17/19 | |
| In reply to: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - KingSpeed 05:32 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| It wasn't till the mid or late 1960s that Equity started not allowing two people to use the same names. This was confirmed to me several years ago by someone who worked at Equity and was very kind in answering a question I had about two actors who used the same name during the 1960s. I called just to confirm that they were two different people. Later when I called again to ask a similar question about two other people, a different person refused to give me an answer, saying Equity was not allowed to give out that sort of info. What the person I spoke to the first time did not make clear (probably didn’t know) was that there was a basic restriction, which I later came to understand (I think by coming across an article in which it was discussed): It could only happen if one of the actors worked under contracts for principals and the other actor worked under chorus contracts. The Equity person who was helpful told me that the member who was already in Equity when the other one joined had to give permission to the person who joined later. I think that wasn't true. IIRC, the article I found said that several Equity members were objecting to the fact that a member who joined later was using the same name they were using, so clearly those Equity members had not given their permission, and this led to the change. You may very occasionally come across an ibdb page for someone in which there are some credits that seem to make no sense. You may see a chorus credit in the midst of credits for leading roles in nonmusicals. When you see that, the explanation is usually that two people were using the same name at the same time. I wrote ibdb once or twice about such cases, but I got such remarkably dense replies that I stopped (although the changes were made). |
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| re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Posted by: TheHarveyBoy 05:53 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - KingSpeed 05:32 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| Their careers didn't overlap. Paul the elder's last Broadway performance was in 1979 in the short-lived but hilarious John Guare play BOSOMS AND NEGLECT. He then went to Hollywood and worked mainly, though sparsely, in episodic television, and later taught drama at Sarah Lawrence and the New School. He died of pancreatic cancer in 2010 at the age of 70. | |
| Link | NY Times Obituary: Paul Rudd (1940-2010) |
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| re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Posted by: bobby2 06:00 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - TheHarveyBoy 05:53 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| The younger Paul Rudd had to contact him and see if he would relinquish the name. The older one allowed the younger one to have the name since he wasn't planning on returning to the stage. That is how it is done in the acting unions. The oddest case being the two Vanessa Williamses. When the famous one became famous from the Miss America pageant and then joined the acting unions there already was a Vanessa Williams. So the famous one had to be billed as Vanessa L. Williams for a while. Somehow that changed and she became just Vanessa Williams. I always thought the other one was foolishly stubborn to not change her name since Vanessa Williams was very very famous from the pageant and scandal afterwards. | |
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| re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:45 pm EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - bobby2 06:00 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| Would YOU change your name if someone won Miss America? | |
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| re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? | |
| Posted by: bobby2 08:37 pm EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - KingSpeed 05:45 pm EST 02/13/19 | |
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| Well she just didn't win Miss America. She became a national scandal and topic of discussion. So yes If I were an actress with few credits and had the same name as someone like that I would have. It would be like being named Monica Lewinsky or Linda Tripp and trying to not be confused with the one everybody knew. | |
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| Also: 2 Actresses Named Doris Day, Jean Arthur, and Elizabeth Taylor | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 07:09 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: How did Equity allow there to be 2 Paul Rudd’s? - bobby2 06:00 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| There were similar situations in the 30's through the 50's when there were two actresses with the same name, specifically Doris Day, Jean Arthur, and Elizabeth Taylor. In each case one, of course, was quite famous and the other pretty obscure. | |
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| and James Stewart | |
| Posted by: comedywest 11:51 am EST 02/14/19 | |
| In reply to: Also: 2 Actresses Named Doris Day, Jean Arthur, and Elizabeth Taylor - BroadwayTonyJ 07:09 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| aka Stewart Granger | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: KingSpeed 05:28 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| What’s the name of the doc about Lumet and where can I see it? | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:26 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - KingSpeed 05:28 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| It's called "By Sidney Lumet" and was shown in the American Masters series on PBS. | |
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| I still have that on my dvr | |
| Posted by: dramedy 11:11 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 08:26 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| It’s a good series but not my first choice when looking for something to watch. | |
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| re: I still have that on my dvr | |
| Posted by: Ann 11:21 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: I still have that on my dvr - dramedy 11:11 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| It's one of my favorite series. :) |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: lordofspeech 12:40 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| I did see Boyd Gaines in it and he was excellent. I hadn’t seen it and thought it would be a light comedy but it’s disturbing. His character is such a stand-in for America’s craven desire to please/sell/sell-out, as I remember. | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: Ann 08:22 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - lordofspeech 12:40 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| Oh, thanks. I don't think that really came off in the TV version. | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: keikekaze 11:37 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| Another Kelly play I've liked a lot is the comedy The Fatal Weakness. PBS did a lovely production in 1976 (I think it was part of the "Hollywood Television Theater" series) with Eva Marie Saint in the leading role originated by Ina Claire on Broadway. The Mint did it in New York a few years ago, but I don't think it has ever been seen on Broadway since the original production in 1946-47. | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Last Edit: AlanScott 10:02 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 10:01 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| One little thing first: ibdb is wrong that the APA-Phoenix production of The Show-Off that starred Helen Hayes and Clayton Corzatte played in rep when it returned in September 1968. If it had played in rep, it could not have played 19 performances in two-and-a-half weeks. It did start performances in mid-week, with the return of Pantagleize from the previous season giving its last performance on a Thursday, and The Show-Off starting its return the following day. It had played with three plays in rep in the first run. After playing its return at the Lyceum, it set off on a very successful three-month tour that almost but not quite saved the APA-Phoenix from the financial troubles that led the combined companies to disband in 1969, with each going back to producing on its own and less ambitiously than for their several years together on Broadway. (The APA had produced very ambitious repertory seasons Off-Broadway prior to the merger, some of those seasons at the Phoenix’s Off-Broadway house on the Upper East Side.) During the summer of 1968, the APA-Phoenix produced an hour-long musical revue called New York and Who to Blame It On, which played in parks around the city. Some years the company played in Ann Arbor during the summer, but it seems not to have done that in 1968 (at least not that I’m finding). There have been three film versions of The Show-Off. The first was a silent. Spencer Tracy plays Aubrey Piper in the second. Red Skelton stars in the third, which softens the character and the piece as a whole. The Roundabout also revived it in 1978 when they were on West 23rd Street. That production starred the older Paul Rudd (more in line perhaps with Boyd Gaines, although I think Rudd did sometimes play more tensely neurotic characters than Gaines has tended to play). The Torch-Bearers was revived in 2000 by the Drama Dept. at Greenwich House, directed by Dylan Baker, with Marian Seldes, Faith Prince, David Garrison, Judith Blazer and Joan Copeland. I saw a production in 1984 at the Hartman in Stamford, Conn., with Jan Miner, Joyce Bulifant and David Cryer. I’m not sure this play quite holds up. There’s also a very free movie version with Will Rogers, and the ideally cast Alison Skipworth and Billie Burker, retitled Doubting Thomas. It’s too bad that it didn’t stick more closely to the play. In 2003, the Pearl, when it was still at Theatre 80 St. Marks, did Kelly’s Daisy Mayme. The production was a bit uneven but the play holds up. And there are the two film versions of Craig’s Wife, the first starring Rosalind Russell, and the second, with a title change to Harriet Craig, starring Joan Crawford. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen the first, but I think the second one holds up pretty well. Crawford is well-cast in ways that we can appreciate more now than audiences at the time would have been able to do. It would be nice to be able to see the first film again, especially since Dorothy Arzner directed it. There is some danger that this one might come off as misogynistic, even though I think it’s clear that the other women in the play are meant to contrast with the title character’s destructively, almost psychotically controlling nature. In 1974, there was a revival of this play at the WPA, with Cara Duff-McCormick in the title role. I wish I knew Kelly’s work better. Maybe some day I'll see some of the ones I've never seen and read some of them. I don't think I've ever read any of his plays. I've got Craig's Wife in an anthology. The trouble with anthologies is that you forget what plays you have. |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: krebsman 02:27 am EST 02/14/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - AlanScott 10:01 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| I saw most of the shows that the APA-Phoenix did at the Lyceum in the late 60s. Students could sit in the balcony for $1. I remember PANTAGLEIZE with Ellis Rabb and Keene Curtis, THE CHERRY ORCHARD with Uta Hagen, Pamela Payton-Wright, and Patricia Elliot among others. By the time I saw THE SHOW OFF, Helen Hayes had left and Nancy Walker had replaced her. She was good. Walker also played Carlotta in THE CHERRY ORCHARD. She came on in drag and did card tricks in the party scene. | |
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| re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... | |
| Posted by: cameron_grnt 03:28 pm EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - AlanScott 10:01 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| The Peccadillo did a production here in NY about two years ago. A disappointing one, I thought, but... | |
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| CRAIG'S WIFE on TCM | |
| Posted by: BroadwayTonyJ 08:52 am EST 02/13/19 | |
| In reply to: re: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - AlanScott 10:01 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| TCM is showing the '36 film version of Craig's Wife on 3/04/19. My recollection is that it's quite good with Russell giving one of her best performances, although John Boles (as usual) is pretty bland. Nevertheless, the supporting cast is top-notch, and Arzner's direction is impressive. I agree that the '50 version with Crawford is also fine with Wendell Corey giving a much more layered performance than Boles did. | |
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| re: CRAIG'S WIFE on TCM | |
| Posted by: AlanScott 11:04 pm EST 02/16/19 | |
| In reply to: CRAIG'S WIFE on TCM - BroadwayTonyJ 08:52 am EST 02/13/19 | |
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| Thank you so much for the info. I hope that I remember when the time comes. | |
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| I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan | |
| Posted by: dramedy 07:26 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: "The Show Off" (or "The Show-Off") by George Kelly .... - Ann 07:17 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| It was one of the first plays that I had ever seen and loved it. I always wonder would I like it now as much. Since it is rarely produced, I assume it just isnt as good as I remembered. I would like to see a good revival even at local Bay Area theater like act or Berkeley rep. | |
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| re: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan | |
| Posted by: keikekaze 11:30 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan - dramedy 07:26 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| Berkeley Rep did in fact do The Show-Off back in about 1983--I remember because I reviewed it for the old Berkeley Gazette at the time. I remember enjoying it a lot and writing a strongly positive review, though I don't recall now who was in it. I looked it up at the Berkeley Rep website and their "past productions" section lists it, but doesn't give the cast. After all these years, it might very well be time for them to do it again. | |
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| re: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan | |
| Last Edit: Ann 07:38 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| Posted by: Ann 07:34 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan - dramedy 07:26 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| Or maybe it was that good, but a little dated. I see it played in 2017 at the Peccadillo Theater Company at Theatre at St. Clement's - I kind of recall hearing about that now. That may have been their most recent production - maybe they're no longer producing. They did one of my top ten favorite (maybe top five) New York productions - Elmer Rice's "Counsellor At Law," with John Rubinstein in 2005. |
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| re: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan | |
| Last Edit: PlayWiz 08:22 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| Posted by: PlayWiz 08:21 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
| In reply to: re: I saw it at meadowbrook theater in Oakland Michigan - Ann 07:34 pm EST 02/12/19 | |
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| I really like "Craig's Wife" which has an especially fine role for the leading woman. It was filmed twice, the second time with its plot somewhat altered as "Harriet Craig" with Joan Crawford, and the first time with the original title and more faithful to the play starring Rosalind Russell. This really enhanced her career, and until her fabulous comedy turn in "The Women", established her as a dramatic star for her rendering of the rather unsympathetic, but never boring, character. | |
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