Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman delivered the Man Who Came to Dinner in 1939 as a love letter to the rich, famous and powerful of the time period. Most notably, the “man” in the Man Who Came to Dinner was based on real life friend of the playwrights and famed critic and curmudgeon, Alexander Woollcott. Unable to come up with a working plot for their Woollcott vehicle they had all but dismissed the idea until Alexander barged into an estate unannounced and proceeded to terrorize the home’s staff and family—thus, the Man Who Came to Dinner was born. The first printed edition of the play contained the inscription "To Alexander Woollcott, for reasons that are nobody's business." In addition to “Whiteside” (aka Woollcott) other characters bear unmistakable resemblances to people of the times. Most recognizably, Banjo was modeled after Harpo Marx and Beverly Carlton after Noel Coward. These references provide a sort of character study guide for those cast in these parts to pick and choose what to embellish and play with. Herein also lies the primary challenge for both actors and the production team: taking a piece that is so time specific (and in this case, 70 years ago) and making the jokes relevant and readable to a modern audience. Few people attending a show will realize the humor in Zasu Pitts, Sam Goldwyn, or a Salvator Dali mention, to name a few. Therefore, physicality and imitation will have to suffice when carrying out Whiteside’s lengthy, name dropping- stained monologues.
The Man Who Came to Dinner is ideal for a university setting, given the generous list of characters. In production history, several theatres have found it necessary to double cast but in our educational setting, I suspect casting the show will prove an easy feat. (Though perhaps, provide a costumer nightmares.) However, with so many eccentric characters- it’s easy to confuse an audience. Without distinct character choices and going too crazy with character quirks, actors must be mindful to both stand out and simultaneously not steal away from the chief action of Maggie, Lorraine and Whiteside to avoid audience overload and also to give the characters more believability. With many modern audiences, the show seems to adopt a farcical edge with the onslaught of characters and slapstick. While, this was more than likely unintended by the playwrights, the devices of farce might prove useful in this production. The show length constitutes an issue. In some cases, over three hours with two intermissions, many reviews comment it “is so slow to pick up” that revising the script would be viable, if not recommended. Many productions have trimmed off twenty minutes or so, mainly from the first act that in essence, over- establishes the ill behaviors of Sheridan Whiteside.
Technically speaking, the Man Who Came to Dinner fails to present anything I would consider to be very problematic. The set is fairly no-nonsense and the Dramatists script provides the set plot, prop list, and sheet music for Beverly’s reprise. The prop closet upon closing the show will have to make room for a slew of very specialized pieces that will likely have to be constructed. A cockroach hotel, a life-side mummy case and a penguin crate are the front-runners of this undertaking. Almost a character unto itself is of course, the 1930’s wheelchair that provides residence to Whiteside’s “rosy bottom” for almost the entirety of the run. Props such as the latter, the phones, and the décor all should pay homage accurately to the 1930s to ensure the world of the play remains intact for both the actors and audience’s sake. As mentioned earlier, costumes might prove problematic, given the size of the cast. However, in the 1930’s much of the clothing was very non-descript due to the Depression, so most character’s attire (apart from Whiteside or Lorraine) should either already be in stock or fairly inexpensive to construct.
Whiteside’s character bears a lot of criticism largely due to the sheer amount of stage time. He is the sun this zany world revolves around. One of the most vital things to bear in mind that while Whiteside is to be an insufferable bully, he also needs to portray a fully- realized human being. The audience must empathize with him in addition to the people he terrorizes. The only way to ensure this happens is to make these characters round and relatable. The Man Who Came to Dinner might be catalogued as a time capsule of a comedy, but Hart and Kaufman also recognized the importance of situations and characters that have ultimately stood the test of time: seventy years later, their characters gone, the Man Who Came to Dinner still sees the lights of a stage.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Monday, July 27, 2009
Production History
Statement:Producing the Play
Textual
Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman in many ways doctored a love letter dedicated to friends, the powerful, and Hollywood (all circa 1939) in the vehicle of the Man Who Came to Dinner. The scads of references has many audiences (circa 2009) seventy years later scratching their heads, speculating who this or that person is and why it's funny or valid for these characters. Most audience members will fail to find humor in a Zasu Pitts reference or go to pieces over the way "Beverly Carlton" exacts the mannerisms of the then-famous, Noel Coward. With well over one- hundred 1930's trivia plugs, one might be tempted to resort to a mini- dramaturg packet for each audience member, a who's- who guide to help translate the Man... into a comedy again. Timing and expression prove crucial in any comedy but uncommonly vital in this case due to the nature of the text. The production's length also constitutes an issue when appealing to an average theatre audience. Running in some cases over three hours- should there be two intermissions? Do you risk losing half the gallery following the slow-to-pick-up first act? In many productions, directors have chosen to trim off twenty to thirty minutes. Cutting the script must be cautiously approached, mindful to not lose the time or characters all together in attempts to speed up the run. The amount of characters could potentially create a problem for smaller companies to achieve. Double casting the various, eccentric comrades of Sheridan Whiteside appears commonplace and also gives the actors an opportunity to play creatively with their range. Technically, there's not much to fear when producing this piece. The Dramatist's script includes sheet music for Beverly's song, an extensive prop list, a set design and even a suggested text change section. There is a moving penguin prop that always provokes an inventive solution from designers along with some laughs.
Context
The largest obstacle to producing the Man Who Came to Dinner at Sam Houston (or anywhere for the matter) lies in the text itself. A dramaturg would definitely be necessary to educate the actors on not only whom or what they're referencing but whom their characters resemble from the 1930s. Though many attributes of what makes the Man.. a comedy transcend time, undergraduate audiences will largely fail to respond to much of the written humor, able to relate more to the situational/physical comedy of the piece. However, apart from the student-based audience, I would hypothesize that most subscribers to our theatre belong to a much older generation who could appreciate this time-capsule comedy. Casting might also prove problematic. Many undergrad actors experience difficulty playing age and with an overall older character list, these abilities become crucial. Just as an audience has difficulty believing a 30 something playing a teen, an audience would also be distracted by teens playing 40s-60s. The director at Stephen F. Austin did not audition anyone for the role of Whiteside and instead cast an alumni in the part beforehand. He explained that even though he felt talent to be abundant at the undergrad level, he did not think any college aged actor could do the role justice. While denying an undergrad actor this opportunity seems extreme, it also highlights just how difficult a director might find it to fill Whiteside's loafers.
Solutions and Critics
Most reviewers chief complaints have dealt with either the acting ability of the cast or simply the length of the production. I believe both of these issues correlate directly to the script. Many of the minor characters provide easy laughs with their outlandish antics and secure one-liners. However, many theatre authorities comment that these actors are either too out there or too mundane to notice in comparison. With the revolving door of characters in the script, many directors have double cast the more minor roles. So, when the strange Metz morphs into the smooth Beverly Carlton, the actor's credability is easily doubled in the eyes of audiences and critics alike. The wordiness of certain Whiteside monologues and excessive character establishment in the first act were cut from many productions. As a result, these productions heard less whining about the length and more praise for their precise comedic timing.
Roundabout Theatre Comany
American Airlines Theatre
New York, NY (2000)
Director:Jerry Zaks
Designers: Tony Walton (set)
William Ivey Long (costumes)
Paul Gallo (lighting)
Starring: Nathan Lane (Whiteside)
"Yet the production feels busy without being lively. Much of the acting is a series of flourishes that sell individual jokes and epigrams without being anchored to character. This, alas, includes Mr. Lane's performance.Mr. Lane spoke of his research on his role and his awareness, after watching Woolley in the 1941 movie version, of the dangers of making the arrogant, curmudegonly Whiteside too unpleasant. Yet if Whiteside isn't a convincing monster, the central joke of the play falls apart. Many of the supporting performances suffer from a similar feeling of distance between actors and their parts, a sense that lines are being played strictly for the comic moment with little regard for context."- BEN BRANTLEY, The New York Times http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=&tols_title=MAN%20WHO%20CAME%20TO%20DINNER,%20THE%20(PLAY)&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&pdate=20000728&id=1077011432616
"From his opening, "I may vomit", Nathan Lane lands Whiteside's many hilarious insults with his usual perfect timing, With his shoe polish slick hair and satin lounging jackets he passes for a reasonable facsimile of the abrasive character created by Monty Wooley on screen as well as stage. Yet, except for some scenes when he doesn't say anything at all, and during the bit when he and Banjo plan to save Maggie's romance, Lane fails to project the mix of pomposity, urbanity and wit that the role demands. Walton's set satirizes upwardly mobile mid-Americans' conspicuous consumption with a house that's over elaborate, and then tips an admiring hat to the gorgeously renovated Selwyn Theatre-- oops, I mean American Air Lines Theatre."- ELYSE SOMMER, CurtainUp
http://www.curtainup.com/manwhocametodinner.html
University of Southern Maine
Gorham, Maine
Russell Hall, November 2008
Director: Thomas Power
Desingers:Charles S. Kading (set)
Nathan Speckman (sound)
Starring: Travis M. Grant (Whiteside)
"Sherry isn't just Perez Hilton for the New Deal set; he's a fully realized human being…Only Erol Ileri as Whiteside's raconteur actor buddy, Banjo, seemed to defy my sense of truth; he's very talented, and displays great physical ability, but he didn't seem to be in the same play as the rest of the cast, and at times, it felt like he was channeling Yogi Bear.The stagecraft at the theatre department, as usual, is top notch; the two-story set,besides one piano piece that sounds like it's being played on a Victrola somewhere in the house rather than by a character onstage, sound design is strong.."
- ALEX MERRILL, Free Press http://media.www.usmfreepress.org/media/storage/paper311/news/2008/11/17/ArtsAndEntertainment/The-Man.Who.Came.To.Dinner-3547795.shtml
Theatre Rhinoceros
San Francisco, CA
July 2004
Director: John Fisher
Starring: P.A. Cooley (Whiteside)
Matthew Martin (Metz, Carlton, Banjo)
"Director John Fisher has made this three act comedy very fast paced and slapstick, with some real over-the-top acting. I was told that during the one week preview before its opening, John Fisher trimmed 20 minutes off of the long, three act play..Most of the portrayals of Sheridan Whitehead I have seen have been neutral in their sexuality; they could be either gay or straight.This director has decided to make him gay. There is even a little cruise scene between Sheridan and reporter Bert Jefferson (Matt Weimer) to build up that impression."
-RICHARD CONNEMA, Talkin Broadway
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/sanfran/s569.html
"The problem with setting Cooley loose on Sheridan is that his performance destroys any subtlety between the snob and his assistant, Maggie. There should be affection between them, veiled by savage wit, but Maryssa Wanlass has no chance to develop Maggie's character in the glare of Sheridan's queeniness. He likes to blow up subtexts until the old plays resemble queer farce. But a director should do it for aesthetic, not political, reasons. You do it because it's funny or illuminating, not to spread the gospel that there are really a lot more queers out there than you think."
- MICHAEL SCOTT MOORE, SF Weekly
http://www.sfweekly.com/2004-12-29/culture/dining-out/
Alley Theatre
Houston, TX
February 2009
Director:John Rando
Starring: James Black as Whiteside
Josie de Guzman as Maggie Cutler
Designers: Alexander Dodge (set)
Gregory Gale (costumes)
Pat Collins (lighting)
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_THE_MAN_WHO_CAME_TO_DINNER_at_Houstons_Alley_Theatre_20090224
Chichester Festival Theatre
London, UK
August 1999
Director: Joe Dowling
Designer: John Lee Beatty
Starring:Richard Griffiths
"Dowling fails to realise that a sharp-tongued, antic comedy like this must move fast...When the well-cast Eve Matheson milks the emotional upset of Whiteside's factotum Maggie, it doesn't help us empathise with the character: it shows us how underwritten she is.The accents are pretty ropey, too.The pileup of events in the play generates its own impetus, but the zest is missing. We're left tittering quietly at the slow death of each potential belly-laugh, and idly matching up the thinly-veiled celebrity characters with their long-dead, real-life inspirations."
-NICK CURTIS, The Evening Standard (Lexis Nexis)
Stage West Community Playhouse
Spring Hill, Florida
Janurary 2009
Starring: Peter Clapsis (Whiteside)
Jeanine Martin (Maggie)
Cheryl Roberts (Nurse Preen)
"But it is Cheryl Roberts, who plays Nurse Preen as a cross between Cloris Leachman's Nurse Diesel in Mel Brooks's High Anxiety and Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, who steals her every scene...Younger members of the audience may be puzzled and/or unimpressed by some of Whiteside's incessant name-dropping and also not realize that some of the characters are sendups of then-icons Noel Coward and the Marx Brothers. They will pick up on Dali and Disney, but perhaps not realize what a big deal it would be to get a personal phone call from Sam Goldwyn."
-BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN,St. Petersburg Times (Lexis Nexis)
Arena Players Repertory Theater
East Farmingdale, Long Island
December, 1983
Director:David Dubins
Starring: Charles Jerabek (Whiteside)
Mary Boyer (Maggie)
Aileen O'Riordan Kuss (Sarah)
"The Arena Players company has evolved a flamboyant acting style that for certain characters in this script works very well indeed. Charles Jerabek gives a one-level performance as Sheridan Whiteside, never changing expression or vocal inflection. For the rest of the cast, the company's style is not effective. ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is filled with eccentrics who take themselves very seriously. For them to be funny and for the play's humor to evolve, the actors have to convey a sense of love, or at least respect, for these oddball characters. Generally, the forced acting either exceeds the limits of acceptability or, at the other extreme, is bland to the point of blotting out the reason for the character to be on stage."
-LEAH D. FRANK, New York Times (Lexis Nexis)
Textual
Moss Hart and George S. Kaufman in many ways doctored a love letter dedicated to friends, the powerful, and Hollywood (all circa 1939) in the vehicle of the Man Who Came to Dinner. The scads of references has many audiences (circa 2009) seventy years later scratching their heads, speculating who this or that person is and why it's funny or valid for these characters. Most audience members will fail to find humor in a Zasu Pitts reference or go to pieces over the way "Beverly Carlton" exacts the mannerisms of the then-famous, Noel Coward. With well over one- hundred 1930's trivia plugs, one might be tempted to resort to a mini- dramaturg packet for each audience member, a who's- who guide to help translate the Man... into a comedy again. Timing and expression prove crucial in any comedy but uncommonly vital in this case due to the nature of the text. The production's length also constitutes an issue when appealing to an average theatre audience. Running in some cases over three hours- should there be two intermissions? Do you risk losing half the gallery following the slow-to-pick-up first act? In many productions, directors have chosen to trim off twenty to thirty minutes. Cutting the script must be cautiously approached, mindful to not lose the time or characters all together in attempts to speed up the run. The amount of characters could potentially create a problem for smaller companies to achieve. Double casting the various, eccentric comrades of Sheridan Whiteside appears commonplace and also gives the actors an opportunity to play creatively with their range. Technically, there's not much to fear when producing this piece. The Dramatist's script includes sheet music for Beverly's song, an extensive prop list, a set design and even a suggested text change section. There is a moving penguin prop that always provokes an inventive solution from designers along with some laughs.
Context
The largest obstacle to producing the Man Who Came to Dinner at Sam Houston (or anywhere for the matter) lies in the text itself. A dramaturg would definitely be necessary to educate the actors on not only whom or what they're referencing but whom their characters resemble from the 1930s. Though many attributes of what makes the Man.. a comedy transcend time, undergraduate audiences will largely fail to respond to much of the written humor, able to relate more to the situational/physical comedy of the piece. However, apart from the student-based audience, I would hypothesize that most subscribers to our theatre belong to a much older generation who could appreciate this time-capsule comedy. Casting might also prove problematic. Many undergrad actors experience difficulty playing age and with an overall older character list, these abilities become crucial. Just as an audience has difficulty believing a 30 something playing a teen, an audience would also be distracted by teens playing 40s-60s. The director at Stephen F. Austin did not audition anyone for the role of Whiteside and instead cast an alumni in the part beforehand. He explained that even though he felt talent to be abundant at the undergrad level, he did not think any college aged actor could do the role justice. While denying an undergrad actor this opportunity seems extreme, it also highlights just how difficult a director might find it to fill Whiteside's loafers.
Solutions and Critics
Most reviewers chief complaints have dealt with either the acting ability of the cast or simply the length of the production. I believe both of these issues correlate directly to the script. Many of the minor characters provide easy laughs with their outlandish antics and secure one-liners. However, many theatre authorities comment that these actors are either too out there or too mundane to notice in comparison. With the revolving door of characters in the script, many directors have double cast the more minor roles. So, when the strange Metz morphs into the smooth Beverly Carlton, the actor's credability is easily doubled in the eyes of audiences and critics alike. The wordiness of certain Whiteside monologues and excessive character establishment in the first act were cut from many productions. As a result, these productions heard less whining about the length and more praise for their precise comedic timing.
Roundabout Theatre ComanyAmerican Airlines Theatre
New York, NY (2000)
Director:Jerry Zaks
Designers: Tony Walton (set)
William Ivey Long (costumes)
Paul Gallo (lighting)
Starring: Nathan Lane (Whiteside)
"Yet the production feels busy without being lively. Much of the acting is a series of flourishes that sell individual jokes and epigrams without being anchored to character. This, alas, includes Mr. Lane's performance.Mr. Lane spoke of his research on his role and his awareness, after watching Woolley in the 1941 movie version, of the dangers of making the arrogant, curmudegonly Whiteside too unpleasant. Yet if Whiteside isn't a convincing monster, the central joke of the play falls apart. Many of the supporting performances suffer from a similar feeling of distance between actors and their parts, a sense that lines are being played strictly for the comic moment with little regard for context."- BEN BRANTLEY, The New York Times http://theater2.nytimes.com/mem/theater/treview.html?html_title=&tols_title=MAN%20WHO%20CAME%20TO%20DINNER,%20THE%20(PLAY)&byline=By%20BEN%20BRANTLEY&pdate=20000728&id=1077011432616
"From his opening, "I may vomit", Nathan Lane lands Whiteside's many hilarious insults with his usual perfect timing, With his shoe polish slick hair and satin lounging jackets he passes for a reasonable facsimile of the abrasive character created by Monty Wooley on screen as well as stage. Yet, except for some scenes when he doesn't say anything at all, and during the bit when he and Banjo plan to save Maggie's romance, Lane fails to project the mix of pomposity, urbanity and wit that the role demands. Walton's set satirizes upwardly mobile mid-Americans' conspicuous consumption with a house that's over elaborate, and then tips an admiring hat to the gorgeously renovated Selwyn Theatre-- oops, I mean American Air Lines Theatre."- ELYSE SOMMER, CurtainUp
http://www.curtainup.com/manwhocametodinner.html
University of Southern MaineGorham, Maine
Russell Hall, November 2008
Director: Thomas Power
Desingers:Charles S. Kading (set)
Nathan Speckman (sound)
Starring: Travis M. Grant (Whiteside)
"Sherry isn't just Perez Hilton for the New Deal set; he's a fully realized human being…Only Erol Ileri as Whiteside's raconteur actor buddy, Banjo, seemed to defy my sense of truth; he's very talented, and displays great physical ability, but he didn't seem to be in the same play as the rest of the cast, and at times, it felt like he was channeling Yogi Bear.The stagecraft at the theatre department, as usual, is top notch; the two-story set,besides one piano piece that sounds like it's being played on a Victrola somewhere in the house rather than by a character onstage, sound design is strong.."
- ALEX MERRILL, Free Press http://media.www.usmfreepress.org/media/storage/paper311/news/2008/11/17/ArtsAndEntertainment/The-Man.Who.Came.To.Dinner-3547795.shtml
Theatre Rhinoceros San Francisco, CA
July 2004
Director: John Fisher
Starring: P.A. Cooley (Whiteside)
Matthew Martin (Metz, Carlton, Banjo)
"Director John Fisher has made this three act comedy very fast paced and slapstick, with some real over-the-top acting. I was told that during the one week preview before its opening, John Fisher trimmed 20 minutes off of the long, three act play..Most of the portrayals of Sheridan Whitehead I have seen have been neutral in their sexuality; they could be either gay or straight.This director has decided to make him gay. There is even a little cruise scene between Sheridan and reporter Bert Jefferson (Matt Weimer) to build up that impression."
-RICHARD CONNEMA, Talkin Broadway
http://www.talkinbroadway.com/regional/sanfran/s569.html
"The problem with setting Cooley loose on Sheridan is that his performance destroys any subtlety between the snob and his assistant, Maggie. There should be affection between them, veiled by savage wit, but Maryssa Wanlass has no chance to develop Maggie's character in the glare of Sheridan's queeniness. He likes to blow up subtexts until the old plays resemble queer farce. But a director should do it for aesthetic, not political, reasons. You do it because it's funny or illuminating, not to spread the gospel that there are really a lot more queers out there than you think."
- MICHAEL SCOTT MOORE, SF Weekly
http://www.sfweekly.com/2004-12-29/culture/dining-out/
Alley Theatre
Houston, TX
February 2009
Director:John Rando
Starring: James Black as Whiteside
Josie de Guzman as Maggie Cutler
Designers: Alexander Dodge (set)
Gregory Gale (costumes)
Pat Collins (lighting)
http://broadwayworld.com/article/Photo_Flash_THE_MAN_WHO_CAME_TO_DINNER_at_Houstons_Alley_Theatre_20090224
Chichester Festival Theatre
London, UK
August 1999
Director: Joe Dowling
Designer: John Lee Beatty
Starring:Richard Griffiths
"Dowling fails to realise that a sharp-tongued, antic comedy like this must move fast...When the well-cast Eve Matheson milks the emotional upset of Whiteside's factotum Maggie, it doesn't help us empathise with the character: it shows us how underwritten she is.The accents are pretty ropey, too.The pileup of events in the play generates its own impetus, but the zest is missing. We're left tittering quietly at the slow death of each potential belly-laugh, and idly matching up the thinly-veiled celebrity characters with their long-dead, real-life inspirations."
-NICK CURTIS, The Evening Standard (Lexis Nexis)
Stage West Community Playhouse
Spring Hill, Florida
Janurary 2009
Starring: Peter Clapsis (Whiteside)
Jeanine Martin (Maggie)
Cheryl Roberts (Nurse Preen)
"But it is Cheryl Roberts, who plays Nurse Preen as a cross between Cloris Leachman's Nurse Diesel in Mel Brooks's High Anxiety and Louise Fletcher's Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, who steals her every scene...Younger members of the audience may be puzzled and/or unimpressed by some of Whiteside's incessant name-dropping and also not realize that some of the characters are sendups of then-icons Noel Coward and the Marx Brothers. They will pick up on Dali and Disney, but perhaps not realize what a big deal it would be to get a personal phone call from Sam Goldwyn."
-BARBARA L. FREDRICKSEN,St. Petersburg Times (Lexis Nexis)
Arena Players Repertory Theater
East Farmingdale, Long Island
December, 1983
Director:David Dubins
Starring: Charles Jerabek (Whiteside)
Mary Boyer (Maggie)
Aileen O'Riordan Kuss (Sarah)
"The Arena Players company has evolved a flamboyant acting style that for certain characters in this script works very well indeed. Charles Jerabek gives a one-level performance as Sheridan Whiteside, never changing expression or vocal inflection. For the rest of the cast, the company's style is not effective. ''The Man Who Came to Dinner'' is filled with eccentrics who take themselves very seriously. For them to be funny and for the play's humor to evolve, the actors have to convey a sense of love, or at least respect, for these oddball characters. Generally, the forced acting either exceeds the limits of acceptability or, at the other extreme, is bland to the point of blotting out the reason for the character to be on stage."
-LEAH D. FRANK, New York Times (Lexis Nexis)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
The World of the Play
Kaufman and Hart based the Man Who Came to Dinner around their mutual friend and famed critic, Alexander Woollcott. Woollcott was well respected by the playwrights, but that did not stop the duo from exposing his obnoxious traits via Mr. Sheridan Whiteside, the larger-than-life central character. The result of their collaboration provides a very specific place and time in which to lay the scene.
Written in 1939, the text is absolutely riddled with 30s Hollywood, political, and social references and should therefore be set in the time in which these things were relevant and thrived. It's approaching Christmas at the Stanley household in Mesaila, a small (but fictional) town in Ohio. Mr. Whiteside's unwelcomed presence in the Stanley living room is a direct result of an injury inflicted from ice on the front stoop of the tasteful home. Thus, a very well connected Whiteside is confined in Ohio, spoiling his Christmas plans.
The town of Mesalia is fairly unremarkable as far as the script is concerned. Bert Jefferson, the newspaper man/ love interest, provides the best look into town life outside of the home. Excited to track a story besides the Depression, Bert quickly rings the doorbell of the Stanley’s in hopes of publishing a story about Whiteside’s stay. Bert owns the Mesalia Journal, a paper inherited from his father. Mesalia, Ohio basically epitomizes Middle America: full of average people leading regular lives, a far cry from Whiteside’s domain. Historically, however, 1939 was anything but usual for the United States.
In 1939, not everyone was as fortunate as the Stanley's. Sandwiched between the Depression and the brink of World War II, this family's holidays are uncommonly bright. Ohio's industries especially suffered for years as a result of the times and saw their doors only open again for the war. However, in this household Mr. Stanley, the man of the house, owns a factory and is able to abundantly provide for this family... but not without complications. The Wagner Act, which supported labor unions for factory workers, supplies a conflict between Mr. Stanley and his daughter’s love. The Stanley's luxuries(complete with domestic help and family doctors) do not constitute the "norm" when compared to the majority in this unsure time.
Germany invaded Poland in September 0f 1939, catapulting Europe into World War II without any initial support from the U.S. The Depression's grasp barely loosened before the tangible prospect of war began. As the Depression had threatened to obliterate the American economy, President Roosevelt retaliated, establishing countless agencies and programs to revive the nation. He is the only President to have served more than two terms. In the midst of a brief recovery, Americans were eager to support the Neutrality Act (signed in November) and seemed content to turn their heads from the problems abroad. In these chaotic times, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pioneered the radio waves, bringing news and hope to every American home. The radio, in many cases, provided the only outlet for new entertainment and was central in the home. Whiteside, a famous radio personality (among other things) conducts broadcasts from his adopted living room, coupled with some behavior that lacks the Christmas spirit.
Christmas is abuzz through the Stanley home, thanks to several guests of Whiteside’s wishing him a very merry one. With all of the excitement, Sherry is a little late in noticing the sparks between local Bert and his long time assistant, Maggie. In a mere two weeks, Maggie mentions she will do “her darndest” to marry Bert. Already in her 30s, Maggie is a tad tardy for the husband race in this time period. People either couldn’t afford to marry or couldn’t scrape up the divorce fees. Women’s rights were largely swept under the rug in the 1930s; therefore Maggie, a successful, attractive (and single) assistant would be a commodity. The thought of losing her prompts Whiteside to call for back-up from old Hollywood to aid in his scheme to break up the happy couple.
Once the Stanleys opened their door to Sheridan Whiteside, he knocked the door down for Hollywood and then some. Discussing everyone from Gandhi to Walt Disney, Sherry seems to enjoy all the benefits of Hollywood's Golden Age. 1939 alone saw the Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, television's first broadcast and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. New York's World Fair emphasized the importance of new ideas, forms and products and brought technology center stage- immensely exciting the public. Einstein himself addressed the fair and pumped new ideas into the mainstream.
Overall, the time frame of the Man Who Came to Dinner represents the best and worst of times and in the worst of times, Kaufman and Hart make a point that it is best to laugh.
Written in 1939, the text is absolutely riddled with 30s Hollywood, political, and social references and should therefore be set in the time in which these things were relevant and thrived. It's approaching Christmas at the Stanley household in Mesaila, a small (but fictional) town in Ohio. Mr. Whiteside's unwelcomed presence in the Stanley living room is a direct result of an injury inflicted from ice on the front stoop of the tasteful home. Thus, a very well connected Whiteside is confined in Ohio, spoiling his Christmas plans.
The town of Mesalia is fairly unremarkable as far as the script is concerned. Bert Jefferson, the newspaper man/ love interest, provides the best look into town life outside of the home. Excited to track a story besides the Depression, Bert quickly rings the doorbell of the Stanley’s in hopes of publishing a story about Whiteside’s stay. Bert owns the Mesalia Journal, a paper inherited from his father. Mesalia, Ohio basically epitomizes Middle America: full of average people leading regular lives, a far cry from Whiteside’s domain. Historically, however, 1939 was anything but usual for the United States.
In 1939, not everyone was as fortunate as the Stanley's. Sandwiched between the Depression and the brink of World War II, this family's holidays are uncommonly bright. Ohio's industries especially suffered for years as a result of the times and saw their doors only open again for the war. However, in this household Mr. Stanley, the man of the house, owns a factory and is able to abundantly provide for this family... but not without complications. The Wagner Act, which supported labor unions for factory workers, supplies a conflict between Mr. Stanley and his daughter’s love. The Stanley's luxuries(complete with domestic help and family doctors) do not constitute the "norm" when compared to the majority in this unsure time.
Germany invaded Poland in September 0f 1939, catapulting Europe into World War II without any initial support from the U.S. The Depression's grasp barely loosened before the tangible prospect of war began. As the Depression had threatened to obliterate the American economy, President Roosevelt retaliated, establishing countless agencies and programs to revive the nation. He is the only President to have served more than two terms. In the midst of a brief recovery, Americans were eager to support the Neutrality Act (signed in November) and seemed content to turn their heads from the problems abroad. In these chaotic times, President Franklin D. Roosevelt pioneered the radio waves, bringing news and hope to every American home. The radio, in many cases, provided the only outlet for new entertainment and was central in the home. Whiteside, a famous radio personality (among other things) conducts broadcasts from his adopted living room, coupled with some behavior that lacks the Christmas spirit.
Christmas is abuzz through the Stanley home, thanks to several guests of Whiteside’s wishing him a very merry one. With all of the excitement, Sherry is a little late in noticing the sparks between local Bert and his long time assistant, Maggie. In a mere two weeks, Maggie mentions she will do “her darndest” to marry Bert. Already in her 30s, Maggie is a tad tardy for the husband race in this time period. People either couldn’t afford to marry or couldn’t scrape up the divorce fees. Women’s rights were largely swept under the rug in the 1930s; therefore Maggie, a successful, attractive (and single) assistant would be a commodity. The thought of losing her prompts Whiteside to call for back-up from old Hollywood to aid in his scheme to break up the happy couple.
Once the Stanleys opened their door to Sheridan Whiteside, he knocked the door down for Hollywood and then some. Discussing everyone from Gandhi to Walt Disney, Sherry seems to enjoy all the benefits of Hollywood's Golden Age. 1939 alone saw the Wizard of Oz, Gone with the Wind, television's first broadcast and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. New York's World Fair emphasized the importance of new ideas, forms and products and brought technology center stage- immensely exciting the public. Einstein himself addressed the fair and pumped new ideas into the mainstream.
Overall, the time frame of the Man Who Came to Dinner represents the best and worst of times and in the worst of times, Kaufman and Hart make a point that it is best to laugh.
Sight and Sound
1930s family tuning in..
..to Judy Garland's"Somewhere over the Rainbow" from the new movie Wizard of Oz, premiered August 12, 1939.
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s2/Time/1939/39_rainbow.mov (listen!)
..After a long day at the factory.
http://www.hodgsonhouses.com/images/Hodgson%20Factory%202.jpg
Right around Christmas...
Montgomery Ward's 1st edition of Rudolph 1939
..at home with some guests..
(Dated 1937. No other information, except in those days every one of those bulbs consumed 9 watts!)www.papatedsplace.com/Christmas1930s.html
..reflecting on a pretty tough year... kikoshouse.blogspot.com/2008_12_01_archive.html
..but with a little encouragement..
(F.D.R. conducting a "fireside chat")
www.library.cornell.edu/.../ref/amst124am.html
Remembered some good times..
(poster for New York WorldsFair)
..saw some great films...
(Scene from Gone with the Wind, premiered December 15)
And then the man came to dinner....
(1930's wheelchair, similar to Whiteside's)
Friday, July 24, 2009
Micro
1.How Much Is That?
With the play set in the midst of the Depression and World War II, the Stanley family seems very well off for the midwest in this time period. Mr. Whiteside announces his plans to sue the Stanleys for $150,000. This along with other monetary references in the play begs the question of how much those sums would be today:
$150,000 (amount Whiteside plans to sue for)= $2,301,784.48 in 2008.
$784 (phone bill Mr. Stanley rants about)=$12,030.66 in 2008.
$1500 (amount Whiteside makes per appearance)=$23,017.84 in 2008.
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
This information provides clues necessary for designing the proper set and costumes to reflect the affluence of certain characters.
2.Hollywood, darling...
Although the 1930s were generally a very strong decade for the American film industry, 1939 was an extraordinary year, even by Depression standards. This was a year in which two of the American Film Institute's ten most popular films of all time were released—Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both directed by Victor Fleming.http://www.enotes.com/1930-arts-american-decades/hollywoods-golden-year
Most of the experts recognize 1939 as the greatest of all years of Hollywood film making, before or since. It is truly phenomenal that such a number of excellent classics were all released in one year.http://hollywoodthirties.50webs.com/stage12.html
With all the Hollywood name dropping that occurs, researching the year in film and stage is vital to the actors in this piece. Awe and recognition of Hollywood should be present in the wordy dialogue and characters centered around the biz.
3.1939s Thanksgiving: a nation divided
At the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency, Thanksgiving was not a fixed holiday; it was up to the President to announce what date the holiday would fall on. Considering statistics major businesses presented him, he moved Thanksgiving up one week earlier in 1939 to provide more shopping time during the Depression. Changing the date of Thanksgiving seemed harmless enough, but in actuality proved quite controversial. Certain states refused to celebrate Thanksgiving with the president, calendars were wrong, schools schedules were upset and the average family had no idea when to celebrate their holiday. So much outrage prompted Congress to pass a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/thanksg.html
The holiday season in 1939 for the Stanley's would have been affected by this discrepancy. Since the action centers around Christmas and the weeks leading up to it, these facts would be of value to actors and bring new understanding to certain lines of text.
4.Ohio's Factory Life
Every state had it's exhibit in the New York World Fair in 1939. Better relationships between labor and employer was the main theme for the Ohio exhibit. The state's great industries of ceramics and pottery, aviation, rubber and steel constantly moved before each visitor on a revolving display. http://www.pmphoto.to/worlds_fair/wf_tour/court_of_states/ohio.htm
The Great Depression especially hurt Ohioans. In Ohio, by 1933, more than forty percent of factory workers and sixty-seven percent of construction workers were unemployed. Approximately fifty percent of industrial workers in Cleveland and eighty percent in Toledo were unemployed. www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=500
Mr. Stanley owns a factory in Mesalia, a fictional town, Ohio. His business success would have been threatened by the Wagner Act and labor unions constantly. Much of the town would have been involved in factory work and it's scandals, making the Stanleys very visible in the public.
5.Christmas Cheer
Traditional American Christmas dinner consists of roast turkey with vegetables and sauces, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce and rich fruity Christmas pudding. Since it snows in many states on Christmas, dinner is usually set indoors. Holiday home décor in America generally include holly and mistletoe along with Christmas trees decorated with tinsel, baubles, popcorn strings, candy canes and electric lights. http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/usa.html
34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. http://www.allthingschristmas.com/traditions.html
Since our setting is Christmastime, appropriate decor should adorn the tree and household and traditions should be kept in mind that were consistent with the times, paying extra attention to things that might be too modern, like Rudolph.
6.Quacks and Xrays
X-rays were first discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), and the potential of being able to look inside the body without resorting to surgery was quickly realized by physicians. Despite this, take up of the technology was initially slow, and it was not until the 1930s that most hospitals had specialist X-ray departments and equipment.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=6692
In the 1930s the biggest health concern of America was how to pay for medical needs.Before the Depression, physicians charged a fee-for-service on a sliding scale and collected their bills as best they could. While doctors as a group fared better than many other professions during the Depression, in many cases they also saw their incomes halved. http://www.bookrags.com/history/america-1930s-medicine-and-health/
Medical attention in the 30s was a luxury and Mr. Whiteside's treatment should look and feel as such.
7. John and Sarah
The low social statud of domestic service, absence of vocational or educational requirements, and discrimination elsewhere seem adequate to explain that nearly half of all domestic servants in 1940 were negro. In Ohio in 1940, 57.1 families per 1,000 hired domestic workers, there is also some evidence that a major war accelerates the decrease of such servants. They mostly lived with the family, earning a mean weekly wage of $3.16 which would be equivilant to $48.49 in 2008. (per westegg) http://www.nber.org/bookcv/DOMESTIC%20SERVANTS%20IN%20THE%20UNITED%20STATES%201900-1940-STIGLER_GEORGE-1946.CV.pdf
John and Sarah further establish the Stanley's social status. The production should take into account the servant/family relationship. What kind of education have they had? Are the Stanleys generous? Will they leave with Whiteside?
8. Gettin' Hitched
In the early 20th century when courtship moved from public acts conducted in private spaces (for instance, the family porch or parlor) to private or individual acts conducted in public spaces, such as movie theaters and dance halls, removed by distance and by anonymity from the sheltering and controlling contexts of the home and local community. http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001456.cfm
Millions of men and women had been forced to postpone marrying during the hard times of the 1930s and separation brought about by the war. Not surprising, then, that they married in record numbers in the late 1940s...Half of our men are married before they are 24 years old, and half of our women before they are 22. Over three-fourths of our men and women are married by the time they are 30 years old. (yr. 1948)http://www.pobronson.com/factbook/pages/25.html#1705
Examining courtship trends from the thirties would be integral to staging Maggie and Bert's scenes together. Contact that seems innocent today would have been rather risque. The couple are also quite older than the average person getting married, indicating more education, experience and prosperity. Also, June and Sandy's attempt to elope appears typical in light of this information.
9. The Missus
After the initial surge of support for women's rights with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, feminist fervor diminished throughout the latter '20s and all but disappeared during the Depression. And with that reduced support for women's rights came a renewed promotion of the traditional belief that women belonged in the home -- not in the workplace. http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1988-9/moran.htm
Mrs. Stanley's dialogue stands out amongst others as being characteristically submissive to Mr. Stanley. Historically, women's opinions in the thirties were of little importance, thus in this production, the heirarchy of the family should reflect those values.
10. Radio
The 1930s were truly the golden age of radio. Radio had been a nationwide phenomenon during the 1920s, broadcasting jazz; it was a fixture of the 1940s, connecting the home front to the war; but during the Depression era of the 1930s radio was something more than an entertainment or communications medium. It was a source of solace, of relief from everyday troubles; a means of escaping hardship, if only for a few minutes. It also embodied the political tensions of the decade. During the 1930s, radio was at the center of American culture.
http://www.enotes.com/1930-media-american-decades/golden-age-radio
Of utmost importance in presenting the Man Who Came to Dinner is the man himself, Mr. Whiteside. Through his antics, the audience must also be able to recognize his charm that booms through America's favorite form of entertainment. The radio on set should also be fairly prominent.
With the play set in the midst of the Depression and World War II, the Stanley family seems very well off for the midwest in this time period. Mr. Whiteside announces his plans to sue the Stanleys for $150,000. This along with other monetary references in the play begs the question of how much those sums would be today:
$150,000 (amount Whiteside plans to sue for)= $2,301,784.48 in 2008.
$784 (phone bill Mr. Stanley rants about)=$12,030.66 in 2008.
$1500 (amount Whiteside makes per appearance)=$23,017.84 in 2008.
http://www.westegg.com/inflation/
This information provides clues necessary for designing the proper set and costumes to reflect the affluence of certain characters.
2.Hollywood, darling...
Although the 1930s were generally a very strong decade for the American film industry, 1939 was an extraordinary year, even by Depression standards. This was a year in which two of the American Film Institute's ten most popular films of all time were released—Gone With the Wind and The Wizard of Oz, both directed by Victor Fleming.http://www.enotes.com/1930-arts-american-decades/hollywoods-golden-year
Most of the experts recognize 1939 as the greatest of all years of Hollywood film making, before or since. It is truly phenomenal that such a number of excellent classics were all released in one year.http://hollywoodthirties.50webs.com/stage12.html
With all the Hollywood name dropping that occurs, researching the year in film and stage is vital to the actors in this piece. Awe and recognition of Hollywood should be present in the wordy dialogue and characters centered around the biz.
3.1939s Thanksgiving: a nation divided
At the beginning of Franklin Roosevelt's presidency, Thanksgiving was not a fixed holiday; it was up to the President to announce what date the holiday would fall on. Considering statistics major businesses presented him, he moved Thanksgiving up one week earlier in 1939 to provide more shopping time during the Depression. Changing the date of Thanksgiving seemed harmless enough, but in actuality proved quite controversial. Certain states refused to celebrate Thanksgiving with the president, calendars were wrong, schools schedules were upset and the average family had no idea when to celebrate their holiday. So much outrage prompted Congress to pass a law on December 26, 1941, ensuring that all Americans would celebrate a unified Thanksgiving on the fourth Thursday of November every year. http://www.fdrlibrary.marist.edu/thanksg.html
The holiday season in 1939 for the Stanley's would have been affected by this discrepancy. Since the action centers around Christmas and the weeks leading up to it, these facts would be of value to actors and bring new understanding to certain lines of text.
4.Ohio's Factory Life
Every state had it's exhibit in the New York World Fair in 1939. Better relationships between labor and employer was the main theme for the Ohio exhibit. The state's great industries of ceramics and pottery, aviation, rubber and steel constantly moved before each visitor on a revolving display. http://www.pmphoto.to/worlds_fair/wf_tour/court_of_states/ohio.htm
The Great Depression especially hurt Ohioans. In Ohio, by 1933, more than forty percent of factory workers and sixty-seven percent of construction workers were unemployed. Approximately fifty percent of industrial workers in Cleveland and eighty percent in Toledo were unemployed. www.ohiohistorycentral.org/entry.php?rec=500
Mr. Stanley owns a factory in Mesalia, a fictional town, Ohio. His business success would have been threatened by the Wagner Act and labor unions constantly. Much of the town would have been involved in factory work and it's scandals, making the Stanleys very visible in the public.
5.Christmas Cheer
Traditional American Christmas dinner consists of roast turkey with vegetables and sauces, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce and rich fruity Christmas pudding. Since it snows in many states on Christmas, dinner is usually set indoors. Holiday home décor in America generally include holly and mistletoe along with Christmas trees decorated with tinsel, baubles, popcorn strings, candy canes and electric lights. http://www.worldofchristmas.net/christmas-world/usa.html
34-year old copywriter Robert L. May wrote the story of Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer in 1939, and 2.4 million copies were handed out that year. http://www.allthingschristmas.com/traditions.html
Since our setting is Christmastime, appropriate decor should adorn the tree and household and traditions should be kept in mind that were consistent with the times, paying extra attention to things that might be too modern, like Rudolph.
6.Quacks and Xrays
X-rays were first discovered in 1895 by Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen (1845-1923), and the potential of being able to look inside the body without resorting to surgery was quickly realized by physicians. Despite this, take up of the technology was initially slow, and it was not until the 1930s that most hospitals had specialist X-ray departments and equipment.http://www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/broughttolife/objects/display.aspx?id=6692
In the 1930s the biggest health concern of America was how to pay for medical needs.Before the Depression, physicians charged a fee-for-service on a sliding scale and collected their bills as best they could. While doctors as a group fared better than many other professions during the Depression, in many cases they also saw their incomes halved. http://www.bookrags.com/history/america-1930s-medicine-and-health/
Medical attention in the 30s was a luxury and Mr. Whiteside's treatment should look and feel as such.
7. John and Sarah
The low social statud of domestic service, absence of vocational or educational requirements, and discrimination elsewhere seem adequate to explain that nearly half of all domestic servants in 1940 were negro. In Ohio in 1940, 57.1 families per 1,000 hired domestic workers, there is also some evidence that a major war accelerates the decrease of such servants. They mostly lived with the family, earning a mean weekly wage of $3.16 which would be equivilant to $48.49 in 2008. (per westegg) http://www.nber.org/bookcv/DOMESTIC%20SERVANTS%20IN%20THE%20UNITED%20STATES%201900-1940-STIGLER_GEORGE-1946.CV.pdf
John and Sarah further establish the Stanley's social status. The production should take into account the servant/family relationship. What kind of education have they had? Are the Stanleys generous? Will they leave with Whiteside?
8. Gettin' Hitched
In the early 20th century when courtship moved from public acts conducted in private spaces (for instance, the family porch or parlor) to private or individual acts conducted in public spaces, such as movie theaters and dance halls, removed by distance and by anonymity from the sheltering and controlling contexts of the home and local community. http://www.boundless.org/2005/articles/a0001456.cfm
Millions of men and women had been forced to postpone marrying during the hard times of the 1930s and separation brought about by the war. Not surprising, then, that they married in record numbers in the late 1940s...Half of our men are married before they are 24 years old, and half of our women before they are 22. Over three-fourths of our men and women are married by the time they are 30 years old. (yr. 1948)http://www.pobronson.com/factbook/pages/25.html#1705
Examining courtship trends from the thirties would be integral to staging Maggie and Bert's scenes together. Contact that seems innocent today would have been rather risque. The couple are also quite older than the average person getting married, indicating more education, experience and prosperity. Also, June and Sandy's attempt to elope appears typical in light of this information.
9. The Missus
After the initial surge of support for women's rights with the passage of the 19th Amendment in 1920, feminist fervor diminished throughout the latter '20s and all but disappeared during the Depression. And with that reduced support for women's rights came a renewed promotion of the traditional belief that women belonged in the home -- not in the workplace. http://www.loyno.edu/~history/journal/1988-9/moran.htm
Mrs. Stanley's dialogue stands out amongst others as being characteristically submissive to Mr. Stanley. Historically, women's opinions in the thirties were of little importance, thus in this production, the heirarchy of the family should reflect those values.
10. Radio
The 1930s were truly the golden age of radio. Radio had been a nationwide phenomenon during the 1920s, broadcasting jazz; it was a fixture of the 1940s, connecting the home front to the war; but during the Depression era of the 1930s radio was something more than an entertainment or communications medium. It was a source of solace, of relief from everyday troubles; a means of escaping hardship, if only for a few minutes. It also embodied the political tensions of the decade. During the 1930s, radio was at the center of American culture.
http://www.enotes.com/1930-media-american-decades/golden-age-radio
Of utmost importance in presenting the Man Who Came to Dinner is the man himself, Mr. Whiteside. Through his antics, the audience must also be able to recognize his charm that booms through America's favorite form of entertainment. The radio on set should also be fairly prominent.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Macro
1. America: brink of war
The start of the war is generally held to be September 1, 1939, with the German invasion of Poland and subsequent declarations of war on Germany by most of the countries in the British Empire and Commonwealth, and by France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
In November 1939, the American Neutrality Act was amended to allow 'Cash and carry' purchases by the Allies. A large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention into the conflict well into 1941. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
This reflects the everyday American's reluctance to enter the war, giving insight to the then- current attitudes.
2.President Franklin D. Roosevelt
Often referred to by his initials FDR, was the 32nd President of the United States. He was a central figure of the 20th century during a time of worldwide economic crisis and world war. Elected to four terms in office, he served from 1933 to 1945 and is the only U.S. president to have served more than two terms.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin_D._Roosevelt
Shortly after President Roosevelt was inaugurated in 1933, drought and erosion combined to cause the Dust Bowl, shifting hundreds of thousands of displaced persons off their farms in the Midwest. New Deal programs sought to stimulate demand and provide work and relief for the impoverished through increased government spending and the institution of financial reforms.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Depression#Turning_point_and_recovery
F.D.R.'s impact on the American psyche is undeniable. With fireside chats and t.v. appearences, he was the most accessible, and arguably, most influential U.S. President to date.
3. Depression Aftermath
The Great Depression originated in the United States; historians most often use a starting date of when the stock market crashed of October 29, 1929, known as Black Tuesday. Continuing drought conditions in the North Eastern US causing mass crop failure and hardship in 1939.
http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html
Roosevelt introduced a number of major changes in the structure of the American economy, using increased government regulation and massive public-works projects to promote a recovery. But despite this active intervention, mass unemployment and economic stagnation continued, though on a somewhat reduced scale, with about 15 percent of the work force still unemployed in 1939 at the outbreak of World War II.
After that, unemployment dropped rapidly as American factories were flooded with orders from overseas for armaments and munitions. The depression ended completely soon after the United States' entry into World War II in 1941. http://www.english.illinois.edu/maps/depression/about.htm
This provides information on the bleak economic climate of the time which greatly affected typical family life and leisure across the nation.
4.New York World's Fair Opens
In April of 1939 the New York World's Fair, "Building The World of Tomorrow," opened on what was once a marshy wasteland in Flushing Meadows, just east of the great metropolis. From its inception to its closing ceremonies, the Fair promoted one of the last great metanarratives of the Machine Age: the unqualified belief in science and technology as a means to economic prosperity and personal freedom. Wedged between the greatest economic disaster in America and the growing international tension that would result in World War II, The World of Tomorrow was a much-needed antidote to the depression and confusion of the times. It provided the one saving grace which all of America needed - it provided hope. http://xroads.virginia.edu/~1930s/display/39wf/frame.htm
President Franklin D. Roosevelt gave the opening day address, and as a reflection of the wide range of technological innovation on parade at the fair, his speech was not only broadcast over the various radio networks but also was televised. In addition to Roosevelt's speech, Albert Einstein gave a speech which discussed cosmic rays.
The World Fair excited a petrified nation into hoping for a better tomorrow, it would have been discussed in schools and offices across the board in 1939.
5.Adolf Hitler (1939)
Jan 20th - Hitler proclaims to German parliament to exterminate all European Jews. By late August, the path to conquest was cleared for Hitler by the Non-Aggression Pact with Stalin, insuring that Germany would not have to fight a war on two fronts. It was now, Hitler announced, his "irrevocable decision" to go to war. http://www.historyorb.com/events/date/1939http://www.historyplace.com/worldwar2/triumph/tr-last.htm
This was the first year in which the American public really started to grasp the severity of Hitler's actions which, ultimately, leads them to war.
6.Bombs Away
Albert Einstein writes President Franklin Roosevelt in 1939 about developing the Atomic Bomb using Uranium. This led to the creation of the Manhattan Project. http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html
The project's roots lay in scientists' fears since the 1930s that Nazi Germany was also investigating nuclear weapons of its own.It resulted in the creation of multiple production and research sites that operated in secret.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manhattan_project
The Manhattan Project helps depict the fearsome state of the U.S. government leading up to the war.
7.Enter television
Regular television broadcasts began in the United States.http://www.thepeoplehistory.com/1939.html
Television in the United States made its formal debut at the World's Fair in New York City on Sunday April 30, 1939 with the first Presidential address on Television by Franklin D. Roosevelt with an estimated 200,000 TVs operating in the U.S. that year.
They received channels 1 to 5. Although shoppers were curious, sales were disappointing.
http://www.mztv.com/newframe.asp?content=http://www.mztv.com/worldhome.html
Televisions served as a status symbol in 1939, their early usage devoted primarily to news coverage. Therefore, outdoor recreation and other activities would have occupied the typical family's time.
8.Days of War
The Spanish Civil war ended in April 1939 with the victory of the rebel forces, the overthrow of the Republican government, and the founding of a dictatorship led by General Francisco Franco. The war increased international tensions in Europe in the lead-up to World War II, and was largely seen as a proxy war between the Communist Soviet Union, the Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spanish_Civil_War
The Second Sino-Japanese War (July 7, 1937 — September 9, 1945) was a military conflict fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the war merged into the greater conflict of World War II as a major front in the Pacific Theatre. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sino-Japanese_War_(1937-1945)
France, Australia and the United Kingdom declare war on Germany (Sept. 3) after it's invasion of Poland in 1939 beginning World War II. Over seventy million people, the majority of whom were civilians, were killed, making it the deadliest conflict in human history.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_War_II
Understanding the foundations for World War II could help further explain America's early neutral stance.
9.Technological Advances
Naturwissenschaften publishes evidence that nuclear fission has been achieved by Otto Hahn.
A Heinkel 178, the first turbojet-powered aircraft, flies for the first time with Captain Erich Warsitz in command.
CBS Television begins transmission.
Kirlian photography is invented by Semyon Kirlian.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1939
Technology aids in gaining perspective to a particular culture in a set time. Understanding what they did or did not often leads to a greater comprehension of that society as a whole.
10. Civil Rights
NAACP forms its first state organization, headed by Reverend A.W. Wright as president. Other leaders include Levi S. Byrd of Cheraw and Reverend James M. Hinton of Columbia.
http://www.knowitall.org/roadtrip/cr-html/facts/timelines/cr/1939.cfm
Eleanor Roosevelt defies segregation laws when she sits between whites and blacks at the Southern Conference for Human Welfare in Birmingham, Alabama; She arranges for Marian Anderson to sing at the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/eleanor/timeline/index_3.html
Civil Rights events and attitudes toward them outlines the racial tensions in America at that time. The knowledge of where segregation was most prominent, etc. would paint a better picture of setting.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Casting Characters
Kaufman and Hart make gender distinctions regarding all named characters in the Man Who Came to Dinner. Some of these specifics (seem to me) play integral roles in the intentions and purposes of certain characters and therefore, drive the action forward. While in other cases, gender could be altered with very few line modifications. For instance, Richard Stanley, the son, could almost effortlessly become a daughter, given his character lacks a love interest or gender driven plot line that would otherwise complicate a swap. Several other minor characters could recieve the same treatment without losing dialogue and mantaining the playwright's intent. Another consideration might be to cast women as men, since the cast is predominately male, to both level the playing field and even enhance comedic endeavors. However, when examining the role of Lorraine Sheldon, the epitome of woman, who acts as a contrast to Maggie and provides the main conflict of the play, the thought of changing her gender seems unnecessary. But the thought of perhaps casting a man in convincing drag would be a fun idea to pursue. Essentially, I don't think gender plays a vital role in this piece and I am all for traditions being abandoned as long as the relationships and characters are distinct, the comedy will surely follow.
The only references to race or ethnicity within the script call for one of three convicts to be African- American and for a scientist to speak with a teutonic accent. In the only production I can reference seeing, the teutonic accent was present whereas the only African- American actors were cast as the Stanley family servants. This choice of the production could be viewed in a less than favorable light. More than likely unintentional, the decision to stick two African- American actors with the stereotyped "simple servant" roles could and would offend audiences. The Stanley family presents the casting director with the choice of going traditional or not. Traditionally, a group cast as a family would be of the same ethnicity and share similar physical traits. This way, identifying characters and relationships are easier established in the minds of the audience and with so many characters in this piece to keep straight, casting similar races for the Stanley family might be advisable. However, if casting non-traditionally, unifying the family with costumes and color would work. Luckily, since there are so many parts other than the Stanley family available, a diverse cast is very possible.
Physical capability matters little in case of Sheridan Whiteside, the main principle, who is in a wheelchair for almost the entire production. However, in the case of many characters the laughs come down to slap- stick and a lot of physical exertion. Much of the stage entrances filter up and down a flight of stairs with all movement required to be very precise and swift to ensure comedic timing and effect.
The only references to race or ethnicity within the script call for one of three convicts to be African- American and for a scientist to speak with a teutonic accent. In the only production I can reference seeing, the teutonic accent was present whereas the only African- American actors were cast as the Stanley family servants. This choice of the production could be viewed in a less than favorable light. More than likely unintentional, the decision to stick two African- American actors with the stereotyped "simple servant" roles could and would offend audiences. The Stanley family presents the casting director with the choice of going traditional or not. Traditionally, a group cast as a family would be of the same ethnicity and share similar physical traits. This way, identifying characters and relationships are easier established in the minds of the audience and with so many characters in this piece to keep straight, casting similar races for the Stanley family might be advisable. However, if casting non-traditionally, unifying the family with costumes and color would work. Luckily, since there are so many parts other than the Stanley family available, a diverse cast is very possible.
Physical capability matters little in case of Sheridan Whiteside, the main principle, who is in a wheelchair for almost the entire production. However, in the case of many characters the laughs come down to slap- stick and a lot of physical exertion. Much of the stage entrances filter up and down a flight of stairs with all movement required to be very precise and swift to ensure comedic timing and effect.
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