Spotlight on Lee Falk - The Theatre Years: Difference between revisions
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====The 1949 season==== | ====The 1949 season==== | ||
{| {{table}} | {| {{table}} | ||
! Week of!! Title!! by!! Starring!! Cast | ! Week of!! Title!! by!! Starring!! Cast!! Credits | ||
|- | |- | ||
| July 4 || Pretty Penny || Harold Rome and Jerome Chodorov || | | July 4 || "Pretty Penny" || Harold Rome and Jerome Chodorov || - || David Burns, George Keane, Michael Kidd, Lenore Lonergan, Marilyn Day, Carl Reiner, Barbara Martin, Bud Sweeney, Walter Scheff, Bill Skipper, Barbara McCutcheon, ''(Ken Spaulding, Peter Gennaro, Jay Lloyd, Onna White, Diane Sinclair, Wayne Lamb, Evelyn Taylor, Robert Morrow, George Spelvin, John Henson, Florence Henson and Barbara Weaver)'' || staged by George S. Kaufman, dances and musical numbers staged by Michael Kidd, costumes by Kenn Barr, settings by John Wulp | ||
|- | |- | ||
| July 11 || Yes, My Darling Daughter || Mark Reed || Ann Harding || Leslie Nielsen | | July 11 || "Yes, My Darling Daughter" || Mark Reed || Ann Harding || '''Constance Moorehead''', Allan Tower, Lucille Benson, Elizabeth Ayers, Allen Nourse and Leslie Nielsen || directed by '''Lee Falk''' | ||
|- | |- | ||
| July 18 || Let Us Be Gay || Rachael Crothers || Kay Francis || | | July 18 || "Let Us Be Gay" || Rachael Crothers || Kay Francis || Joel Ashley, Ruth Hermansen, David White, '''Constance Moorehead''', Elizabeth Ayers, Allan Tower, Nina Wentworth, Allen Nourse and Leslie Nielsen || staged by Jerome Shaw, settings by John Wulp | ||
|- | |- | ||
| July 25 || The Philadelphia Story || Philip Barry || Sarah Churchill || Jeffrey Lyn, | | July 25 || "The Philadelphia Story" || Philip Barry || Sarah Churchill || Jane Sutherland, Mabel Acker, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crouch, Allan Tower, Joanne Palmer, Jeffrey Lyn, David White, Robert Carroll, Allen Nourse, Norma Leary and Howard Price|| staged by John Craven, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon | ||
|- | |- | ||
| August 1 || The Barretts of Wimpole Street || Rudolf Besier || Susan Peters || | | August 1 || "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" || Rudolf Besier || Susan Peters || Allen Nourse, Susan Peters, Augusta French, '''Constance Moorehead''', Elizabeth Ayers, Christopher Marvin, John Perkins, Jack Woods, Carl Elliott, Howard Price, Allan Tower, Diana Kemble, David White, Robert McQueeney, John Taylor and Leslie Nielsen || staged by Howard Bailey, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon | ||
|- | |- | ||
| August 8 || Amphitryon 38 || Jean Giraudoux|| Elisabeth Bergner || Leslie Nielsen, | | August 8 || "Amphitryon 38" || Jean Giraudoux|| Elisabeth Bergner || Tom Rutherfurd, Harry Townes, Allen Nourse, Allan Tower, Leslie Nielsen, Philip Huston, Amelie Barleon, Jane Southerland and Ethel Britton || directed by Jose Ruben, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon | ||
|- | |- | ||
| August 14 || Happy Birthday || Anita Loos || Joan Blondell || Leslie Nielsen, ... | | August 14 || "Happy Birthday" || Anita Loos || Joan Blondell || Lucille Benson, Evelyn Davis, Allen Nourse, Christopher Marvin, Diana Kemble, John Perkins, Norma Leary, Elizabeth Ayers, Joan Blondell, '''Constance Moorehead''', Leslie Nielsen, David F. Perkins, Jeff Morrow, Paul Clarke, Belle Flower, Ruth Hermansen, ... || staged by Elmer Brown, settings by John Wulp | ||
|- | |- | ||
| August 21 || Present Laughter || Noël Coward || Edward Everett Horton || Allan Tower, | | August 21 || "Present Laughter" || Noël Coward || Edward Everett Horton || Diana Kemble, Augusta French, Paul Clarke, Jane Seymour, Katherine Meskill, Dudley Sadler, Allan Tower, Allen Nourse, Lisa Ayers and Ruth Hermansen || staged by Arthur Marlowe, settings by Martin Bloom | ||
|- | |- | ||
| August 28 || Accent on Youth || Samson Raphaelson || Paul Lukas | | August 28 || "Accent on Youth" || Samson Raphaelson || Paul Lukas || Ruth Hermansen, Howard Wendell, Leslie Nielsen, '''Constance Moorehead''', Allan Tower, Elizabeth Ayers, John Perkins and Paul Clarke || staged by Lillian Uvarday | ||
|- | |- | ||
| September 5 || The Philadelphia Story || Philip Barry || Sarah Churchill || Jeffrey Lyn, | | September 5 || "The Philadelphia Story" || Philip Barry || Sarah Churchill || Jane Sutherland, Mabel Acker, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crouch, Allan Tower, Joanne Palmer, William Kemp <small>(July 25: Jeffrey Lyn)</small>, David White, Jeffrey Lynn <small>(July 25: Robert Carroll)</small>, Philip Tonge <small>(July 25: Allen Nourse)</small>, Norma Leary and Howard Price || staged by John Craven, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon | ||
|- | |- | ||
|} | |} | ||
=====Note===== | |||
<references group="footnotes" /> | |||
=====Playbills===== | =====Playbills===== | ||
Revision as of 09:51, 1 July 2018
Lee Falk had a passion for the theatre, and he wrote several plays including two musicals. During his lifetime he ran five theaters, produced about 300 plays and directed about 100 of them.
These summer theatres were resident equity company, supplemented by guest stars from theatre and film (and later television). The season started late in May and each play normally ran for one week. The actors received a "normal" payment to perform but the guest stars often had in their contracts a percentage of profit of the play. A common contract could be 10% of the gross with $750 per week guarantee. Since most of the plays made very little profit most of the guest stars worked for a fraction of what they would normally earn.
The Cambridge Summer Theatre (1940–1947)
at Brattle Hall (about 495 seats)
According to Phil Davis Louise Falk, acted in one of the summer stock companies at Connecticut in 1939. I assume that Lee Falk met John Huntington during the season. Anyhow, after reading Lee's play "Festival at Salzburg", John Huntington urged Lee Falk to join in producing summer stock at Brattle Hall (location: 40 Brattle Street, Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts) in the 1940 season.
The 1940 season
Miriam Battista, John Huntington and Lee Falk as managing trio, for an 8-week season at Brattle Hall. Among the stars reported engaged in June were Walter Slezak, Sheila Barrett and James Rennie, and the plays to be presented will include "The Good Fairy", "Biography", "Corespondent Unknown", "The Spider" and perhaps a new play by Mr. Falk.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Staged by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8 | "Tonight or Never" | Lily Hatvany | Helen Ford | Ralph Morehouse,Walter Peterson, Ira Ari, Joseph F. Foley, Stephen Courtleigh, Emily Ross, Henry Lowe, Natalie Bixby and Claire Locke | |
| July 15 | "The Good Fairy" | Ferenc Molnár | Walter Slezak and Miriam Battista | Joseph F. Foley, Ralph Morehouse, Stephen Courtleigh and Emily Ross | Neil McFee Skinner |
| July 22 | "The Spider" | Lowell Brentano and Fulton Oursler | James Rennie | Robert Pelham, Henry Sylvester, Louise Kanasireff, Joseph McInerney, Emily Ross, Thomas Calhoun, Stephen Courtlelgh and Joseph F. Foley | Neil McFee Skinner |
| July 29 | "The Front Page" | Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur | James Rennie | Wally Peterson, Richard Foster, Bruce Adams, John Huntington, William Weyse, John Shockrow, Edward Mayne, Dan Rudsten, Henry Sylvester, Stephen Courtleight, Miriam Battista, Joseph F Foley, Louise Kanasireff, Emily Ross, Ralph Morehouse, Tom Senna Jr, Ernest Ameral and James Rennie | Neil McFee Skinner |
| August 5 | "Petticoat Fever" | Mark Reed | Guy Robertson | Louise Kanasireff, Miriam Battista, Stephen Courtleight, Ralph Morehouse, Tom Senna Jr, Neil McFee Skinner | |
| August 12 | "Blind Alley" | James Warwick | Stephen Courtleight & Bruce Adams | Miriam Battista, Louise Kanasireff | Neil McFee Skinner |
| August 19 | "The Barker" | Kenyon Nicholson | Ann Corio | Bruce Adams, Henry Sylvester, Wally Petersen, Barbara Herlihy, Vivian Simonds, Winnifred Dane, Ernest Ameral, John Gerstad, William Weyse, Maria Coxe, Tom Senna, Stephen Courtleight, Miriam Battista, John Shockrow, Ralph Morehouse and Louise Kanasireff | Neil McFee Skinner |
| August 26 | "Your Loving Son" (1) | Abby Merchant | Ezra Stone & Jessie Royce Landis | Kate Warriner, Maria Coxe, Stephen Courtleigh, Charita Bauer, Rex Williams, Dorothy Raymond, Judson Laire and Ralph Morehouse | Ezra Stone |
| September 2 | "White Cargo" (2) | Leon Gordon | Ann Corio | Neil McFee Skinner, Ernest Ameral, Stephen Courtleight, Ralph Morehouse, Bruce Adams, Frank Ferrara, Tom Senna Jr, Richard Foster, John Gerstad | Neil McFee Skinner |
- 1. Presented by Cambridge Summer Theatre and Bernard Cliff Hayman
- 2. Addiss & Rorke.
Playbills
White Cargo
The 1941 season
Co-sponsored by John Huntington and Lee Falk, and with Louise (acting name: Louise Kanasireff) as an actress in the resident company. The production staff included Wylie Adams as stage director, Frederic Lynwood as stage manager and Nina Wentworth as production manager.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | "The Lady Has a Heart" | Ladislaus Bus-Fekete | Elissa Landi | Marjorie Peggs, John Grogan, Ruth Hermansen, Paul Wilson, Robert E. Perry, William Mendrek and Robert Q Davis |
| July 14 | "A Slight Case of Murder" | Damon Runyon & Howard Lindsay | Lionel Stander | Ruth Hermansen, Robert E. Perry, Daniel Ocko, Louise Kanasireff, William Mendrek, Judson Langill, Coby Ruskin, Wilson Lehr |
| July 21 | "The Philadelphia Story" | Philip Barry | Diana Barrymore | Robert E Perry, Ruth Hermansen, Helen Gilette, Watson White, Willian Mendrek, Louise Kanasireff, Wilson Lehr, Judson Langill, Wylie Adams |
| July 28 | "Smart Women" | Myron C. Fagin | Anna Sten | Philip Huston, Jaqueline Susan, John Lorenz, Georgine Clevland |
| August 4 | "The Command to Love" | Rudolph Lothar and Fritz Gottwald | Ramon Navarro (matinee Wedensday) |
Robert E. Perry, William Mendrek, Debbie Dare, Louise Kanasireff |
| August 11 | "Rain" | John Colton & Clemence Randolph | Leonore Ulric | William Mendrek, Robert Wilcox, Daniel Ocko, Robert E. Perry |
| August 18 | "Pursuit of Happiness" | Alan Child and Isabelle Loudon | Francis Lederer | Robert E. Perry, William Mendrek, Ruth Hermansen, Helen Gillette |
| August 25 | "Sorrow for Angles" | George Batson | Ruth Chatterton & Barry Thomson | Helen Gillette, Robert Wilcox, William Mendrek, Ruth Hermansen, Robert E. Perry, Nina Wentworth, WIlson Lehr, Marjorie Peggs |
| September 1 | "Mr. and Mrs. North" | Owen Davis (from Frances and Richard Lockridge's stories) | Nancy Carroll | Robert E. Perry, William Mendred, Wilson Lehr, Robert Wilcox, Louise Kanasireff, Marjorie Peggs, Daniel Ocko, Helen Gillette |
| September 8 | "The Man Who Came to Dinner" | Moss Hart and George S.Kaufman | Adrienne Ames & Edward Massey | Ruth Hermansen, Marjorie Peggs, Robert E. Perry, William Mendrek, Helen Gillette, Daniel Ocko, Frederic Lynwood, Winifred Wellington |
| September 15 | "No time for Comedy" | S. N. Behrman | Francis Lederer | Crace Coppin, Jean Goodale, Robert E. Perry, Robert Wilcox |
| September 22 | "The Male Animal" | James Thurber & Elliott Nugent | Conrad Nagel | Betty Kelley, Louise Kanasireff, Edmond Ryan, Paul Wayne, Robert Wilcox, Irving Locke, |
Playbills
The Lady Has a Heart
A Slight Case of Murder
The Command to Love
The 1942 season
The 1942 season was announced to last 18 weeks and as co-sponsored by John Huntington and Lee Falk. Due to Lee Falk's WWII obligations this was changed to the co-sponsorship of Louise Falk and John Huntington. The same policy as last year with well-known guest stars from Broadway, Hollywood and the radio, supported by a resident company of professional players. The attractions changed weekly, with Wedensday and Saturday as matinee days. Robert E. Perry both acted and directed this season. Early May the season was announced: Within the first weeks will appear such stars as Conrad Nagle, Fay Wray, Ann Corio, Glenda Farrell and Jinx Falkenburg. Later in the summer there will appear Madeleine Carroll, John Boles, Edna Mae Oliver, Mischa Auer, John Carradine, Ruth Chatterton, Billie Burke and Edward Everett Horton.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 11 | "George Washington Slept Here" | Moss Hart & George S. Kaufman | Cora Witherspoon | Jack Sheehan, Mary Barthelmess, Allan Tower, Louise Kanasireff, Jolyon Baker, Robert Perry |
| May 18 | "Personal Island" (1) | Pauline Williams | Fay Wray | William Mendrek, Chester Gillis, Charles Bell, Mary Barthelemess, Allan Tower, Robert E Perry, Fay Wray, Nancy Duncan |
| May 25 | "Jason" | Samuel Raphaelson | Conrad Nagel | William Mendrek, Louise Kanasireff, John Taylor, Dennis Gurney, Nancy Duncan |
| June 1 | "It's a Wise Child" | Laurence E. Johnson | Ann Corio | Charles Bell, Robert E Perry, Louise Kanasireff, Mary Barthelemess, William Mendrek, Allan Tower, Edmon Ryan |
| June 8 | "Private Lives" | Noel Coward | Ruth Chatterton & Ralph Forbes | Louise Kanasireff, Robert E. Perry and Roderich Winchell |
| June 15 | "This Thing Called Love" | Edwin Burke | Michael Whalen | Robert E. Perry, Nancy Duncan, Allan Tower, Gene Knudsen, Mary Barthelmess, Charles Bell, Louise Kanasireff, Iren Ryan and William Mendrek |
| June 22 | "Theatre" | Somerset Maugham & Guy Bolton | Elissa Landi | Robert E. Perry, Louise Kanasireff, Mary Barthelmess, Allan Tower, Nancy Duncan, Charles Bell |
| June 29 | "Skylark" | Samson Raphaelson | Madge Evans | Robert E. Perry, Wm. Mendrek, Allen Tower, Chas. Bell, Louise Kanasireff, Nancy Duncan, Mary Barthelmess |
| July 6 | "Reflected Glory" | Georg Kelly | Gloria Swanson | Douglas Gregory, Eulabelle Moore, Myrtle Tannchill, Brent Sargent, Wendell Corey, Allan Tower and Harold J. Kennedy |
| July 13 | "The Dark Tower" | Alexander Woolcott & George S. Kaufman | Gloria Stuart | Philip Huston, Robert E. Perry, Mary Barthelmess, William Mendrek, Winifred Wellington, Nancy Duncan, Allan Tower, Charles Bell |
| July 20 | "Little Women" | Louisa May Alcott | Sylvia Sidney | Robert E. Perry, Mary Barthelmess, Louise Kanasireff, William Mendrek, Nancy Duncan, Allan Tower, Charles Bell, Edith Ward, William Jeffreys (from the American Theatre) |
| July 27 | "Suspect" | Reginald Denham & Edward Percy | Flora Robson | Philip Huston, Robert E. Perry, Louise Kanasireff, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, Nancy Duncan, Mary Barthelmess, Charles Bell |
| August 3 | "Quiet Wedding" | Esther McCracken | Wendy Barrie | Philip Huston, Edith Ward, Ruth Hermansen, Robert E. Perry, Louise Kanasireff, Nancy Duncan, Mary Barthelmess, William Mendrek, Allan Tower, Charles Bell |
| August 10 | "Othello" (2) | William Shakespeare | Paul Robeson | Uta Hagen, José Ferrer, Margaret Webster, George Keen, Robert Harrison, Ernest Graves, Robert E. Perry, Wallace Widdecombe, Charles Bell, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, William Woodson, Emery Battis, Margareth Webster and Louise Kanasireff |
| August 17 | "Out of the Frying Pan" | Francis Swann | Sally O'Neil | Charles Bell, Gaylord Mason, Nancy Duncan, Blanche Faye, Mary Barthelmess, Gertrude Wind, Will Robinson, Robert E. Perry, Alan Tower and William Mendrek |
| August 24 | "Ten Nights in a Barroom" | William W. Pratt | ? | Alan Tower, Robert E. Perry, William Murphy, Gaylord Mason, Henry Levin, Charles Bell, Grace Eyrick, William Mendrek, Mary Barthelmess, Edythe Ward and Nancy Duncan |
| August 31 | "You Can't Take it with You" | George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart | Fred Stone & Paula Stone | Nancy Duncan, Ada Roston, William Mendrek, Dennis Gurney, Henry Levin, Harry Nash, Mary Barthelmess, Robert E. Perry, Charles Bell, Allan Tower, Jacqueline De Suze, William Murphy, Elizabeth Rifchin, Emery Battis, John Gerstad, Roderich Winchell and Louise Kanasireff |
| September 7 | "Tonight at 8:30": "Ways and Means"(3) & "Fumed Oak" & "Hands Across the Table" |
Noel Coward | Louise Kanasireff, Robert E. Perry, Alan Tower, Charles Bell, Nancy Duncan, Mary Barthelmess, Grace Eyrick and William Mendrek; William Mendrek, Louise Kanasireff, Mary Barthelmessand Nancy Duncan; Grace Eyrick, Nancy Duncan, Robert E. Perry, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, Mary Barthelmess, Dennis Gurney, Louise Kanasireff and Charles Bell |
- 1. Presented by John Huntington in association with Brock Pemberton.
- 2. By Theatre Guild.
- 3. Louise Kanasireff, leading role in "Ways and Means".
Playbills and Advertisements
Othello
Cambridge newspaper "The Tech" May 12, 1942
The 1943 season
Presented by Louise Falk and John Huntington, with Louise Falk (acting name:Louise Kanasireff / Louise Valery) as an actress in the resident company. Robert E. Perry both acted and directed this season. The Cambridge Summer Theatre and Providence Playhouse (operated by Charles Howard & Wendell Corey) joined hands this season, and the various productions were put up one week at the Cambridge Summer Theatre and one week at the Providence Playhouse.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 7 | "The Damask Cheek" | John Van Druten | Elissa Landi | Jeanne Cagney, Ann Dere, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, Louise Kanasireff |
| June 14 | "Without Love" | Phillip Barry | Constance Bennet | Richard Hart, Robert E. Perry, Estelle Harmon, Marjorie Peggs, Louise Valery, George Andre, William Mendrek, Alan Tower, Farell Pelly and William Jeffrey |
| June 21 | "Strictly Dishonorable" | Preston Sturgis | Jeanne Cagney | Frank Ferrara, William Mendrek, Allan Tower, Richard Hart, Jean Cagney, George Andre and William Jeffrey |
| June 28 | "Old Acquaintance" | John Van Druten | Leatrice Joy Gilbert | |
| July 5 | "Personal Appearance" | Lawrence Riley | Dorothy MacKaill | Jeanne Cagney, Ann Dere, Louise Valery, Richard Hart, Dorothy Lambert, James Lee, Robert E. Perry, Alan Tower and Ofelia Cornejo |
| July 12 | "Front Page" | Ben Hecht & Charles MacArthur | William Harrigan | Jeanne Cagney, William Mendrek, Richard Hart, Louise Valery, Allan Tower, Lester Lonergan, William Weyse. |
| July 24 | "Biography" | S. N. Behrman | Ilka Chase | John Ireland, Louise Valery, ... |
| July 26 | "Ladies in Retirement" | Edward Percy & Reginald Denham | Erin O'Brien-Moore | Jeanne Cagney, Ruth Hermansen, Richard Hart, Louise Valery, Marion Grant and Dorothy Lambert |
| August 2 | "The Willow Tree" | J. Harry Benrimo & Harrison Rhodes | Anna May Wong | James Lee, Allan Tower, Ernest Woodward, Richard Hart, William Weyse, William Jeffrey, Ofelia Cornejo, John Gerstad, Elaine Goodell, Louise Valery |
| August 9 | "Emperor Jones" | Eugene O'Neill | Rex Ingram | William Mendrek, Lawanune Kennard, Larry Lauria |
| August 16 | "The Only Girl" (1) | Herbert Blossom | Patti Pickens & Bob Simmons | Roderich Winchell, Louise Valery, Richard Hart, William Mendrek, Alan Tower, Ofelia Cornejo, Carol Curtis, Edith Feiner, Pat Withington, Jean Gillespie, Dot Beattle and Ruth Homond |
| August 23 | "Brief Moment" | S. N. Behrman | Glenda Farrell | |
| August 30 | "Little Darling" | Erich Hatch | Jeanne Cagney | Louise Valery, Ted Allison, William Mendrek, James Lee, Allan Tower, Jean Gillespie, Fran Ferrara and Richard Hart |
- 1. Their 50th production in four years.
Playbills
Ladies in Retirement (signed by Erin O'Brien-Moore)
The Only Girl
The 1944 season
Presented by Louise Falk and John Huntington, with Louise Falk (acting name: Louise Valery) as an actress in the resident company. Robert E. Perry both acted and directed this season. Among the stars likely to appear this season are Madge Evans, Billie Burke, Gloria Swanson, Ralph Forbes, Clare Luce, Brian Donlevy, E. Everett Norton, Nancy Carroll, Ruth Chatterton, etc.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 5 | "Tonight or Never" | Lili Hatvany | Ethel Barrymoore Colt | Richard Hart, Lee Nugent, Allan Tower, Kathryn Cameron, Robert E. Perry, William Jeffrey, Dorothy Lambert, Roderich Winchell |
| June 12 | "Another Love Story" | Sidney Kingsley | Madge Evans | Louise Valery, Richard Hart, Robert E. Perry, Lee Nugent, Allen Tower, Wm. Jeffery, Shurland Quinn, Edmond Ryan |
| June 19 | "A Goose for a Gander | Harold J Kennedy | Gloria Swanson & Ralph Forbes | Ralph Forbes, Lynn Carter, Louise Valery, Harold J Kennedy, Lee Nugent, Allan Tower, Miranda Swanson, David Tyrell |
| June 26 | Anna Christie | Eugene O'Neill | Claire Luce | Richard Hart, .... |
| July 3 | "Guest in the House" | Hagar Wilde & Dale Eunson | Julie Hayden | Robert E. Perry, Louise Valery, Richard Hart, Marjorie Peggs, Kathryn Cameron |
| July 10 | "Dark Eyes" | Elena Miramova and Eugenie Leontovich | Lenore Ulric | Louise Valery, Richard Hard, Robert E. Perry, William Jeffrey, Allan Tower, Roy Allen and other members of the professional resident company at Brattle Hall |
| July 17 | "Oh Boy" | Guy Bolton & P. G. Wodehouse | Patti Pickens | Robert E. Perry, Lee Nugent, .. |
| July 24 | "The Little Foxes" | Lillian Hellman | Mabel Acker | Robert E. Perry, Ruth Homond, Allan Tower, William Jeffrey, Richard Hart, Muriel Pierce |
| July 31 | "Here's To Us" | Shirland Quin | Jean Muir | Ada Roston, Muriel Pierce, Jean Muir, Richard Hart, Louise Valery, Roderich Winchell, Ruth Homond, Shirland Quin |
| August 7 | "Too Many Husbands" | W.Somerset Maugham | Nancy Carroll | Lee Nugent, Norma Cohan, Kathryn Cameron, Allan Tower, Robert E. Perry, Richard Hart, Lillian Staford, William Jeffrey, Marjorie Peggs |
| August 14 | "Dark of the Moon" | Howard Richardson & William Berney | Carol Stone | Richard Hart, Roderich Winchell, Frances Goforth, Carl Windel, Ruth Homond, Richard Van Arsdale, Ronald Graham, Boardman O'Conner, Kathryn Cameron, Lee Nugent, Philip Wheaton, Constance Cooper, Myrtle Shaw, Norman Keohane, William Weyse, Allan Tower, Dorothy Lambert, John Gerstad, William Jeffrey, Robert Pryor, Robert E. Perry, Louise Valery, Lynne Arlen |
| August 22 | "Marriage is for Single People" | Stanley Richards | Jeanne Cagney | Mathilda Calman, Kathryn Cameron, Roderich Winchell, Lynne Arlen, Louise Valery, Allan Tower, Dorothy Lambert, Richard Hart, Ronald Graham, James Lawlor, Myrtle Shaw |
| August 29 | "Come Be My Love" | Edward Caulfield & Pauline Jamerson | Walter Hampden | Dorothy Sands, Kay MacDonald, Constance Root, Jean Adair, Ruth Homond, Charles Bowlby, Joe Latham, Ann Mason, Ada Roston, Edwinf Cushman (all New York cast, including Ruth Homond of the Brattle Hall Playhouse) |
| September 4 | "Come Be My Love" | Edward Caulfield & Pauline Jamerson | Walter Hampden | Dorothy Sands, Kay MacDonald, Constance Root, Jean Adair, Ruth Homond, Charles Bowlby, Joe Latham, Ann Mason, Ada Roston, Edwinf Cushman (all New York cast, including Ruth Homond of the Brattle Hall Playhouse) |
| September 11 | "Winterkill" | Jerry Emerson | Margaret Hayes | Dorothy Lambert, Richard Hart, John Gerstad, William Jeffrey, Louise Valery, Allan Tower, Roderich Winchell |
Playbills
Here's to You
Too Many Husbands (signed by Margaret Hayes)
Winterkill (signed by Nancy Carroll)
The 1945 season
Presented by (Louise Falk and)/(Lee Falk and) John Huntington. Director for the summer stock theatre was Neil McFoe Skinner, who "managed" in 1940.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 11 | "Blithe Spirit" | Noel Coward | Elissa Landi | Kay Strozzi, Roderich Winchell, Marjorie Peggs |
| June 18 | "Her Cardboard Lover" | Jacques Deval | Diana Barrymore | Edward Finnegan, Roderich Winchell, Robert Foster, Harry Ellerbe, Louis Borel, Eliot Duvey, Edythe Ward, Ray Hinkley, Peggy Stuart, William O'Halloran, Joanne Palmer, Marian Seldes, Randolph Campbell, William Otis and Cindy Hodges |
| June 25 | "The Passionate Congressman" | Lee Harrison Falk | Neil Hamilton | Kurt Richards, Gertrude Flynn, Nick Harris, Edmon Ryan, George MacQuarrie, Bruce Adams, Ruth Homond, John McKee, Louise Valery, Frank McNellis, William Becker, Philip Wheaton, Roderich Winchell, Eliot Duvey, William Otis, Donald Josephs, Carter Jefferson. |
| July 2 | "My Sister Eileen" | Joseph A Fields & Jerome Chodorov | Libby Holman | Bruce Adams, Leila Ernst, Nick Harris, Norma Kellar, Ray Hinkley, Richard Kilbride, William Becker, Conner Jameson, Constance Moorehead, Eliot Duvey, Edythe Ward, Robert Foster, Kurt Richards, Robert Paine, Peggy Stuart, Winifred Wellington, Roderich Winchell, Philip Wheaton, Philip Bresnahan, Richard Van Arsdale, Paul Clark, Anton Hjelmar, Ruth Homond |
| July 9 | "Alice In Wonderland" | Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus (adapted from Lewis Carroll) | Margareth Speaks & Emile Renan | Edythe Ward, Jerry Ross, Marian Seldes, Joanne Palmer, Robert Foster, Elisabeth Bradlee, Peggy Stuart, Kai Strozzi, Dorothy Lambert, Ray Hinkley, Bruce Adams, Philip Wheaton, Gertrude Woodard, Eliot Duvey, Kurt Richards, Ruth Homond, Roderich Winchell, Constance Moorehead, Norma Kellar, Hibbard James |
| July 16 | "Alice In Wonderland" | Eva Le Gallienne and Florida Friebus (adapted from Lewis Carroll) | Margareth Speaks & Emile Renan | Edythe Ward, Jerry Ross, Marian Seldes, Joanne Palmer, Robert Foster, Elisabeth Bradlee, Peggy Stuart, Kai Strozzi, Dorothy Lambert, Ray Hinkley, Bruce Adams, Philip Wheaton, Gertrude Woodard, Eliot Duvey, Kurt Richards, Ruth Homond, Roderich Winchell, Constance Moorehead, Norma Kellar, Hibbard James |
| July 23 | "The Spider" | Fulton Oursler and Lowell Brentano | Victor Jory | Kurt Richards, Conner Jameson, Ruth Hammond, Roderick Winchell, Dorothy Lambert, Ray Hinkley, Eliot Duvey, Edward Finnegan, Bruce Adams and Edythe Ward |
| July 30 | "Over 21" | Ruth Gordon | Lillian Harvey | Ruth Hammond, Kurt Richards, Lilian Harvey, Neil Skinner, Edmond Ryan, Ray Hinkley, Winifred Wellington, Roderich Winchell, Peggy Stuart, Eliot Duvey and Marion Seldes |
| Three's a Family | Phoebe Ephron and Henry Ephron |
(note: Gloria Swanson is mentioded as one of the stars in 1945)
Playbills
My Sister Eileen (signed by actors)
Alice In Wonderland
The 1946 season
Returning in 1946 Lee Falk and John Huntington found that they could manage to operate one more summer theatre, if they could produce a play a week at the new Boston Summer Theatre and then move it to Cambridge the next week. One more thing was that television was beginning to compete with theatre and movies. One way to attract audiences was to bring in complete travelling shows from New York. These shows could easily be booked to play two theatres in two weeks.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Staged by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 10 | "The Hasty Heart" | John Patrick | Lilian Harvey | Paul Anderson, Eliot Duvey, William Mendrek, Robert Crawley, Roderich Winchell, William L. Brown, Allan Tower, William Jeffries | Lee Falk |
| June 17 | "Ten Little Indians" | Agatha Christie | Michael Whalen | Robert Crawley, Pamela Gordon, Eliot Duvey, Eileen Heckart, William Mendrek, William Jeffrey, Marion Grant, Allan Tower and Roderich Winchell | |
| June 24 | "Springtime for Henry" | Benn W. Levy | Edward Everett Horton | Norma Phillips, Matthew Smith, Muriel Hutchison and Elaine Ellis | Henri Caubisens |
| July 1 | "Night Must Fall" | Emlyn Williams | Dame May Whitty | Ruth Homond, William Mendrek, Marian Seldes, Marion Grant, Constance Moorehead, Allan Tower and Walter Starkey | Lee Falk |
| July 8 | "Sailor, Beware!" | Kenyon Nicholson and Charles Robinson | Ann Corio | Fred Graves, Bernard Kates, Robert Foster, Robert E. Weil, Phillip Wheaton, Karl Malden, Robert Crawley, Eliot Duvey, Roderich Winchell, Kae Dirrane, Peggy Corday, Lois Harmond, Eileen Heckart, Edward Finnegan, George Roland and Conrad Jameson | Lee Falk, directed by Ann Corio |
| July 15 | "Angle Street" | Samuel Raphaelson | Francis Lederer and Bramwell Fletcher | Helen Shields, Ruth Homond, Marian Grant | |
| July 22 | "Burlesque" | George Manker Watters & Arthur Hopkins | Bert Lahr | Eileen Heckart, Eliot Duvey, William Mendrek, Richard Crouch, Ruth Homond, Dorothy Lambert, Lois Harmon, Robert Weil, Allan Tower, Joe Battaglia, Paul Clark, Peggy Corday, Marian Seldes, Mimi Key, Marlilyn Parent, Peggy Corday, Irene Allarie, Fred Graves, Dallas Burrows and Richard Murphy | Lee Falk |
| July 29 | "Goodbye Again" | Allan Scott and George Haight | Roger Pryor & Phyllis Brooks | ||
| August 5 | "They Knew What They Wanted" | Sidney Howard | June Havoc | Allan Tower, Robert Crawley, Robert Weil, Roderich Winchell, Estelle Ritchie, Margaret Magennis, James McGinness | |
| August 12 | The Best of Friends | Andrew Rosenthal | Libby Holman | ||
| August 19 | The Time of Your Life | William Saroyan | James Dunn and Julie Hayden | ||
| August 26 | Meet the Wife | Lynn Starling | Mary Boland | ||
| September 2 | The Late George Apler | John P. Marquand and George S. Kaufman | Grant Mitchell |
Night Must Fall
The 1947 season
The season of 1947 at the Cambridge Summer Theatre was the last on involving John Huntington and Lee Falk.
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| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 30 | "The Glass Menagerie" | Tennessee Williams | Julie Haydon & Helen MacKellar | |
| July 1 | ||||
| July 7 | "Joan of Lorraine" | Maxwell Anderson | Magda Evans | Willian Mendrek, Allan Tower, Bruce Adams, Casey Walters, Richard Crawley |
| July 14 | "Pursuit of Happiness" | Alan Child and Isabelle Loudon | Freddie Bartholomew | |
| July 21 | "There's Always Juliet" | John van Druten | Miriam Hopkins & Richard Kendrick | |
| July 28 | Dracula | Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston (from Bram Stoker's novel) | Bela Lugosi | Gertrude Flynn, Casey Walters, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, Robert Foster, Bernard Kates, Connie Moorehead |
| August 4 | "The Man in Posession" | H. M. Harwood | Richard Arlen & Jane Middleton | |
| August 11 | "The Ghost Train" | Arthur Treacher |
Playbills
newspaper "Boston Herald" July 27 1947
The Boston Summer Theatre (1946–1958)
at New England Mutual Hall (about 914 seats)
Lee Falk had divorced in 1945 and when he returned in 1946 he fell in love with an actress of the summer stock, Constance J M Lilienthal. They were married in August 1946.
When returning in 1946 Lee started seriously directing and during this and the next seasons he directed a play every week. However, after the 1947 season he found that he could not operate his new summer theatre all by himself and the cartoonist Al Capp became his new silent partner in 1948.
The Boston Summer Theatre was doing well for many years until 1957 when Lee Falk started to lose money. Al Capp had dropped out in 1956 and John Huntington came back for the 1958 season. But sadly, they still lost money and Lee Falk decided to throw in the towel.
The 1946 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 24 | Night Must Fall | Emlyn Williams | Dame May Whitty | Ruth Homond, William Mendrek, Marian Seldes, Marion Grant, Constance Moorehead, Allan Tower, Walter Starkey |
| July 1 | Sailor, Beware! | Kenyon Nicholson and Charles Robinson | Ann Corio | |
| July 8 | Angle Street | Samuel Raphaelson | Francis Lederer (2) | Bramwell Fletcher, |
| July 15 | "Burlesque" (1) | George Manker Watters and Arthur Hopkins | Bert Lahr | Eileen Heckart, Elliot Duvey, William Mendrek, Ruth Homond, Dorothy Lambert, Lois Harmon, Robert Weil, Allan Tower, Joe Battaglia, Peggy Corday, Marian Seldes, Mimi Key, Marilyn Parent, Peggy Corday, Irene Allarie, Fred Graves |
| July 22 | Goodbye Again | Allan Scott and George Haight | Roger Pryor & Phyllis Brooks | |
| July 29 | They Knew What They Wanted | Sidney Howard | June Havoc | Allan Tower, Robert Crawley, Robert Weil, Roderich Winchell, Estelle Ritchie, Margaret Magennis, James McGinness |
| August 5 | "The Best of Friends" | Andrew Rosenthal | Libby Holman | Eric Victor, Constance Brigham, Bertha Belmore, Donald Burr, Patricia Shay, Madeleine Clive, Brian Otis, Madelyn, Killeen, Eliva Sutherland, Crystal Ames, Alberta Pryme |
| August 12 | The Time of Your Life | William Saroyan | James Dunn and Julie Hayden | |
| August 19 | Meet the Wife | Lynn Starling | Mary Boland | |
| August 26 | The Late George Apler | John P. Marquand and George S. Kaufman | Grant Mitchell |
- (1) staged by Lee Falk
- (2): Roderich Winchell the 4 first performances
The 1947 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Staged by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ? | The Glass Menagerie | Tennessee Williams | Julie Haydon & Helen MacKellar | ||
| ? | Joan of Lorraine | Maxwell Anderson | Magde Evans | ||
| July 7 | Heaven Help the Angels | Ted Luce | Paul & Grace Hartmann | Bill White, Ted Luce, Jane Bishir, Larry Lawrence, Maud Patten | |
| July 14 | There's Always Juliet | John van Druten | Miriam Hopkins | ||
| July 21 | "Dracula" | Hamilton Deane and John L. Balderston (from Bram Stoker's novel) | Bela Lugosi | Gertrude Flynn, Casey Walters, Allan Tower, William Mendrek, Robert Foster, William Becker, Connie Moorehead | Lee Falk |
| July 28 | The Man in Posession | H.M.Harwood | Richard Arlen | ||
| August 4 | |||||
| August 11 | Laughter from a Cloud (1) | Lynn Riggs | Ilka Chase | Barry Mitchell, Susan Douglas, Cynthia Latham, Donald McDonald, Polly Rowles, Paul Clarke, Gen Byron, Ralph Longley, Peter Harris | |
| August 18 | A Slight Case of Murder | Damon Runyan & Howard Lindsy | James Dunn |
- (1) by special arrangement with Milton Baron and Jerome Mayer
Playbills
newspaper "Boston Herald" July 20 1947
Heaven Help the Angels (signed by Ted Luce and Jane Bashir)
Dracula (signed by Bela Lugosi, Gertrude Flynn and Bernard Kates)
Laughter from A Cloud (signed by Cynthia Latham)
The 1948 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Staged by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 21 | Seven Keys to Baldpate | George M. Cohan | William Gaxton | ||
| June 28 | "John Loves Mary" | Norman Krasna | Jackie Cooper | Constance Moorehead, Harry Mccabe, Bernard Kates, Clyde Waddell, Winifred Wellington, Robert Crawley, Jack Woods, Elizabeth Ayer, David White | Directed by Lee Falk |
| July 5 | The Last of Mrs Cheney | Frederick Lonsdale | Kay Francis | Constance Moorehead, .. | |
| July 12 | "Othello" | William Shakespeare | Wesley Addy | Kurt Richards, Joseph Holland, William Cobb, Paul Lewis, Canada Lee, Ernest Graves, Roderick Winchell, Davis White, George Kyron, Claire Luce, Bernard Kates, Howard Price, Richard E. Davis, Lorraine Mac Martin, Constance Moorehead | |
| July 19 | The Marquise | Noel Coward | Lillian Gish | ||
| July 26 | "Design for Living" | Noël Coward | Ilka Chase | Derrick Lynn-Thomas, Robert Carroll, Allen Nourse, Jack Woods, Howard Price, Elizabeth Ayers, Winifred Wellington, Robert Loeb, Patricia Withington, Melvin Miller | |
| August 2 | "The Little Foxes" | Lillian Hellman | Ruth Chatterton | ||
| August 9 | The Beaux' Strategem | George Farquhar | Brian Aherne | Richard Temple, Maureen Stapleton, John Merivale, Carmen Mathews, Patricia Jenkins, Allen Nourse, Victor Beecroft, Jerome Collamore, Winifred Wellington, Mary Forbes, Paul Lewis, Howard Prioe, William Jeffery | |
| August 16 | "Kind Lady" | Edward Chodorov | Sylvia Sidney | Thomas Palmer, Allen Nourse, Winifred Wellington, Peggy Fenn, Constance Moorehead, Christopher Marvin, Ruth Hallstrand, Fred Graves, Cecil Clovelly, Diane deBrett, Jane Sutherland, Jerome Collamore | Lee Falk |
| August 23 | Springtime for Henry | Benn Levy | Edward Everett Horton |
Playbills
John Loves Mary
Othello
Design for Living
The Little Foxes
Kind Lady
Kind Lady cast list
The 1949 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 4 | "Pretty Penny" | Harold Rome and Jerome Chodorov | - | David Burns, George Keane, Michael Kidd, Lenore Lonergan, Marilyn Day, Carl Reiner, Barbara Martin, Bud Sweeney, Walter Scheff, Bill Skipper, Barbara McCutcheon, (Ken Spaulding, Peter Gennaro, Jay Lloyd, Onna White, Diane Sinclair, Wayne Lamb, Evelyn Taylor, Robert Morrow, George Spelvin, John Henson, Florence Henson and Barbara Weaver) | staged by George S. Kaufman, dances and musical numbers staged by Michael Kidd, costumes by Kenn Barr, settings by John Wulp |
| July 11 | "Yes, My Darling Daughter" | Mark Reed | Ann Harding | Constance Moorehead, Allan Tower, Lucille Benson, Elizabeth Ayers, Allen Nourse and Leslie Nielsen | directed by Lee Falk |
| July 18 | "Let Us Be Gay" | Rachael Crothers | Kay Francis | Joel Ashley, Ruth Hermansen, David White, Constance Moorehead, Elizabeth Ayers, Allan Tower, Nina Wentworth, Allen Nourse and Leslie Nielsen | staged by Jerome Shaw, settings by John Wulp |
| July 25 | "The Philadelphia Story" | Philip Barry | Sarah Churchill | Jane Sutherland, Mabel Acker, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crouch, Allan Tower, Joanne Palmer, Jeffrey Lyn, David White, Robert Carroll, Allen Nourse, Norma Leary and Howard Price | staged by John Craven, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon |
| August 1 | "The Barretts of Wimpole Street" | Rudolf Besier | Susan Peters | Allen Nourse, Susan Peters, Augusta French, Constance Moorehead, Elizabeth Ayers, Christopher Marvin, John Perkins, Jack Woods, Carl Elliott, Howard Price, Allan Tower, Diana Kemble, David White, Robert McQueeney, John Taylor and Leslie Nielsen | staged by Howard Bailey, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon |
| August 8 | "Amphitryon 38" | Jean Giraudoux | Elisabeth Bergner | Tom Rutherfurd, Harry Townes, Allen Nourse, Allan Tower, Leslie Nielsen, Philip Huston, Amelie Barleon, Jane Southerland and Ethel Britton | directed by Jose Ruben, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon |
| August 14 | "Happy Birthday" | Anita Loos | Joan Blondell | Lucille Benson, Evelyn Davis, Allen Nourse, Christopher Marvin, Diana Kemble, John Perkins, Norma Leary, Elizabeth Ayers, Joan Blondell, Constance Moorehead, Leslie Nielsen, David F. Perkins, Jeff Morrow, Paul Clarke, Belle Flower, Ruth Hermansen, ... | staged by Elmer Brown, settings by John Wulp |
| August 21 | "Present Laughter" | Noël Coward | Edward Everett Horton | Diana Kemble, Augusta French, Paul Clarke, Jane Seymour, Katherine Meskill, Dudley Sadler, Allan Tower, Allen Nourse, Lisa Ayers and Ruth Hermansen | staged by Arthur Marlowe, settings by Martin Bloom |
| August 28 | "Accent on Youth" | Samson Raphaelson | Paul Lukas | Ruth Hermansen, Howard Wendell, Leslie Nielsen, Constance Moorehead, Allan Tower, Elizabeth Ayers, John Perkins and Paul Clarke | staged by Lillian Uvarday |
| September 5 | "The Philadelphia Story" | Philip Barry | Sarah Churchill | Jane Sutherland, Mabel Acker, Leslie Nielsen, Richard Crouch, Allan Tower, Joanne Palmer, William Kemp (July 25: Jeffrey Lyn), David White, Jeffrey Lynn (July 25: Robert Carroll), Philip Tonge (July 25: Allen Nourse), Norma Leary and Howard Price | staged by John Craven, settings by John Wulp, lighted by Estelle Harmon |
Note
Playbills
1949 program
Petty Penny
Pretty Penny, pre-review from June 12,1949 newspaper
The Barretts of Wimpole Street (signed by actor Richard Quine / not playing)
Accent on Youth(signed by Leslie Nielsen)
The 1950 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 3 | "The Second Man" | S. N. Behrman | Franchot Tone & Margaret Lindsay | Gloris Leachmann, Walter Brooke, .. | staged by Jean Dalrymple, settings by Richard Hill |
| July 10 | "Angel Street" | Patrick Hamilton | Laraine Day | Ernest Cossart, Ferdi Hoffman, Betty Underwood, Elfrida Derwent, John Perkins, Paul Clarke | Directed by Irvin Sudrow |
| July 17 | "The Gay Divorce" | Dwight Taylor - Cole Porter | Carole Stone | John Perkins, Dick Sykes, Jack Whiting, Brenda Hollis, Angela Carrol, Mary Jane Kersey, Joan Mann, Allan Tower, Lenore Lonergan, Paul Clarke, Arny Freeman and Allen Nourse | directed by Lillian Udvardy |
| July 24 | "Apple of his Eye" | Kenyon Nicholson & Charles Robinson | Edward Arnold | Betty Brew, Allen Nourse, Helen Shields, Allan Tower, Vera Ferguson, Lillian Afan, Fred Sherman, Peggy Fenn and Edwind Biudana | directed by Jerome Mayer, settings by Richard Hill |
| July 31 | "On the Town" | Leonard Bernstein | Nancy Walker | Nita Naldi, Ruth Webb, Beverlee Boseman, James Jewel, John Sylvester, ... | staged by Carl Shain |
| August 7 | "Over 21" | Ruth Gordon | Eve Arden & Brooks West | Maggie Magennis, Peter Harris, Allan Tower, Melvin Miller, Peggy Fenn, Austin Fairman, Blanche Faye, Allen Nourse and Norma Leary | staged by Tyler Winn, settings by Martin Bloom |
| August 14 | "Dear Brutus" | James M. Barrie | Brian Aherne | Harry Ellerbe, Allan Tower, Harry Sothern, Constance Moorehead, Helen Craig, Peggy Fenn, Winifred Wellington, Allen Nourse, Charlotta Sherwood and Joanne Palmer | directed by Lee Falk, settings by Richard Hill, music by Van Williams |
| August 21 | "Blind Alley" | James Warwick | Zachary Scott | Joanne Palmer, Peter Harris, Robert Allen, Dorothy Young, Ralph Robinson Jr, Peggy Fenn, Zachary Scott, Eileen Heckart, Allen Nourse and Paul Clarke | staged by John Hapgott, settings by Richard Hill |
| August 28 | "His French Wife" | Charles Dean & Richard Doscher | Edward Everett Horton | Natalia Core, Stewart Bradley, Peter Harris, Maggie Magennis, Allan Tower, Paul Clarke and George Spelvin | directed by Howard Magwood, settings by Martin Bloom |
| September 4 | "Finian's Rainbow" | Fred Saidy, E Y Harburg & Burton Lane | - | Philip Truex, Mary O'Fallon, Tom McElhany, John Cal Brown, Harriet Jackson, Mia Stenn, Bernice Hall, Paul Clarke, Allan Tower, Allen Nourse and John Diggs | directed by Philip Gordon, musical director Herbert Hecht |
Note
Playbills
Angel Street (signed by actors)
Blind Alley (signed by Zachary Scott)
The 1951 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2 | "Alice in Wonderland" | Frances Pole | - | Florence Frosberg, William Krach, Roy Raymond, Bruce Adams, Adele Thane, Allan Tower, John Dooley, William Ryan, Patty Collins, Patricia John Canty and John Henson | music composed by Charles Sacco, staged by Robert Perry, settings by Matt Horner, lighting by Eliot Duvey, costumes by Miss Pole | |
| July 9 | "Here Today" | George Oppenheimer | Eva Arden | Wayne Carson, Eulabelle Moore, Brooks West, Patricia John Canty, Viola Roache, Bert Thorn and Christopher Marvin | staged by Howard Quinn, settings by Matt Horner, lighting by Eliot Duvey | |
| July 16 | "Brigadoon" | Alan Jay Lerner & Frederick Loewe | - | Douglas Rideout, Orville Sherman, Joe Graham, Robert Scoble, Eleanor Fairchild, Wayne Carson, Christopher Marvin, Buell Jolly, Grace Olsen, Marcella Dogde, Polly McCulloch, James Schlader, Lois van Pelt, Allan Tower and Charles Booth | staged by William Krot, settings by Matt Horner | |
| July 23 | "Mirror, Mirror" | George Oppenheimer | Kay Francis | Joel Ashley, Jeanne Flanigan, Patricia John Canty, Joe Graham, Kay Francis, Wayne Carson, Nina Wentworth, Helen Donaldson and Allan Tower | directed by Julian Borris, settings by Matt Horner | |
| July 30 | "A Streetcar Named Desire" | Tennessee Williams | Julie Haydon | Beatrice Simkins, Norma Leary, Jerry O'Loughlin, Joe Graham, Norma Connolly, Edmond Hurshell, Paul Clarke, Wayne Carson, Joan Archer, Allan Tower and Nina Wentworth | directed by Jack Woods, lighting by Eliot Duvey | |
| August 6 | "Pal Joey" [footnotes 1] | Richard Rodgers & Lorenz Hart | Carol Bruce | Bob Fosse, Joe Graham, Phyllis Dorne, Joan Mann, Doris Schmitt, Nora Barstow, Rita Tanne, Sylvia Karlton, Paul Clarke, Carol Bruce, Edmond Hurshell, Joe Abdullah, Wayne Carson, Shannon Dean, Dick Bernie and Allan Tower | staged by John Mann, settings by Matt Horner, musical arrangement and direction by David Baker | |
| August 13 | "Glad Tidings" | Edward Mabley | Melvyn Douglas & Signe Hasso | Adele Thane, Virginia Dwyer, Ann Sturgis, Patricia Benoit, Allan Tower and Henry Garrard | staged by Mr Douglas, lighting by Eliot Duvey | |
| August 20 | "Clutterbuck" | Benn Levy | Arthur Treacher | |||
| August 27 | "Come Back, Little Sheba" | William Inge | Joan Blondell | Ian Keith, Janet De Gore, Jerry O'Loughlin, Allan Tower, Beller Flower, Paul Clarke, Jan Solomon, Wayne Carson, Joe Graham and Joe Abdullah | staged by Paul Krauss | |
| September 3 | "Susan and God" | Rachel Crothers | Joan Bennett | Anne Francine, William Langford, Jean Casto, Douglas Gordon, Stuart Roberts, Mary Haynsworth, John Merivale, Walter Coy, Meinda Markey and Ann Duncan [footnotes 2] | directed by Edwin Gifford | |
| September 10 | "Here Today" | George Oppenheimer | Eva Arden |
Note
1951 Season Ad (with Lee Falk adress in New York)
The 1952 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 23 | "Carmen Jones" | Oscar Hammerstein II and Georges Bizet | Muriel Rahn [footnotes 1] | George M. Brooker, Charles Riley, Duke Williams, Elton J. Warren, J. Flash Riley, Luther Saxon, Rosetta LeNoir, Al Rivera, Eric Henry, Edward Christopher, Theresa Merritte, Audrey Vanterpool, George Fisher, Joseph Lewis and William Dillard | staged by Dick Campbell, chorography and dances by Sheldon Hoskins, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| June 30 | "Carmen Jones" | Oscar Hammerstein II and Georges Bizet | Muriel Rahn | George M. Brooker, Charles Riley, Duke Williams, Elton J. Warren, J. Flash Riley, Luther Saxon, Rosetta LeNoir, Al Rivera, Eric Henry, Edward Christopher, Theresa Merritte, Audrey Vanterpool, George Fisher, Joseph Lewis and William Dillard | staged by Dick Campbell, chorography and dances by Sheldon Hoskins, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| July 7 | "Season with Ginger" | Roland Alexander | Melvyn Douglas | Leore Thatcher, Polly Rowles, Gena Rowlands, Rita Vaughan, Betty Lou Keim, James Broderick, Billy James, Allan Tower, Wayne Carson, Frank Milan | |
| July 14 | "Nina" [footnotes 2] | Andre Roussin | Edward Everett Horton | Martha Linden, Christopher Plummer and Joe Graham | settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| July 11 | "Kiss me, Kate" | Cole Parker & Bella Spewack | - | Arthur Maxwell, Juliana Larson, Lee Lindsey, Betsy Holland, William Graham, Forrest Carter, Orrin Hill and Alan Kass | staged by Emory Bass, musical director James Reed Lawlor |
| July 28 | "Gramercy Ghost" | John C. Holm | Veronica Lake | Dulcie Cooper, Christopher Marvin, Allan Tower, Mark O'Daniels, Robert Quarry, Joe Graham, Phillip Abbott, John Conwell, William Leonard and Edwin Thurston | staged by Robert Quarry, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| August 4 | "On Your Toes" [footnotes 3] | - | - | Bill Callahan, Joan Lowe, Bill Callahan, Elizabeth Buda, Joan Holloway, Wayne Carson, Katherine Sergava, Nina Popova, Yvonne Adair, Arney Freeman, Roy Milton, Robert Kirby, Gregg Owen, Bob Haddad, Jimmy Taravella, Arthur Wenzel ... | directed by John Fearnlay, dances by June Graham, cosumes by Stanley Simmons, pianists: Dean Fuller and John Cooke |
| August 11 | "Private Lives" | Noel Coward | Victor Jory & Alexis Smith | Pat Breslin, David Orrick and Sally McMorrow | staged by Ashmead Scott |
| August 18 | "One Touch of Venus" | S. J. Perelman & Ogden Nash | Carol Bruce | Robert Carroll, Eleanore Bagley, Stanley Prager, Bob Shaver, Betty Buday, Kevin Scott, Corky Geil, Wayne Carson, Nora Britow, Rober Kirby, Pat Stanley, Ray Hamilton .... | staged by Gus Schirmer Jr |
| August 25 | "A Night at Madame Tussaud's" | Edwin Justus Mayer (+ script by Peter Lorre) | Peter Lorre & Miriam Hopkins | Ralph Clanton, Viola Frayne, Rudulph Justice Watson, Allan Tower, Paul Clarke and Helen Dayton | directed by Peter Lorre |
| September 1 | "Jezebel's Husband" | Robert Nathan | Claude Rains | Claudia Morgen, Eileen Heckart, Robert Emhardt, Ruth McDevitt and Robert Kieth Jr | directed by Sherman Marks, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| September 8 | "The Happy Time" [footnotes 4] | Samuel Taylor | Denise Darcel | Richard Trask, Robert DeCost, Mary MacLeod, Allan Tower, Gregg Juarez, Al Thaler, Martha Barron, Gayle Chandler, Edward Finnegan, Joe Graham and Gerry Hiken | directed by Jules Racine, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
Note
Playbills
One Touch of Venus
The Happy Time
The 1953 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 29 | "Bell, Book and Candle" | John van Druten | Alexis Smith & Viktor Jory | David Orrick, Maud Scheerer and Allan Tower | staged by Clarke Gordon, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| July 6 | "Carousel" [footnotes 1] | Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II | Patricia Northrup | Barbara Cook, Lucille Benson, Tom Rieder, Lewis Ford, Hal Currier, Lois Van Pelt, Ann Barry, Paul Brown, Scott Merrill, Kenneth Leroy, Sydney G Stevens, Edwin Thurston, Allan Tower, Mona Tritsch, Kenneth Leroy, James Goodwin and Sydney G. Stevens | directed by william Hammerstein, choreography by June Graham, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas, costumes by Joe Crosby, at the pianos; Victoria Crandall and Moreland Kortkamp |
| July 13 | "John Loves Mary" | Norman Krasna | Farley Granger | Hollis Irving, David Van Celet, Philip Abbott, Allan Tower, Ethel Britton, Wayne Carson, Lawrence Goulding, Lillian Udvardy and Hal Currier | directed by Paul Lammers, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
| July 20 | "One Thing After Another" | Sheldon Noble | - | Elizabeth Berryhill, Carol Brumm, Gordon Connell, Betty Cole, Robert Cowell, Jane Connell, Louis Bennet, Mary Madigan, John Tomaschke and William Rush | presented by The Original California Strawhatters, sketches and lyrics by Elizabeth Berryhill, music by Gordon Connell, additional sketches and lyrics by David Fulmer and Betty Hirshfield and John Tomaschke, additional music by Kathryn Bailey and Maurice Engleman, directed by Elizabeth Berryhill, musical direction by Gordon Connell, musical numbers staged by Jeannde Taylor Herst, settings by John Tomaschke and Ralph Headrick, costumes by Carol Brumm, pianists: Roslyn Frantz and John Price |
| July 27 | "Annie Get Your Gun" | Irving Berlin, Herbert & Dorothy Fields | Sara Dillon & Jack Dabdoub | Donna Driver, Jack Crawley, Rita Karlin, Lee Stemer, Doris Driver, Allen Waine, Lucille Benson, Nora Bristow, James Tarbutton, Jack Dabdoub, Sara Dillon, Hal Currier, Allen Waine and Jerry Stiller | staged by Milton Lyon, at the pianos: Robert Drumm and William Clarke |
| August 3 | "Life with Mother" | ? | Billie Burke | Harry Bannister, James Hickman, Lucille Benson, Hal Currier, Maude Patton, Muriel Pearce, Bobby Alford, William Hinnant, Nina Wentworth, James Goodwin, Sydney G. Stevens, Sheila Pinkham, Shirley Fowler | |
| August 10 | "Peg O' My Heart" | J. Hartley Manners | Margaret O'Brien | Ethel Britton, Ken McEwen, Constance Moorehead, Lenn Phipps, Wayne Carson, Allan Tower, Albert Johnson and John Conwell | directed by Stanley Ackerman, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| August 17 | "Island Visit" | Andrew Rosenthal | Cedric Hardwicke & Lili Darvas | Ludmilla Toretzka, Guy Arbury, Mary Scott and Anne Lubowe | staged by John Effrat |
| August 24 | "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'" [footnotes 2] | Betty Bartley & Ann Francine | Bob Haddad, Earl Oxford, Don Barton, Merrill Hilton, Velma Rayton, Hal Thompson, Hildegarde Halliday, Peter Held, Forrest Carter, Job Sanders, Rhoda Kerns, Hal Currier, Larry Silverson and Richard Kilbride | music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Leo Robin, musical direction by Wayne Sanders, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom | |
| August 31 | "The Play's the Thing" | Ferenc Molnar | Ezio Pinza | Stellar Broadway Cast | directed by Ezra Stone |
| September 7 | "Mister Roberts" | Thommas Heggen & Joshua Logan | Wayne Morris | Hal Currier, Frederic Downs, David Van Celet, Matt Briggs, Sydney G. Stevens, Bruce Michael, Charles Polk, Paul Clarke, Larry Silverson, Lenn Phipps, Gregg Jurarez, Wayne Carson, Ann Sorg, Arthur Wenzel, Fred Alger, Dick Villard and Ed DiLorenzo | directed by Barnet Biro, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
| September 14 | "Mister Roberts" | Thommas Heggen & Joshua Logan | Wayne Morris | Hal Currier, Frederic Downs, David Van Celet, Matt Briggs, Sydney G. Stevens, Bruce Michael, Charles Polk, Paul Clarke, Larry Silverson, Lenn Phipps, Gregg Jurarez, Wayne Carson, Ann Sorg, Arthur Wenzel, Fred Alger, Dick Villard and Ed DiLorenzo | directed by Barnet Biro, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
Note
Playbills
Carousel (signed by actors)
Bell, Book and Candle
John Loves Mary - On Stage Program cover
John Loves Mary - On Stage Program
John Loves Mary
One Thing After Another (signed by actors)
Annie-Get-Your-Gun (signed by actors)
Peg O' My Heart
The 1954 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 5 | "Gigi" | Anita Loos | Patricia Benoit | Maud Scheerer, Marion, Morris, Liam Sullivan, Allan Tower, Margareth Bannerman and Nina Wentworth | directed by Clarke Gordon, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
| July 12 | "The Lady's not for Burning" | Christopher Fry | Uta Hagen & Herbert Berghof | Wyatt Cooper, Gaye Jordan, Clarke Gordon, Marion Morris, Henry Silva, Allan Tower, Dick Hamilton, Champ Reynolds and Conrad Bain | directed by William Hickey, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| July 19 | "The Hasty Heart" | John Patrick | Farley Granger | Dick Hamilton, Wesley Lau, Clarke Gordon, Wyatt Cooper, Earl Jones, Champ Reynolds, Frances Heflin and Allan Tower | directed by Walt Witcover, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| July 26 | "Song of Norway" | Milton Lazarus & Robert Wright and George Forrest | Lucille Manners | James Jewell, Delores Micheline, Paul Knowles, Robert Fortin, dance by Ruthanna Boris and Frank Hobi, ,,, | musical director Miss Crandall |
| August 2 | "The Little Hut" [footnotes 1] | Andre Roussin | Marie Wilson | Walter Brooke, Melville Cooper and Jack Lord | directed by Richard Barr |
| August 9 | "Autumn Crocus" | Dodie Smith | Margareth Truman | Ingeborg Roebbeling, George Voskovec, Pamela Simpson, Ethel Hodges, Lucie Lancaster, Anne Pearson, Marc May and Horace Cooper | direced by Morton DaCosta, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| August 16 | "The Boys from Syracuse" [footnotes 2] | Richard Rodger & Lorenz Hart | - | Jerry Craig, Vincent Henry, Jay Harnick, Al Checco, Leonard Phipps, Alex Palermo, Allan Tower, Ray Hyson, Jack Weston, Patricia Wilkes, Jean Bradley, Patricia Wilson, Jon Denton, Nina Greer, Adele Aron, Marjorie Redmond and Joanne Freyer | staged by Gus Schirmer Jr, dances by Maria Karnilova, at the pianos: Wayne Sanders and Anthony Christefare |
| August 23 | "The Vegetable" | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Wally Cox | Alice Pearce, Marilyn Gennaro, Donald Macdonald, Peggy Cass, Harry Bergman, Pete Turgeon, William LeMassena, Conrad Bane, Wayne Carson, Allen Tower and Charles Reynolds | directed by Peter Turgeon, production supervised by William Redfield, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| August 30 | "Stalag 17" | Don Bevan & Edmund Trzcinski | - | All-Brodway Cast: John Sullivan, Joseph Elic, Tom Maier, Conrad Bain, Robert Shawley, Robert Fitzsimmons, Stewart Bradley, Leonard Phipps, Mike Antonakes, George Kopp, William Story, Lothar Rwalt, William Le Turgeon, Frank Curry, Ludwig Roth and Tony Landolfi | staged by Duford Armitage |
| September 4 | "The Winslow Boy" | Terence Rattigan | Basil Rathbone | John J. Connoughton, Nina Wentworth, Harry Mehaffey, Dorothy Peterson, William Whitman, Joan Wetmoore, Richard Robbins and Conrad Bain | directed by Clarke Gordon, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
Note
Playbills and illustration
The Hasty Heart
Autumn Crocus
Lee Falk and actress Barbara Britton in front of the Boston Summer Theatre's Gate
Bronxville Review Press Reporter, 5 August 1954
The 1955 season
Presented by Lee Falk in association with Al Capp.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 4 | "The Woman with Red Hair" | Sam Locke & Paul Roberts | Barbara Britton | Edmon Ryan and William Redfield | directed by Mr. Roberts, lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom | |
| July 11 | "Cyprienne" [footnotes 1] | Dorothy Monet | Uta Hagen & Herbert Berghof | Leonard Phipps, Anna Meara, Allan Tower, Robert Culp, Margaret O'Neil and Rex O'Malley | settings and lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom, music by Lee Pockriss | |
| July 18 | "No Time for Comedy" | S. N. Behrman | Sarah Churchill | Butterfly McQueen, Alexander Clark, Robert Carrol, Frances Tannehill, John Moorehead and Conrad Bain | staged by Roger Brackett, lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom | |
| July 25 | "The Great Waltz" [footnotes 2] | Moss Hart | Patricia Bowman | Edward Stinnett, Dean Mundy, Marden Bate, Sherri Sherlock, Lisa Rapport, Lyn Ballard, Betty Hairston, Ed Powell, Dorothy Vance, Howard Kahl, Angeline Collins, Robert Fortin and Josh Wheeler | directed by Charles K. Freeman, musical direction by Vicky Crandall, featured pianists: Miss Crandall and Moreland Kortkamp | |
| August 1 | "Member of the Wedding" | Carson McCuller | Ethel Waters & Janet de Gore | |||
| August 8 | "The Rainmaker" | N. Richard Nash | Eva Marie Saint | Will Geer, Arthur Storch, Jack Mullaney, Mark Richamn, Truman Smith and Jeffrey Hayden | directed by Jeffrey Hayden | |
| August 15 | "You Can’t Take it with You" | George S. Kaufman & Moss Hart | Charles Coburn | Dulcie Cooper, Jill Miller, Helen Martin, Allan Tower, Elmer Brown, Arthur Anderson, Jesse Lucas, Juleen Compton, Andy King, Bob Lansing, Joseph Leon, Cynthia Carlin, Josef Draper and Nina Wentworth | staged by Harold Winson, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom | |
| August 22 | "Wedding Breakfast" | Theodore Reeves | Shelly Winters | Virginia Vincent, Martin Balsam and Anthony Franciosa | directed by Frank Corsaro, settings and lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom | |
| August 29 | "Wonderful Town" [footnotes 3] | Joseph A. Fields and Jerome Chodorov | Evelyn Page | Ken Clifford, Alan Kass, Frank Larkin, Peggy Hadley, Gordon Shearer, Adele Aron, John L. Moorehead, Sybil Page, Ted Wills, Maude Patten, Jack Naufhton and Joe Sargent | staged by Gus Schirmer Jr, at the pianos Anthony Christofaro and Natalie Charlson | |
| September 5 | "The Tender Trap" | Max Shulman & Robert Paul Smith | Sloan Simpson & Jack Manning | Terri Clark, Robert McQueeney, Constance Moorehead, Sloan Simpson, Bette Ellen, Robert Lansing and Francis Perkins | directed by Jack Manning, settings and lighting by Theodore M. Sastrom |
Note
Playbills
Cyprienne
No Time for Comedy
Wedding Breakfast
The Rainmaker
The 1956 season
Presented by Lee Falk.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 2 | "Lentil" | Rose Caylor | Fay Bainter, Glenda Farrell & Joan Tetsel | Florence Dunlap, Frances Fuller, Allan Tower, Bert Bertram, Tom Poston, Georgia Harvey, Jenny Hecht, Vera Fuller Mellish and Rubee Raymon | production by Linnell Jones, staged by Lee Falk, settings by Stuart Whyte, production assistant Alan Brock |
| July 9 | |||||
| July 16 | "Beasop's Fables" | Beatrice Lillie | magician: Fred Keating, pianists: Eadie, Rack, John Philip and Shannon Dean | produced and directed by John Phillip, settings and costumes by Ellen Blume | |
| July 23 | "The Chalk Garden" | Enid Bagnold | Lillian Gish & Dorothy Gish | O. Z. Whitehead, Adele Thane, Charron Follett, Muriel Pearce, Frances Ingalls and Neil Fitzgerald | staged by Charles Bowden, settings by Stuart Whyte |
| July 30 | "Stars of the Ballet Theatre" [footnotes 1] | - | Nora Kaya & John Kriza | Lupe Serrano, Ruth Ann Koesun, Scott Douglas, Catherine Horn, Christine Mayer and Enrique Martinez | musical director: Joseph Levine, piano accompanists Jaime Leon and Irving Owen, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Al Petruccelli |
| August 6 | "The Fifth Season" | Sylvia Regan | Chico Marx | Fred Graves, Joann Murphy, Dorothy Rice, Carl Don, Robert McQueeney, Ann Summers, Paul Carr, Olga Bielinska, Lorraine Kates, Lisa Barry, Marie Kelly and Allan Tower | directed by Lee Falk, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Al Petruccelli |
| August 13 | "Anniversary Waltz" | Jerome Chodorov & Joseph Fields | Sylvia Sidney | Ada Roston, John J. Connoughton, Shirley Pat Connoughton, Barry Thomson, Casey Walters, Joann Murphy, Sorrell Booke, Burt Austin, Allan Tower, Harriet MacGibbon and Carl Laing | directed by Richard Barr, settings by Stuart Whyte |
| August 20 | "Paris" | Marin Brown (& Cole Porter) | Jane Morgan & Russel Nype | John Scanlan, Muriel Pearce, Allan Tower, Burt Austin, Frances Brandt, Jackie Balwin and Jack Emrek | directed by Jack Emrek, musical direction by Ernest Bragg, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Al Petruccelli |
| August 27 | "Oh, Men! Oh, Women" | Edward Chodorov | Neil Hamilton | Jenny Egan, Ray MacDonnell, Juleen Compton, John Scanlan, Dodie Bauer, Robert Gallagher and Burt Austin | directed by Lee Falk, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Al Petruccelli |
| September 3 | "The Solid Gold Cadillac" | Howard Teichmann & George S. Kaufman | Billie Burke | Maurice Burke, John Cecil Holm, Reynolds Evans, Iggie Wolfington, Susan Willis, James Gildersleeve, Willis Wynn, Milo Boulton, Elaine Swann, Fred Dixon, Dick Libertini and Don Perkins | directed by John Giroux, settings by Stuart Whyte |
| September 10 | "Beasop's Fables" | Beatrice Lillie | magician: Fred Keating, pianists: Eadie, Rack, John Philip and Shannon Dean | produced and directed by John Phillip, settings and costumes by Ellen Blume | |
Note
- ↑ presents by Lee Falk in association with Lucia Chase and Oliver Smith.
Playbills
Lentil (signed by actors)
Beasop's Fables (July)
The Chalk Garden
Oh, Men!-Oh, Women!
Beasop's Fables (September)
The 1957 season
Presented by Lee Falk: Boston Summer Theatre Festival.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 8 | "Volpone" [footnotes 1] | Ben Johson | Ian Keith & Alfred Ryder | Tom Bosley, David Bauer, Arthur Malet, Peggy Feury, Jane McArthur, Clifford David, Ray Bieri, Lance Cunard and Guy Sorel | directed by Gene Frankel, settings by Stuart Whyte, choreography by Tom Hasson, music by Daniel Gordon, Lee Thompson at the piano, lighting by Al Petruccelli | |
| July 15 | "Thieves' Carnival" [footnotes 2] | Jean Anouilh | Melville Cooper & Marjorie Gateson | Lawerence Spector, John Reese, Guy Sorel, Monica Lovett, Jane McArthur, David Bauer, Tom Bosley, Lance Cunard, Sylvester Campbell, George Liker, Dalila Mockapetris and Paul Epstein | directed by Warren Enters, production designed by Jack Brown, incidental music by Elmer Gordon, choreography by Tom Hasson, lighting by Al Petruccelli | |
| July 22 | "Venus Observed" | Christopher Fry | Melville Cooper & Murray Matheson | Lawrence Spector, Jack K. Hollander, John Reese, Tom Bosley, Robin Howard, Maureen Hurley, Ann Summers and Monica Lovett | directed by Lee Falk, production designed by Jack Brown, lighting by Al Petruccelli | |
| July 29 | "Back to Methuselah" [footnotes 3] | George Bernard Shaw | Celeste Holm | & James Daly, Felix Deebank, Valerie Bettis, Michael Tolan, Arnold Moss, John Granger and Dorothy Whitney | directed by Philip Burton, settings by Marvin Reiss, costumes by John Boyt, lighting by Paul Leaf | |
| August 5 | "The Madwoman of Chaillot" [footnotes 4] | Jean Giraudoux | Florence Reed, Estelle Winwood & Melville Cooper | Ernest Austin, Lance Cunard, Jack K. Hollander, Guy Sorel, Lorraine Kates, Ned Murphy, Gloria Liftman, Alvin Epstein, Andrea Wahl, John Reese, Robin Howard, Edmund Roney, Tony Koufman, Donald Curran, Lawrence Spector, Ray Bieri, Tom Bosley, Maureen Hurley and Adele Thane | directed by Warren Enters | |
| August 12 | "The Potting Shed" | Graham Greene | Frances Starr & Frank Conroy | & Gene Lyons Robin Morgan, Tom Bosley, Maureen Hurley, Edward Finnegan, Lawrence Spector, Edmund Roney, Adele Thane, Joan Croydon | ||
| August 19 | "Lysistrata" [footnotes 5] | |||||
| August 26 | "Summer and Smoke" | Tennessee William | Margareth Phillips & Gene Lyons |
Note
Playbills
Volpone
Back-to-Methuselah
The-Madwoman-of-Chaillot(signed by Estelle Winwood and Alvin Epstein)
The-Potting-Shed
The 1958 season
Presented by Lee Falk and John Huntington.
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 7 | "Visit to a Small Planet" | Gore Vidal | Bert Lahr | Kenny Delmar, Stanley Tackney, Josephine Nichols, Kathryn Shaw, Jeff Davis, Stratton Walling, Grenadier Saadi, Ernest Austin, Al Petruccelli and John Lasell | staged by Pat Chandler, settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
| July 14 | "Mid-Summer" | Vina Delmar | James Mason | Pamela Mason, Suzanne Caubayene, Portland Mason, Adele Thane, Paul Andor, Betty Bartley, Jonathan Morris, Douglas Deane and Edward Finnegan | staged by Harold J. Kennedy, settings by Stuart Whyte, advance director Albert Penn |
| July 21 | "Separate Tables" | Terence Rattigan | Basil Rathbone & Geraldine Page | Adele Thane, Catherine Proctor, Ann Shoemaker, Lucy Landau, Barbara Lester, Edgar Kent, Audrey Ridgwell, Ralph Purdom and Ann Stanwel | directed by John O'Shaughnessy , settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
| July 28 | "Tonight at 8:30" [footnotes 1] | Noel Coward | Faye Emerson & Murray Matheson | Judy Tucker, Faye Emerson, Murray Matheson, Peter Pagan, Jean Cameron, Charles Campbell, Edward Hastings, Rita Vale and Keith Herrington | directed by Christopher Hewitt, settings by Stuart Whyte, produced by Elliot Martin, Stuart Ross at the piano |
| August 4 | "A Hole in the Head" | Arnold Schulman | Hal March | Ronnie Gates, Michael McAloney, Edward Finnegan, Ernest Austin, Donna Pearson, Maude Patten, Avril Gentile, Bill Tierney and Teena Starr | directed by Michael McAloney, settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
| August 11 | "Dulcy" | George S. Kaufman & Marc Connelly | Dody Goodman | Gene Lyons, Gloria Barret, Howard Mann, Justice Watson, Perry Fiske, Brooks Rogers, Lawrence Fletcher, Betty Rollin, Leo Bloom and Sanford McCauley | directed by Robert S. Finkel, show curtain by Marvin Reiss, settings by Stuart Whyte |
| August 18 | "Sweet and Sour" | Florence Lowe & Caroline Francke | Melvyn Douglas | Connie Sawyer, Ina Balin, Gerald Hiken, Lesley Woods, Martha Greenhouse, Theodore Goetz, Albert Leberfeld, Alice Yourman, Daniel Reed and John Zee | directed by Don Richardson, settings by Stuart Whyte, lighting by Pema, costymes by Gene Coffine |
| August 25 | "The Happiest Millionaire" | Kyle Crichton & Cordelia Drexel Biddle | Victor Jory | Maude Patten, George Ebeling, Richard Blair, Nick Smith, Jon Jory, Gaye Jordan, Ernest Austin, Marta Linden, Ellis Baker, Emma Rossi, Dalton Dearborn, Lou Nova and Cele Mclaughlin | staged by John O'Shaughnessy & Edward Hunt, settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
| September 1 | "Third Best Sport" | Eleanor & Leo Bayer | Celeste Holm | Sally Gracie, Ernest Austin, Jane Hoffman, Milo Boulton, James Karen, Russell Gaige, Andrew Duggan, Tony Kraber, Irene Cowan and Joseph Boland | directed by Michael Howard, settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
| September 8 | "Separate Tables" [footnotes 2] | Terence Rattigan | Basil Rathbone & Geraldine Page | Adele Thane, Catherine Proctor, Ann Shoemaker, Lucy Landau, Barbara Lester, Edgar Kent, Audrey Ridgwell, Ralph Purdom and Ann Stanwel | directed by John O'Shaughnessy , settings by Stuart White, lighting by Pema |
Note
Playbills
Visit A Small Planet (signed by actors)
Mid-Summer (signed by actors)
Separate Tables
Dulcy
The Happiest Millionaire
Third Best Sport
The County Playhouse (1952–1953)
at Framingham Cinema (about 2500 seats)
Framingham Cinema [1] was part of "Shopper’s World Mall", the world’s biggest shopping Centre located at Worcester Road, Route 9, Framingham, Massachusetts. It opened on October 4, 1951. The large Jordan Marsh dome on the southern end (see second picture below) was the sole anchor store for the mall in the earliest days. The dome was visible from the air and was used on aeronautical charts as a visual reporting point for aircraft approaching Boston's Logan Airport. At the time, It was reputed to be the third largest (in diameter) unsupported dome in the world after St. Peter's Basilica in Rome and St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
The original design of the Shoppers' World included a multipurpose theater, originally called “The Cinema” sited at one end of the mall. The house contained a large orchestra seating section, a balcony, and a full stage with a fly area for curtain, scenery, and lighting grid. ( Source Wikipedia article : [2] )
Lee Falk and Al Capp rented the Cinema during the summers of the years 1952–1954 to put up "the second week" of the plays from the Boston Summer theatre. The Framingham Cinema cancelled the last year of their contract and the County Playhouse operated only for the seasons of 1952 and 1953. Marlon Brando, Billy Burke and Ezio Pinza were some of the guest stars playing at the playhouse.
Views of the Framingham shopping mall and cinema
The 1952 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 1 | "Season with Ginger" | Ronald Alexander | Melvyn Douglas | Leora Thatcher, Polly Rowles, Gena Rowlands, Carol Lee, Ann Sturgis, James Broderick, Billy James, Allan Tower, Wayne Carson and Frank Milan | directed by Don Hershey, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Eliot Duvey |
| July 8 | "Nina" | Edward Everett Norton | Christopher Plummer, .. | ||
| July 15 | "Kiss Me, Kate" | Cole Porter | Juliana Larson | ||
| July 21 | "Come On Up...Ring Twice" | Miles Mander, Fred Schiller and Thomas Dunphy | Mae West | George Gilbreath, Rosetta Crawford, Albert Bergh, Grant Gordon, Therese Quadri, Jerome Gardino, Saul Davis, Steve Parker, David Langdon, Howard Ledig, Rand Elliott, Alan Furlan, Willis Claire, Larry Lee, Wayne Carson, Jim Wyler, William Leonard, Joe Graham | |
| July 28 | "On Your Toes" | Rodger & Hart | Arny Freeman | ||
| August 4 | "The Gramercy Ghost" | John Cecil Holm | Veronica Lake | ||
| August 11 | "The Glass Menagerie" | Tennessee Williams | Dana Andrews | Walter Matthau, Mary Todd, June Walker | |
| August 18 | "Jezebel's Husband" | Robert Nathan | Claude Rains | Ossie Davis, Vinie Burrows, Ben Gazzara, Carmen Matthews, Claude Rains, Robert Emhardt, Ruth McDevitt, Judith Parrish, Claudia Morgan, William Leonard and Robert Kieth Jr. | |
| August 25 | "One Touch of Venus" | Carol Bruce | |||
| September 1 | "The Happy Time" | Samuel Taylor | Denise Darcel | Gregg Juarez, Robert De Cost, Mary Macleod, Al Thaler, Richard Trask, Allan Tower, Martha Barron, Gayle Chandler, Edward Finnegan, Gerry Hiken, Joe Graham | |
| September 8 | "Desert Song" | Sigmund Romberg | Arthur Maxwell & Florence Forsberg |
- Produced by Lee Falk in association with Al Capp.
Playbills
Come On Up...Ring Twice
The Glass Menagerie
Jezebel's Husband (signed by actors)
The 1953 season
The County Playhouse was granted a licence to "conduct plays and musicals at Shoppers' World, Cinema, week days, June 15 - September 5 inclusive, from 8:00 to 11:30 o'clock P.M., and on Wedensdays and Fridays, 2:00 to 5:30 P.M., also." (Town of Framingham, selectmen's records, regular meeting of the board of selectmen June 16, 1953)
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| June 15 | "Bell, Book and Candle" | John van Druten | Alexis Smith & Viktor Jory | David Orrick, Maud Scheerer and Allan Tower | staged by Clarke Gordon, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| June 22 | "The Moone is Blue" | F. Hugh Herbert | Zachary Scott | June Dayton, Dean Harens and Hal Currier | |
| June 29 | "Life with Mother" | Lindsay-Croose | Billie Burke | Harry Bannister, Alan Jay Shnapier, Bobby Alford, James Goodwin, Maude Patton, James Hickman, William Jeffrey, Helen Ray, Nancy Devlin, Lucille Benson, Ethel Britton, Hal Currier and Louise Kirtland | |
| July 6 | "The Play's the Thing" | Molnar | Ezio Piaza | ||
| July 13 | Carousel | Oscar Hammerstein II | Barbara Cook | Brodway cast: Patricia Northrup, Tom Rieder, Donald Blackey, Jane Morrissey, Scott Merrill, Lucille Benson, Mona Tritsch, Kenneth LeRoy, Ann Barry | |
| July 20 | "Annie Get Your Gun" | Irving Berlin | Sara Dillon & Jack Dabdoub | ||
| July 27 | "Arms and the Man" (1) | George Bernard Shaw | Marlon Brando | William Redfield, Anne Kimbell, Sam Gilman, Philip Rhodes, Janice Mars, Carlo Fiore, Nydia Westman | |
| August 3 | "Peg O' My Heart" | J. Hartley Manners | Margaret O'Brien | Ethel Britton, Ken McEwen, Constance Moorehead, Lenn Phipps, Wayne Carson, Allan Tower, Albert Johnson and John Conwell | directed by Stanley Ackerman, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom, lighting by Francis Sidlauskas |
| August 10 | "Three Men on a Horse" | John Cecil Holm & George Abbott | Wally Cox | ||
| August 17 | "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes'" | Betty Bartley, Ann Francine, Peter Held, | |||
| August 24 | "Personal Appearance" | Dagmar | |||
| August 31 | "Mister Roberts" | Thommas Heggen & Joshua Logan | Wayne Morris | Hal Currier, Frederic Downs, David Van Celet, Matt Briggs, Sydney G. Stevens, Bruce Michael, Charles Polk, Paul Clarke, Larry Silverson, Lenn Phipps, Gregg Jurarez, Wayne Carson, Ann Sorg, Arthur Wenzel, Fred Alger, Dick Villard and Ed DiLorenzo | directed by Barnet Biro, settings by Theodore M. Sastrom |
- (1) arrangement with Morton Gottlieb and Albert Selden.
Playbills
Carousel
Arms-and-the-Man
The Marblehead Summer Theatre (1954–1955)
In 1952 Lee Falk said[1] he had rented the North Shore Music Tent in Beverly, not far away from Marblehead. This might have been the start of the Marblehead Summer Theatre or some other project that wasn't realized. The North Shore Music Tent opened in 1954 as an open (open-air) summer-stock theater, but if Lee Falk was involved in the project is not known.
at Marblehead High School Auditorium
The 1954 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast | Credits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 5 | "Paris '90" | Cornelia Otis Skinner | |||
| July 12 | "Mister Roberts" | Gene Raymond | |||
| July 19 | "Songs of Norway" | Lucille Manners | James Jewell, Delores Micheline, Paul Knowles, Robert Fortin, Ruthanna Boris, Frank Hobi | ||
| July 26 | "Autumn Crocus" | Dodie Smith | Margaret Truman | Ingeborg Roebbeling, George Voskovec, Pamela Simpson, Ethel Hodges, Lucie Lancaster, Anne Pearson, Marc May and Horace Cooper | |
| August 2 | ""The Vegetable" | F. Scott Fitzgerald | Wally Cox | Alice Pearce, Marilyn Gennaro, Donald Macdonald, Peggy Cass, Harry Bergman, Pete Turgeon, William LeMassena, Conrad Bane, Wayne Carson, Allen Tower and Charles Reynolds | |
| August 9 | "The Little Hut" | Andre Roussin | Marie Wilson | Melville Cooper, Walter Brooke | |
| August 16 | "Stalag 17" | Don Bevan & Edmund Trzcinski | ALL-Brodway Cast | ||
| August 23 | "The Show-Off" | George Kelly | Joe E. Brown | (Ann Dere, Frances Helm,?) | |
| August 30 | "Heaven Can Wait" | Harry Segall | Steve Cochran | Patricia Peardon, Allan Tower, Murial Williams, Lester Mack | directed by Lay Nilsen |
Marblehead High School Auditorium mention for "The Show Off" 1954 play
The 1955 season
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| July 4 | "Mother was a Bachelor" | Irving W. Phillips | Billie Burke | Donald McClelland, Robert Baines, Edwin Cooper, Terry DuHaine, Virgina Gerry, Tommy Halloran |
| July 11 | "No Time for Comedy" | Sarah Churchill | ||
| July 18 | "Picnic" | William Inge | Gloria Vanderbilt & Jack Warden | Sylvia Davis, Helen Auerbach, Peter Sargent, Peg Hillias, Louise Larrabee, John Connell, Nina Wentworth, Maude Patton and Vaughn Taylor |
| July 25 | "Member of the Wedding" | Carson McCullers | Ethel Waters | |
| August 1 | "You Can't Take it With You" | Charles Coburn | ||
| August 8 | "The Winslow Boy" (1) | Terence Rattigan | Basil Rathbone | Colin Keith-Johnston, Sarah Burton, Pamela Simpson, ... |
| August 15 | "Blithe Spirit" | Noel Coward | Eva Gabor | Alan Manson, Paula Laurence, Anna Minot, Muriel Pearce + "Stellar Brodway Cast" |
| August 22 | "The Caine Mutiny Court Martial" | Jeffrey Lynn | ||
| August 29 | "Sabrina Fair" | Samuel Taylor | Jacqueline Holt | Earl Hammond, Larrabee Jr. Gaines Kincaid, Tyler Win, Olive Templeton, Sue Smidt, Joe Guilfoyle, Joe Bridges and Bob Lansing |
- 1 Presented by Lee Falk, staged by Basil Rathbone, production director George Mully
Playbills
The Winslow Boy
Blithe Spirit (signed by actors)
The Bahama Playhouse / British Colonial Playhouse (1950–1955 ?)
at British Colonial Hotel (about 40 seats)
Lee and his wife Connie used to spend parts of the winters in Nassau, Bahamas. During February and March a small theatre known as "Bahama Playhouse" operated at the British Colonial Hotel. Lawrence Langner, Martin Manulis and Charles Bowden had been operated the theatre for two years without any financial success. In 1952 they asked Lee Falk if he would like to manage the theatre and he accepted. Late 1954 the producer Frank Falk was plotting a new season and Shirley Boot said she in March 1955 was to play in "The Vinegar Tree" by Paul Osborn. But if the theatre still was operated by Lee Falk after 1954 season is uncertain.
The 1953 season
As the Bahama Playhouse.
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| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 2 | "Private Lives" | Noël Coward | Judith Evelyn | |
| February 16 | "The Constant Wife" | W. Somerset Maugham | Judith Eveland | Constance Moorehead, .. |
| February 23 | "Bell, Book and Candle" | John Van Druten | Charles Heston & Lydia Clarke | |
The 1954 season
Before its eight-week season under the direction of Lee Falk, the British Colonial Playhouse had undergone extensive renovations. For this season Lee Falk mentioned one play on Elizabeth the First: "either Elizabeth and Essex or Young Elizabeth" and a few actors: " Sir Cedric Hardwicke, Maria Riva, Farley Granger and Wayne Morris".
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This article, or section of an article, is very short. You can help MandrakeWiki by expanding it. |
| Week of | Title | by | Starring | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| February 1 | "Pygmalion" | George Bernard Shaw | Leueen MacGrath & Murray Matheson | |
| February 1 (?) | "The Lady's Not for Burning" | Christopher Fry | Uta Hagen | might be incorrect date ! |
| "Gigi" | Estelle Winwood & Frances Helm | |||
The 1955 season
Lee Falk produced five musicals at the British Colonial Playhouse [2].
Other theatres
The Grist Mill Playhouse
Lee Falk was the producer on "On The Town" by Betty Comden and Adolph Green with music by Leonard Bernstein at The Grist Mill Playhouse (Andover N.J.) week of July 17, 1950.
Credits:
Staged by Carl Shain, Choreography by Beverlee Bozeman, Assistant Director: Paul Lamers, Set Designed by William Moore, Music Arranged and Executed by Dean Fuller and David Craig.
Cast: Nancy Walker, Ruth Webb, James Jewell, Nita Naldi, John Sylvester, Chris Alexander, Robert Gallagher, Beverlee Bozeman, Faith Forte, Marilyn Gelber, Walter Neal, Portia Nelson, Steven Lee, Robert Calder, Robert De Voye, Eleanor Fairchild, Gordon Peters, Alice Thorsell, Betsy Stickney, Jean Timmerman, Zelene McDavit, Barbara Bronson, Robert Holly, Malcolm Stickney, Robert Hebbard, Lanny Gans.
Renata Theater
Lee Falk was the producer and director for the play "Winkelberg" by Ben Hecht at Renata Theater (NY) in 1958. It opened January 14 1958 and run for 58 preformances.
Credits:
Set Designer: Lester Polakov, Costume Designer: Don Jensen, Lighting Designer: Lester Polakov, Press Representative: Lewis Harmond & Sol Jacobsen, Stage Manager: Ernest Austin, Edward Roney and Bob Sugarman.
Cast: Arthur Anderson, Ernie Austin, Aza Bard, Sorell Booke, Norman Budd, Frances Chaney, Tom Clancy, Jayne Heller, Harry Holsten, Robert Earl Jones, Mike Kellin, Louise Kirtland, Sondra Lee, Michael Lewis, James Mitchell, Shirley Smith, Bob Sugarman, Helen Waters
Spa Summer Theatre
Lee Falk was the production supervisor of the musical comedy "On the Town" by Betty Comden and Adolph Green at Spa Summer Theatre (Saratoga) week of August 7, 1950.
Credits:
Music by Lonard Bernstein, Staged by Carl Shain, Choreography by Beverlee Bozeman, Assistant director, Paul Lammers, Settings designed by Donald Shirley, Musical arrangements by Dean Fuller, Production supervised by Lee Falk, At the pianos Dean Fuller and Arthur Medoff.
Cast: Robert Gallagher, John Sylvester, Chris Alexander, James Jewell, Gerry Lockerty, Gwyneth Dun, Kenneth Rosen, Portia Nelson, Beverlee Bozeman, Nancy Walker, Robert Calder, Robert de Voye, Ruth Webb, Eleanor Fairchild, Nita Naidi, Clyde Waddell, Vera Ferguson, James Feltner, Klaus Kolmar, David Roykouff, Mina Barstow, Katherine Jones, Dana Kraus, Faith Lavine, Judy Jones.
Lee Falk was the director for the play "Roman Candle" by Sidney Sheldon at Spa Summer Theatre (Saratoga) week of June 27, 1960.
Credits:
Production designed and lighted by Charles J Hammer Jr.
Cast: Bill Story, Ben Etheridge, Scott Brady, Ann Folger, Jane Bruce, Robert Steward, Conrad Bain, Joseph Holland, Walter Mathews, Susanne Storrs, John Huntington, Henry Whittemore, Casey Walters, Robert Van Dorn, Joel Taylor
Sources
- Billboard magazines
- Newspapers