261. IN THE TIME OF HARRY HARASS. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Heather Haven, Warren Pincus (front), Bernard Erhard, Les Shenkel, Alice Elliott (rear)

IN THE TIME OF HARRY HARASS [Comedy/Men] A: Carolyn Rossi; D: Janet Bruders; S: Andy Dobrovich, Bill Balant; C: Annie Borys; L: Edward Goetz; P: Harass Productions, Inc.; T: Players Theatre (OB); 10/25/71 (1)

In the Time of Harry Harass was another martyr in the sequence of one-night turkeys that kept gobbling up stage time in the early 70s. Its sole claim to attention was that it was written and by women when such productions were rare. Barely any of the critics were able to sit through it all the way, however, and Clive Barnes grouched, “This is the kind of comedy that critics should be given danger money to see.”

Press agent/actor Warren Pincus starred as a modern suburban “little man” stereotype who drags himself to work every day to a job he hates, dreams of writing a novel, and has no luck with women. The events of a day in his life make up the substance of the play.

“[I]t is utterly devoid of wit, point or interest,” sniped Douglas Watt, while Richard Watts said, “it is indulging in an understatement to describe it as awful.” Barnes added that the dialogue “is deader than the Dead Sea scrolls but rather less salty.”