THE RED WHITE AND BLACK [Musical/Revue] CN: John Dillon; B/LY/D: Eric Bentley; S: Bill Mikeulewicz; C: Margaret Tobin; L: Robert Engstrom; P: Donald Goldman; P: Players Theatre (OB); 3/30/71 (1)
NOTE: No photos are available for this production.
Respected theatre critic and Brecht translator Eric Bentley was
largely responsible for this topical revue, which began life as an Off-Off
Broadway showcase. It was one of the period’s very few attempts at a radical
political cabaret. Mel Gussow enjoyed it in its original manifestation and
wrote that, aside from certain obvious aspects, “This is a worthwhile evening.
The balance is provided by the music [played by a group called The History of
Russia] and the production.”
The topics surveyed were “Vietnam, health services, poverty,
Russia’s treatment of the Czechs, capitalism, anti-Black Pantherism, anti-Gay
Lib, [and] anti-Fem Lib.” When Clive Barnes saw the Off-Broadway version, he
agreed with some of his colleagues’ opinions, but concluded, “I suppose it
makes for propaganda, but it doesn’t really make for theatre.” With
judgments like that, it never saw a second performance. Cast members included
Pamela Adams, Sofia Adoniadis, Antonio Azito (who would later make a brief splash as
Tony Azito), and, among others, Marilyn Sokol, still the best known of the lot.
