DECEMBER 31, NEW YEAR'S EVE: ON THIS DAY IN NEW YORK THEATRE

Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne in Caprice.

For the latest installment in my series, ON THIS DAY IN NEW YORK THEATRE, this one covering New Year's Eve in the twenties, thirties, and forties, please click on THEATER LIFE.

425. RICHARD FARINA: LONG TIME COMING AND A LONG TIME GONE. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

About this series (for newcomers and whoever else might be interested): Prior to the pandemic, Theatre's Leiter Side was a blog on which I posted nearly 1600 reviews of New York theatre, beginning in 2012. Once the theatres shut down, I kept the blog alive with a series of production surveys covering, in neworder, nearly every show that opened on or Off Broadway from 1970-1975. They came from the manuscript of what was planned back in the eighties as a book called The Encyclopedia of the New York Theatre, 1970-1980, which would kick off a series of similar volumes for earlier decades. 

That project was altered midway through when the publisher (Greenwood Press) and I decided to begin the series with the 1920s. Subsequently, I published The Encyclopedia of the New York Stage in three thick volumes, one each for the twenties, thirties, and forties, making it the most comprehensive survey of every show of every type to have opened in New York over those three decades. With nothing to review when the shows shut up shop, I dug up the typescript (I'd thrown the now useless floppy disks away) of the abandoned 1970-1975 entries and began retyping and posting them. Today's is the 425th since I began; I used to post more than one daily until time became a problem.

Although I've updated and slightly revised many of them, many are, admittedly, a bit less detailed than those in the published volumes, especially those for the thirties and forties. Still, many have found them interesting and even useful. I hope you do, too.

RICHARD FARINA: LONG TIME COMING AND A LONG TIME GONE [Musical Revue] AD: Nancy Greenwald; D: Robert Greenwald; S: Richard Hammer; C: Joyce and Jerry Marcel; L: John Dodd; P: Free Flow Productions and Jay K. Hoffman; T: Fortune Theatre (OB); 11/17/71-11/21/71 (7)

NoteS: No photos are available for this production. An earlier version of this posting mistakenly used the title LONG TIME GOING AND A LONG TIME GONE.

One of the young hopefuls in this short-lived grab bag of material written and composed by the late, eponymous folk singer was Richard Gere, soon to be a major film star. Richard Farina’s claim to fame was a novel, Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up to Me, finished shortly before his death in 1966 in a motorcycle crash, when he was 29.

This revue was based on Farina’s book and some of his unpublished writings. Nobody was thrilled, though Martin Gottfried, for one, admitted he “enjoyed” the show in spite of its uneven production. Clive Barnes was wearied by it, and condemned the show as “anti-theatrical.” “The music sounds like a dated echo of Bob Dylan,” he carped.

Cast members included Charles Weldon, Jessica Harper, Brendan Hanlon, Michael Lewis, Vicki Sue Robinson, and Penelope Milford.

 

424. THE RED WHITE AND BLACK. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

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.

423. "THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND" and "AFTER MAGRITTE." From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Remak Ramsey, Jane Connell, Carrie Nye, Konrad Matthaei. 

THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND and AFTER MAGRITTE [Comedy/British/One-Acts] A: Tom Stoppard; D: Joseph Hardy; CH: Patricia Birch; S: William Ritman; C: Joseph G. Aulisi; L: Richard Nelson; P: Susan Richardson, Lawrence Goosen, and Seth Schapiro; T: Theatre Four (OB); 4/23/72-6/3/73 (465)

“After Magritte” [Crime/Family]; “The Real Inspector Hound” [Crime/Mystery/Theatre]

These English one-act imports were a resounding success, running Off Broadway for over a year. The opening piece, and also the shorter, was “After Magritte,” an amusing, but only modestly appreciated satire that Harold Clurman called “a quasi-surrealist parody of the English police melodrama.” Styled after Magritte’s surrealistic paintings, the action involves the entrance of a detective named Holmes (Edmond Genest) into the home of an apparently bizarre family and his subsequent questioning of everyone concerning a crime he suspects they may have committed. The seemingly weird behavior of the characters is all rationally motived, though, providing Stoppard with material for playing with themes of illusion and reality. The expert cast included Carrie Nye, Jane Connell, Remak Ramsey, and Konrad Matthaei.

Boni Enten, Edmond Genest, Carrie Nye, Jane Connell, Remak Ramsey.

The chief offering and the one given ovations was “The Real Inspector Hound,” a play-within-a-play spoof of both Agatha Christie-type mystery plays and theatre critics. Seated in a side box are two such journalists, Birdboot (Tom Lacy) and Moon (David Rounds). The latter is a second stringer with feelings of enmity for first string reviewers. This pair is viewing a conventional murder mystery set in Muldoon Manor, the ostentatious home of upper-crust characters. As the action progresses, we are privy to the cracks of these men, one of whom, Birdboot, has been lusting after an actress in the play. The idiotic vanities and vagaries of the critics are mercilessly lampooned as we hear them discuss the play.

Eventually Birdboot and Moon are drawn into the play’s action when, responding to an unanswered phone ringing on the stage, one of them leaves his seat to answer it. The results, for the most part, are hysterically funny as well as thought-provoking in their effective brainteasing with metaphysical issues of shifting reality levels.

Stoppard “holds the relationship of audience and stage up to a droll light in a way that restores playfulness to the theatre,” chuckled Dick Brukenfeld. Among the strong features pointed out by the reviews were its clever and witty use of language, the high-spirited humor of Stoppard’s undergraduate conceptions, and the shrewdness of his satirical mockery of literary and artistic pretensions. “It is very funny and civilized, involving despite its detachment, and, by God, there even lurks an indefinable but necessary extra dimension in it, like that bit of truffle at the heart of a goose-liver pâté,” declared John Simon. Among less fervent admirers was Clurman, who wrote, “I tried hard to enjoy the event, but I found it trivial and arid.”

The production was excellent, with kudos for the director, designers, and cast. All the actors in “After Magritte” were involved, along with Boni Enten, Brian Murray, and Abe de la Houssaye.

422. THE RAMAYANA. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Anasuya Vaidya in a later production of The Ramayana.

THE RAMAYANA [Solo/Indian/Period] AD: Gopal Sharman; SC: Valmiki’s Indian epic, The Ramayana; D: Gopal Sharman (New York production directed by Helen Breed); S: John C. MacGregor; L: Anasuya Vaidya; P: Robert Hendrickson; T: Barbizon-Plaza Theatre (OB); 2/6/75-2/15/75 (6)

Jalabala Vaidya, a renowned Indian actress, came to New York following a world tour with her one-woman retelling of India’s epic tale, The Ramayana. Demonstrating what Richard Shepard  called “a formidable range of virtuosity,” she presented the ancient story in a carefully edited version in which she played over 20 characters in “suitably heroic vein.” A bare stage was used for this “honestly fashioned” work that served as a fine introduction to a great book of the classical Asian past.

Many spectators left at intermission, unfortunately, perhaps turned off by the “poetic language and philosophical meanderings,” as Sylviane Gold surmised. One critic suggested that a narrator might have been used so that Vaidya did not have to keep interrupting the plot line to describe characters and locales. The actress’s talents were, however, distinctive. Gold described her voice as “an instrument of countless octaves and colorations.”

According to Jalabala Vaidya’s Wikipedia article, the work has been done over 2,000 times and is still in her company repertory. An article from the Hindustani Times covers the company and its ongoing presentation of The Ramayana, even in the age of Covid-19.

In 1987, British director Peter Brook would stage a world-renowned, full-scale adaptation of the other major Indian epic, The Mahabharata, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music.

422. RAISIN. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

d

Joe Morton, Deborah Allen, and company.

RAISIN [Musical/Family/Race/Romance] B: Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg; M: Judd Woldin; LY: Robert Brittan; SC: Lorraine Hansberry’s play A Raisin in the Sun; D/CH: Donald McKayle; S: Robert U. Taylor; C: Bernard Johnson; L: William Mintzer; P: Robert Nemiroff; T: Forty-ninth Street Theatre; 10/18/73-12/7/75 (847)

After debuting at Washington, D.C.’s Arena Stage, this musicalization of A Raisin in the Sun, Lorraine Hansberry’s epochal success of 1959, was brought to Broadway where it enjoyed a considerably long run. Like its original, it focused on the story of the Youngers, a Chicago Black family struggling to move up and out of its confinement in the ghetto into the promise of a middle-class life represented by a home in the white suburbs. The move precipitates unexpected racial tensions in the uptight new community, leading the Youngers to reassess their situation.  

Virginia Capers, Joe Morton, Ernestine Jackson.

The critical reception was varied, though largely favorable. Clive Barnes declared the book an improvement over Hansberry’s script, found the score lacking in “any considerable power and originality,” and was carried away by the direction, choreography, performances, and design. “The dance numbers rank among the best in years,” he claimed. Robert U. Taylor’s set was described by Barnes as “a tenement townscape that serves equally well as a background for ghetto, bar, chapel or house.” 

Walter Kerr loved the way the show had developed into a fluidly designed, composed, and staged adaptation of inventive and clever dimensions, but had his doubts about the lack of variety in the melodic line. He pointed to the effectiveness with which the intelligent staging made use of mimed props on a set devoid even of doors and windows.

Deborah Allen, Robert Jackson.

Harold Clurman sensed a weakening of the Hansberry play’s dramatic force. He also was cool to the undistinguished score and, in contrast to Barnes, considered dance numbers “not in the least remarkable.” Nor was he moved by the total effect of dressing up the play in the adornments of the musical form. He nonetheless admitted that he was never bored, noting that there was more here than afforded by the usual Broadway musical. John Simon likewise thought the snow unexceptional, finding little to rave about in its production facets while, like most others, being overwhelmed by the performers.

Ralph Carter.

Standouts were Virginia Capers as Lena Younger, the full-bodied Mama, who “was tremendous in just about every sense you can use the word,” wrote Barnes. Joe Morton as Walter Lee Younger provided “a splendid singing actor, supply shuttling between comedy and drama,” observed Simon. Ernestine Jackson scored as Ruth Younger, Simon noting that “Miss Jackson sings and acts exquisitely. . . . I have seldom seen such abidingly involved, highly concentrated yet unhistrionic humanity exuded so simply on stage, or anywhere else.” Ralph Carter, as the 10-year-old Travis, who stopped the show with one of his songs, was considered Broadway’s leading child star at the time. Deborah Allen as Beneatha, Robert Jackson as Joseph, and Helen Martin as a stereotyped neighbor, Mrs. Johnson, all made indelible impressions.

Among the 15 musical numbers were "Man Say," "Whose Little Angry Man," "Rnnnin' to Meet the Man," "Booze," "African Dance," "He Come Down This Morning," "It's a Deal," and "Measure the Valleys."

Loretta Abbott, Al Perryman.

Awards and nominations were abundant. Raisin won the Tony for Best Musical. Tony nominations went to Robert Nemiroff and Charlotte Zaltzberg for Best Book; Judd Woldin and Robert Brittan for Best Score; Donald McKayle for Best Director, Musical, and Best Choreographer; Ralph Carter for Best Supporting Actor, Musical; Ernestine Jackson for Best Supporting Actress, Musical; Virginia Capers for Best Actress, Musical; and Joe Morton for Best Actor, Musical. In addition, Morton, Jackson, and Carter nabbed Theatre World Awards.

Ralph Carter, Deborah Allen, Virginia Capers, Ernestine Jackson.

421. RAINBOW JONES. From my (unpublished) ENCYCLOPEDIA OF THE NEW YORK STAGE, 1970-1975

Peggy Hagen Lamprey, Gil Robbins, Ruby Persson, Andy Rohrer, Stephanie Silver.

RAINBOW JONES [Musical/Animals/Fantasy/Romance] B/M/LY: Jill Williams; D: Gene Persson; MS (CH): Sammy Bayes; S: Richard Ferrer; C: James Berton Harris; L: Spencer Mosse; P: Rubykate, Inc. i/a/w Phil Gillin and Gene Bambic; T: Music Box Theatre; 2/13/74 (1)

One more coffin in the cemetery of single-performance flops so prevalent in the early 70s, Rainbow Jones was called a “coy and simpering” fantasy by Clive Barnes, “embarrassing” by Martin Gottfried, and “idiocy” by Douglas Watt. Gene Persson directed his wife, Ruby Persson—suggesting to Gottfried that this was a vanity production—in the title role of Rainbow Jones, a young woman who blames herself for the auto accident that killed her parents. She lives with an eccentric aunt (Kay St. Germain) whose chief activity is watching TV quiz shows.

Unable to keep a job, the dispirited Rainbow finds her only consolation in going to Central Park with a copy of Aesop’s Fable. There she communes with a speaking dog, lioness, fox, and lamb who materialize whenever she opens the pages. A romance blooms with an ad writer (Peter Kastner) who jogs in the park, but the relationship weakens when he is skeptical about her fantasies. She leaves for Ohio, but eventually returns to the guy in the park.

Kind words were scarce for this show. Barnes said, “The book is as bad as the music, the music is as bad as the lyrics, and the lyrics are as bad as either.” No pot of gold awaited Rainbow Jones.