STAGE STRUCK {"IS THE ROAD DYING?"; HERMIONE GINGOLD, HARRY BELAFONTE, KATHARINE CORNELL} (RADIO)
Summary
One in this series of programs about the world of theater, hosted by Mike Wallace, featuring interviews, scenes, and musical numbers from current and upcoming productions. In this edition, Wallace travels the nation in an attempt to answer the question: "Is theater on the road dying?" Included are the following segments: Wallace interviews Warren Caro, executive director of the Theatre Guild-American Theatre Society (a national subscription affiliate), who reacts to a recent newspaper article citing a large drop in theater subscriptions nationwide; Wallace visits San Francisco for a performance of the national touring company of "New Faces of 1952," featuring the opening number with Ronny Graham and company; "New Faces" producer Leonard Sillman suggests that New York producers need to send more first-class productions on tour; Robert Clary sings "I Am in Love with Miss Logan" from "New Faces"; Cleveland Plain Dealer drama critic William F. McDermott notes the numerous times in history that the imminent death of theater has been proclaimed, and he suggests better shows as a simple antidote to sagging attendance; Paul Beismann, manager of the American Theater in St. Louis, calls the road "a market without merchandise"; Wallace visits in Chicago with Martyn Green -- currently touring in George Bernard Shaw's "Misalliance" -- who notes that audiences may have become a bit lazy due to the convenience of television, suggests the road shows are lacking in big name stars, and then performs "Modern Major General" from "The Pirates of Penzance"; Wallace interviews Mrs. Julian McIntosh, a Detroit theatergoer, who believes the quality of road plays has actually improved in recent years, but questions why regional audiences must wait two or three years to see hit shows; in Wilmington, Delaware, Wallace takes in a performance of "Guys and Dolls," in which Stubby Kaye and others perform "Fugue for Tin Horns" and then "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat"; in Boston, Polly Bergen rehearses the song "Fini" from "John Murray Anderson's Almanac"; "Almanac" star Hermione Gingold confides in Wallace her terror of the show's upcoming opening night in New York, discusses the difficulty of transposing humor from one country to another, and recalls her early career as a serious Shakespearean actress; Gingold reads a humorous passage from a book she wrote, in which she gives advice to fans who've written her letters; Harry Belafonte sings "Acorn in the Meadow" from "Almanac"; Elaine Dunn and Carleton Carpenter sing the duet, "You're a Part of Me," also from "Almanac"; producer Leland Hayward and playwrights Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse discuss their new play, "The Prescott Papers," currently in a tryout run at the National Theater in Washington, D.C.; and stars Katharine Cornell and Lorne Greene perform a scene from Act Two of "The Prescott Papers." Includes a commercial and promos.
Details
- NETWORK: CBS
- DATE: December 11, 1953 Friday 9:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 1:00:03
- COLOR/B&W: N/A
- CATALOG ID: R78:0207
- GENRE: Radio - Talk/Interviews; Radio - Variety
- SUBJECT HEADING: Music; Musical revues, comedies, etc. - Excerpts; Plays - Excerpts; Theater; Variety
- SERIES RUN: CBS - Radio series, 1953-1954
- COMMERCIALS:
- Radio - Commercials - "Give a radio for Christmas"
- Radio - Promos - "Stage Struck"
- Radio - Promos - "Stars Over Hollywood"
CREDITS
- Howard G. Barnes … Producer
- Bruno Ziroto … Director
- Bob Corcoran … Writer
- Mike Wallace … Host
- Belafonte. Harry … Singer
- Polly Bergen … Singer
- Robert Clary … Singer
- Elaine Dunn … Singer
- Carleton Carpenter … Singer
- Ronny Graham … Singer
- Martyn Green … Singer, Guest
- Stubby Kaye … Singer
- Katharine Cornell … Performer
- Lorne Greene … Performer
- Paul Beismann … Guest
- Warren Caro … Guest
- Russel Crouse … Guest
- Hermione Gingold … Guest
- Leland Hayward … Guest
- Howard Lindsay … Guest
- William F. McDermott … Guest
- Leonard Sillman … Guest
- Mrs. Julian McIntosh