John Barrymore, Shakespearean ActorJohn Barrymore's Richard III and Hamlet, first seen in New York during the 1919-20 and 1922-23 seasons, stand as high-water marks of twentieth-century Shakespearean interpretation. Michael Morrison reconstructs these historic performances through analysis of the production preparation, audience response, reviews, and memoirs. Tracing the Victorian and Edwardian antecedents of Shakespearean performance, this book situates Barrymore's distinctive contribution in light of past and ensuing tradition. As well, it provides a biographical sketch of one of the most revered and tragic actors of the twentieth century. "This young artist, profiting by the lessons of tradition...casts it boldly aside and emerges into the rarefied atmosphere of a new art, greater because it is new, stronger because it is built upon an old foundation." Brooklyn Times, March 9, 1920 |
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Page x
... direction of subsequent revivals . Barrymore's Richard III and Hamlet are generally acknowledged to be two of the most significant Shakespearean events in the history of the modern stage , yet surprisingly little effort has been made to ...
... direction of subsequent revivals . Barrymore's Richard III and Hamlet are generally acknowledged to be two of the most significant Shakespearean events in the history of the modern stage , yet surprisingly little effort has been made to ...
Page xi
... direction , and design . The productions should thus be considered in light of the bravura acting of Edwin Booth and Henry Irving , the festive glamour of Augustin Daly's productions , the scenog- raphy of Herbert Tree , the neo ...
... direction , and design . The productions should thus be considered in light of the bravura acting of Edwin Booth and Henry Irving , the festive glamour of Augustin Daly's productions , the scenog- raphy of Herbert Tree , the neo ...
Page 3
... direction and design by Arthur Hopkins and Robert Edmond Jones , had created a theatrical land- mark . Barrymore's performance was praised as a welcome departure from the " tragic elevation " and orchestral tones of the Victorian and ...
... direction and design by Arthur Hopkins and Robert Edmond Jones , had created a theatrical land- mark . Barrymore's performance was praised as a welcome departure from the " tragic elevation " and orchestral tones of the Victorian and ...
Page 4
... direction , and design that radically transformed the style and interpre- tive techniques of nineteenth- and early twentieth - century Shakespeare and pointed the way toward modern practice . Like all revolutions , of course , the ...
... direction , and design that radically transformed the style and interpre- tive techniques of nineteenth- and early twentieth - century Shakespeare and pointed the way toward modern practice . Like all revolutions , of course , the ...
Page 25
... direction of Frank McEntee , a young University of Toronto graduate and veteran of Ben Greet's company , whose goals were " a fresh and original con- ception of the text " and the use of " simplicity and imaginative artistry " to ...
... direction of Frank McEntee , a young University of Toronto graduate and veteran of Ben Greet's company , whose goals were " a fresh and original con- ception of the text " and the use of " simplicity and imaginative artistry " to ...
Contents
The Education of an Actor 18821919 | 32 |
The Productions | 67 |
Richard III 1920 | 69 |
Hamlet 19221924 | 122 |
The London Hamlet 1925 | 242 |
Aftermath | 261 |
Shakespeare in Hollywood 19251942 | 263 |
Epilogue | 299 |
Appendixes | 307 |
The Casts | 309 |
The Texts | 323 |
Notes | 331 |
385 | |
393 | |
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Common terms and phrases
17 November acting actor Adams Alexander Woollcott American appeared April Arthur Hopkins artistic audience Barry Barrymore's Barrymore's performance Blanche Yurka Broadway cast chair character Clown comedy costumes critics debut decade December drama Edwin Booth exit Fay Compton February film Forbes-Robertson Fowler Gene Fowler Ghost Guildenstern Hamlet Hampden Henry Hollywood Hopkins's Horatio house curtain Irving January John Barrymore Jones's King Laertes left center letter to Michael lights Lincoln Center lines London lord Macbeth mainstage mance Marcellus March Margaret Carrington Michael Strange noted Ophelia Osric platform play Player Polonius production promptbook Queen radio rehearsals repertory replies revival Richard Richard III right center Robert Edmond Jones role Rosencrantz scene second season Shakespeare Shakespearean Sheldon soliloquy Soon afterward Sothern and Marlowe speak speech steps Studybook Sweet Prince Taylor tells Theatre Collection theatrical throne tion tour tradition turns UCB/SC upstage voice weeks William Woollcott wrote York