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 3
... effect , was challenging those great names . By the end of the evening , however , it was apparent to most in attendance that Barrymore's skills compared favorably with those of his eminent prede- cessors . His repressed , psychological ...
... effect , was challenging those great names . By the end of the evening , however , it was apparent to most in attendance that Barrymore's skills compared favorably with those of his eminent prede- cessors . His repressed , psychological ...
Page 15
... effects . The splendors of Irving's Lyceum , the crowds of supernumeraries that animated the Duke of Saxe - Meiningen's famed production of Julius Caesar , the extravagant pageant- ry of Herbert Tree's A Midsummer Night's Dream , with ...
... effects . The splendors of Irving's Lyceum , the crowds of supernumeraries that animated the Duke of Saxe - Meiningen's famed production of Julius Caesar , the extravagant pageant- ry of Herbert Tree's A Midsummer Night's Dream , with ...
Page 16
... effect on the commercial theatre of Irving and Tree . Nevertheless , he continued his crusade through the 1900s and ... effects that symbolically " suggested " the essence of a play . Craig , the better self - publicist , became the ...
... effect on the commercial theatre of Irving and Tree . Nevertheless , he continued his crusade through the 1900s and ... effects that symbolically " suggested " the essence of a play . Craig , the better self - publicist , became the ...
Page 17
... effect on their productions . To understand the impact of the Barrymore revivals on the postwar generation , however , we must necessarily take into account the efforts of these practitioners , along with the fortunes of Prologue ...
... effect on their productions . To understand the impact of the Barrymore revivals on the postwar generation , however , we must necessarily take into account the efforts of these practitioners , along with the fortunes of Prologue ...
Page 19
... effect of great tragic acting . " 20 For several seasons thereafter , Sothern returned to cloak - and - sword plays , occasionally reviving Hamlet as a special attraction ( Fig . 5 ) . In 1904 , however , he entered into a partnership ...
... effect of great tragic acting . " 20 For several seasons thereafter , Sothern returned to cloak - and - sword plays , occasionally reviving Hamlet as a special attraction ( Fig . 5 ) . In 1904 , however , he entered into a partnership ...
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