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 10
... presenting Richard III at the Globe Theatre in London . After modest artistic success and significant financial loss , he brought his production to the United States , where it was greeted with mixed reviews ; nevertheless , it proved ...
... presenting Richard III at the Globe Theatre in London . After modest artistic success and significant financial loss , he brought his production to the United States , where it was greeted with mixed reviews ; nevertheless , it proved ...
Page 12
... presented with contemporary songs between the acts and comic afterpieces , thus attracting popular as well as " cultivated " audiences . Nineteenth - century Americans prized oratorical eloquence ; Shakespearean passages were taught as ...
... presented with contemporary songs between the acts and comic afterpieces , thus attracting popular as well as " cultivated " audiences . Nineteenth - century Americans prized oratorical eloquence ; Shakespearean passages were taught as ...
Page 14
... presented at the height of the Gilded Age . By the mid - 1890s , however , public favor had begun to turn away from Daly and the comedies as well . Shakespeare - in any form – had in- creasingly become a playwright to be " highly ...
... presented at the height of the Gilded Age . By the mid - 1890s , however , public favor had begun to turn away from Daly and the comedies as well . Shakespeare - in any form – had in- creasingly become a playwright to be " highly ...
Page 16
... presented ten different plays during the 1913-14 season alone . 16 Although Reinhardt became noted for his eclec- ticism , producing a number of plays in the realistic manner , he was the first important director to achieve noteworthy ...
... presented ten different plays during the 1913-14 season alone . 16 Although Reinhardt became noted for his eclec- ticism , producing a number of plays in the realistic manner , he was the first important director to achieve noteworthy ...
Page 17
... presented audiences with a revolutionary synthesis of Poel's rapid verse speaking and Gordon Craig's suggestive , symbolic mise - en- scène . Barker's landmark productions were praised for their vitality , and they proved successful ...
... presented audiences with a revolutionary synthesis of Poel's rapid verse speaking and Gordon Craig's suggestive , symbolic mise - en- scène . Barker's landmark productions were praised for their vitality , and they proved successful ...
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