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The Merchant Of Yonkers
''The Merchant of Yonkers'' is a 1938 play by Thornton Wilder. History ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' had its origins in a 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'', by the English dramatist John Oxenford. In 1842 ''A Day Well Spent'' was extended into a full-length play entitled '' He'll Have Himself a Good Time'' by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy. Wilder adapted Nestroy's 1842 version into an Americanized comedy entitled ''The Merchant of Yonkers'', which revolves around Horace Vandergelder, a wealthy Yonkers, New York businessman in the market for a wife. Productions Produced by Herman Shumlin and directed by Max Reinhardt, ''The Merchant of Yonkers'' opened on Broadway December 28, 1938, at the Guild Theatre. Boris Aronson created the scenic design. The production ran through January 1939, for 39 performances, with the following among the cast: * Percy Waram as Horace Vandergelder * Jane Cowl as Dolly Gallagher Levi * Tom Ewell as Cornelius Hackl * Philip Coolidge as Joe Sca ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder (April 17, 1897 – December 7, 1975) was an American playwright and novelist. He won three Pulitzer Prizes — for the novel ''The Bridge of San Luis Rey'' and for the plays ''Our Town'' and ''The Skin of Our Teeth'' — and a U.S. National Book Award for the novel '' The Eighth Day''. Early years and family Wilder was born in Madison, Wisconsin, the son of Amos Parker Wilder, a newspaper editor and later a U.S. diplomat, and Isabella Thornton Niven. Wilder had four siblings as well as a twin who was stillborn. All of the surviving Wilder children spent part of their childhood in China when their father was stationed in Hong Kong and Shanghai as U.S. Consul General. Thornton's older brother, Amos Niven Wilder, became Hollis Professor of Divinity at the Harvard Divinity School. He was a noted poet and was instrumental in developing the field of theopoetics. Their sister Isabel Wilder was an accomplished writer. They had two more sisters, Charlotte Wilder, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tom Ewell
Tom Ewell (born Samuel Yewell Tompkins, April 29, 1909 – September 12, 1994) was an American film, stage and television actor, and producer. His most successful and most identifiable role was that of Richard Sherman in ''The Seven Year Itch'', a character he played in the Broadway production (1952–1954) and reprised for the 1955 film adaptation. He received a Tony Award for his work in the play and a Golden Globe Award for his performance in the film. Although Ewell preferred acting on stage, he accepted several other screen roles in light comedies of the 1950s, most notably ''The Girl Can't Help It'' (1956). He appeared in the film version of the musical ''State Fair'' (1962) and in a small number of additional ones released between the early 1960s and 1980s. Early life Ewell was born in Owensboro, Kentucky, the son of Martine (née Yewell) and Samuel William Tompkins. His family expected him to follow in their footsteps as lawyers or whiskey and tobacco dealers, but Ewell ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jerry Herman
Gerald Sheldon Herman (July 10, 1931December 26, 2019) was an American composer and lyricist, known for his work in Broadway theatre. One of the most commercially successful Broadway songwriters of his time, Herman was the composer and lyricist for a number of hit musicals, starting in the 1960s, that were characterized by an upbeat and optimistic outlook and what Herman called "the simple, hummable showtune". His shows include '' Hello, Dolly!'' (1964), at one time the longest-running musical in Broadway history, which also produced the hit title song for Louis Armstrong; ''Mame'' (1966), a vehicle for Angela Lansbury; and '' La Cage aux Folles'' (1984), the first hit Broadway musical about a gay couple. In 2009, Herman received the Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre. He was a recipient of the 2010 Kennedy Center Honors. Early life Herman was born in Manhattan and raised in Jersey City, New Jersey, the only child of musically inclined, middle-class Jewish ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shirley Booth
Shirley Booth (born Marjory Ford; August 30, 1898October 16, 1992) was an American actress. One of only 24 performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, Booth was the recipient of an Academy Award, two Primetime Emmy Awards and three Tony Awards. Primarily a theater actress, Booth began her career on Broadway in 1925. Her most significant success was as Lola Delaney, in the drama '' Come Back, Little Sheba'', for which she received her second Tony Award in 1950 (she would go on to win three). She made her film debut, reprising her role in the 1952 film version, for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for her performance. Despite her successful entry into films, she preferred acting on the stage, and made only four more films. From 1961 to 1966, she played the title role in the sitcom '' Hazel'', for which she won two Primetime Emmy Awards. She was later acclaimed for her performance in the 1966 television production o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ruth Gordon
Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained international recognition and critical acclaim for film roles that continued into her 70s and 80s. Her later work included performances in '' Rosemary's Baby'' (1968), ''What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice'' (1969), ''Where's Poppa? ''Where's Poppa?'' is a 1970 American black comedy film based on the 1970 novel by Robert Klane and starring George Segal, Ruth Gordon, Ron Leibman, and Trish Van Devere. The plot revolves around the troubled relationship between a lawyer (Segal ...'' (1970), ''Harold and Maude'' (1971), ''Every Which Way but Loose (film), Every Which Way but Loose'' (1978), and ''Any Which Way You Can'' (1980). In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote numerous plays, film scripts, and books, most notably co-writing the screenpla ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Haymarket Theatre
The Theatre Royal Haymarket (also known as Haymarket Theatre or the Little Theatre) is a West End theatre on Haymarket in the City of Westminster which dates back to 1720, making it the third-oldest London playhouse still in use. Samuel Foote acquired the lease in 1747, and in 1766 he gained a royal patent to play legitimate drama (meaning spoken drama, as opposed to opera, concerts or plays with music) in the summer months. The original building was a little further north in the same street. It has been at its current location since 1821, when it was redesigned by John Nash. It is a Grade I listed building, with a seating capacity of 888. The freehold of the theatre is owned by the Crown Estate. The Haymarket has been the site of a significant innovation in theatre. In 1873, it was the venue for the first scheduled matinée performance, establishing a custom soon followed in theatres everywhere. Its managers have included Benjamin Nottingham Webster, John Baldwin Buckstone, S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The Matchmaker
''The Matchmaker'' is a 1954 play by Thornton Wilder, a rewritten version of his 1938 play ''The Merchant of Yonkers''. History The play has a long and colorful history. John Oxenford's 1835 one-act farce ''A Day Well Spent'' had been extended into the full-length play ''Einen Jux will er sich machen'' by Austrian playwright Johann Nestroy in 1842. In 1938, Wilder adapted Nestroy's version into the Americanized comedy ''The Merchant of Yonkers'', which attracted the attention of German director Max Reinhardt, who mounted a Broadway production, which ran for 39 performances. Fifteen years later, director Tyrone Guthrie expressed interest in a new production of the play, which Wilder extensively rewrote and rechristened ''The Matchmaker''. The most significant change was the expansion of a previously minor character named Dolly Gallagher Levi, who became the play's centerpiece. A widow who brokers marriages and other transactions in Yonkers, New York at the turn of the 20th ce ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tyrone Guthrie
Sir William Tyrone Guthrie (2 July 1900 – 15 May 1971) was an English theatrical director instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada, the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and the Tyrone Guthrie Centre at his family's ancestral home, ''Annaghmakerrig'', near Newbliss in County Monaghan, Ireland. He is famous for his original approach to Shakespearean and modern drama. Early life Guthrie was born in Royal Tunbridge Wells, Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England, the son of Dr. Thomas Clement Guthrie (a grandson of the Scottish people, Scottish preacher Thomas Guthrie) and Norah Power. His mother was the daughter of Sir W. Tyrone Power, William James Tyrone Power, Commissariat, Commissary-General-in-chief of the British Army from 1863 to 1869 and Martha, daughter of Dr. John Moorhead of Annaghmakerrig House and his Philadelphia-born wife, Susan (née Allibone) Humphreys. His great-grandfather was Irish people, Irish actor Tyrone Power (Irish actor), Tyr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Edinburgh International Festival
The Edinburgh International Festival is an annual arts festival in Edinburgh, Scotland, spread over the final three weeks in August. Notable figures from the international world of music (especially classical music) and the performing arts are invited to join the festival. Visual art exhibitions, talks and workshops are also hosted. The first 'International Festival of Music and Drama' took place between 22 August and 11 September 1947. Under the first festival director, the distinguished Austrian-born impresario Rudolf Bing, it had a broadly-based programme, covering orchestral, choral and chamber music, Lieder and song, opera, ballet, drama, film, and Scottish 'piping and dancing' on the Esplanade of Edinburgh Castle, a structure that was followed in subsequent years. The Festival has taken place every year since 1947, except for 2020 when it was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic. A scaled-back version of the festival was held in 2021. Festival directors *1947–1949: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nydia Westman
Nydia Eileen Westman (February 19, 1902 – May 23, 1970) was an American actress and singer of stage, screen, and television. Early years Westman's parents, Theodore and Lily (Wren) Westman were active in vaudeville in her native New York City. In addition to their working together on stage, her mother was a writer and her father was a composer. She attended the Professional Children's School. Until 1921, she performed on stage only with her family. Her sisters, Lolita and Neville, were actresses, and her brother, Theodore, was an actor and playwright. Career Westman's career ranged from episodic appearances on TV series such as ''That Girl'' and ''Dragnet (series), Dragnet'' and uncredited bit roles in movies to appearances in groundbreaking films such as ''Craig's Wife'', which starred Rosalind Russell, and the first film version of ''Little Women''. Westman's screen debut came in ''Strange Justice'' (1932). She appeared in 31 films in the 1930s. She appeared as the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
June Walker
: ''For the American activist and former Hadassah leader, see June Walker (Hadassah)'' June Walker (June 14, 1900 – February 3, 1966) was an American stage and film actress. Early years Walker was born in New York City on June 14, 1900, and was orphaned when she was 14. She worked as a millinery clerk before becoming an actress. Stage career Walker performed as a member of the chorus of a Globe Theater production of ''Hitchy-Koo'' when she was 16 years old. She appeared on Broadway in such plays as ''Green Grow the Lilacs'', ''The Farmer Takes a Wife'', and ''Twelfth Night''. She was the first actress to portray the character of Lorelei Lee, in the 1926 Broadway production of '' Gentlemen Prefer Blondes''. Her obituary in ''The New York Times'' said the role "was as much her creation as that of Anita Loos who wrote the book that became the comedy ..." The success of the play launched Walker's career, and she had further Broadway successes. She played Linda Loman to Thoma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
