''A Cry of Players'' is a
drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been ...
by
William Gibson
William Ford Gibson (born March 17, 1948) is an American-Canadian speculative fiction writer and essayist widely credited with pioneering the science fiction subgenre known as ''cyberpunk''. Beginning his writing career in the late 1970s, his ...
, first performed in 1968, that portrays the young adult life of
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
. The title comes from ''
Hamlet
''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...
'', spoken by the aforementioned, Act 3, Scene 2: "Would not this, sir, and a forest of feathers-- if the rest of my fortunes turn Turk with me--with two provincial roses on my razed shoes, get me a fellowship in a cry of players, sir?"
Productions
The original production opened on July 24, 1968 at the
Berkshire Theatre Festival
The Berkshire Theatre Festival is one of the oldest professional performing arts venues in the Berkshires, celebrating its 80th anniversary season in 2008.
History
The main building of the Berkshire Theatre Festival was originally the Stockbridge ...
in
Stockbridge,
. The show was directed by
Gene Frankel
Eugene V. Frankel (December 23, 1919 – April 20, 2005) was an American actor, theater director, and acting teacher especially notable in the founding of the off-Broadway scene. Frankel served in the Army during World War II in entertainment and ...
.
The show transferred to Broadway to the
Repertory Theatre,
Lincoln Center
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 millio ...
and premiered on November 14, 1968. The crew was made up by set design David Hays, costume design Patricia Quinn Stewart, and lighting design John Gleason. Frankel would also direct. Understudies were
Ruth Attaway
Ruth Attaway (June 28, 1910 – September 21, 1987) was an American film and stage actress. Among the films she appeared in are '' Raintree County'' (1957), ''Porgy and Bess'' (1959) and ''Being There'' (1979).
Early life
Attaway was born on J ...
(Meg), Frank Bayer (Arthur), James Cook (Kemp),
Leslie Graves
Leslie Marie Graves (September 29, 1959 – August 23, 1995) was an American actress.
Early years
Leslie Graves's father, Michael Graves, was a theatre actor and introduced her to the entertainment industry when she was about 10. She started ...
(Susanna), Douglas Hayle (Heming), Robert Levine (Richards, Gilbert, Berry),
Marilyn Lightstone
Marilyn Lightstone (born 28 June 1940) is a Canadian stage, film and television actress and writer.
Biography Early life and education
Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marilyn Lightstone graduated from Baron Byng High School in 1957. She went on to ...
(Anne), Robert Molock (Pope), William Myers (Hodges, Roche, Old John),
Robert Phalen
Robert Anthony Phalen (May 10, 1937 – December 6, 1995) was an American actor who starred in films and on television.
Life and career
He was born on May 10, 1937 in San Francisco, California, where he attended George Washington High School, wa ...
(Will), Robert Stattel (Sandells), and Barbette Tweed (Jenny). The show played in repertoire with
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...
's ''
King Lear
''King Lear'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare.
It is based on the mythological Leir of Britain. King Lear, in preparation for his old age, divides his power and land between two of his daughters. He becomes destitute and insane an ...
''.
Original production casts
Plot
The plot is a fictionalized or dramatized version of William Shakespeare's young adult life.
Reception
Clive Barnes
Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, ''The New York Post.'' Barnes had sign ...
, the theatre critic for the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
, gave a mixed review, stating "'A Cry Of Players' and a clique of cliches -- there was much that was wrong with William Gibson's new play given by the Lincoln Center Repertory Company at the Vivian Beaumont Theater last night, but there was also much that was right."
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cry Of Players, A
1968 plays
Broadway plays
Cultural depictions of William Shakespeare
Plays based on real people
Plays set in England
Plays set in the 16th century