''Elizabeth the Queen'' was a 1930
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
three-act play written in
blank verse
Blank verse is poetry written with regular metrical but unrhymed lines, almost always in iambic pentameter. It has been described as "probably the most common and influential form that English poetry has taken since the 16th century", and P ...
by
Maxwell Anderson
James Maxwell Anderson (December 15, 1888 – February 28, 1959) was an American playwright, author, poet, journalist, and lyricist.
Background
Anderson was born on December 15, 1888, in Atlantic, Pennsylvania, the second of eight children to ...
, produced by the
Theatre Guild
The Theatre Guild is a theatrical society founded in New York City in 1918 by Lawrence Langner, Philip Moeller, Helen Westley and Theresa Helburn. Langner's wife, Armina Marshall, then served as a co-director. It evolved out of the work of the W ...
, directed by
Philip Moeller
Philip Moeller (26 August 1880 – 26 April 1958) was an American stage producer and director, playwright and screenwriter, born in New York where he helped found the short-lived Washington Square Players and then with Lawrence Langner and Hel ...
and with scenic and costume design by
Lee Simonson
Lee Simonson (June 26, 1888, New York City – January 23, 1967, Yonkers) was an American architect painter, stage setting designer.
He acted as a stage set designer for the Washington Square Players (1915–1917). When it became the Theatre Gui ...
. It ran for 147 performances from November 3, 1930, to March 1931 at the
Guild Theatre. The starring roles were played by
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
as
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
and
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
as
Lord Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...
.
It was adapted into a film ''
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' is a 1939 American historical romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland. Based on the play '' Elizabeth the Queen'' by Maxwell Anders ...
'' (1939) directed by
Michael Curtiz
Michael Curtiz ( ; born Manó Kaminer; since 1905 Mihály Kertész; hu, Kertész Mihály; December 24, 1886 April 10, 1962) was a Hungarian-American film director, recognized as one of the most prolific directors in history. He directed cla ...
and starring
Bette Davis
Ruth Elizabeth "Bette" Davis (; April 5, 1908 – October 6, 1989) was an American actress with a career spanning more than 50 years and 100 acting credits. She was noted for playing unsympathetic, sardonic characters, and was famous for her pe ...
,
Errol Flynn
Errol Leslie Thomson Flynn (20 June 1909 – 14 October 1959) was an Australian-American actor who achieved worldwide fame during the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was known for his romantic swashbuckler roles, frequent partnerships with Olivia ...
and
Olivia de Havilland
Dame Olivia Mary de Havilland (; July 1, 1916July 26, 2020) was a British-American actress. The major works of her cinematic career spanned from 1935 to 1988. She appeared in 49 feature films and was one of the leading actresses of her time. ...
and a television movie, ''Elizabeth the Queen'' (1968) directed by
George Schaefer and starring
Judith Anderson
Dame Frances Margaret Anderson, (10 February 18973 January 1992), known professionally as Judith Anderson, was an Australian actress who had a successful career in stage, film and television. A pre-eminent stage actress in her era, she won two ...
and
Charlton Heston
Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist.
As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...
.
On radio, it has been adapted four times: for NBC's "Great Plays" program on
WJZ (May 7, 1939), with
Mady Christians
Marguerita Maria "Mady" Christians (January 19, 1892 – October 28, 1951) was an Austrian actress who had a successful acting career in theatre and film in the United States until she was blacklisted during the McCarthy period.
Biography
Sh ...
and
Wesley Addy
Robert Wesley Addy (August 4, 1913 – December 31, 1996)R Wesley Addy in the U.S., Social Security Applications and Claim Index, 1936-2007, retrieved froAncestry.com/ref> was an American actor of stage, television, and film.
Early years
A ...
;
on ''Matinee Theater'' (December 17, 1944) with
Judith Evelyn
Judith Evelyn (born Evelyn Morris, March 20, 1909 – May 7, 1967) was an American-Canadian stage and film actress who appeared in around 50 films and television series.
Early years
Evelyn was born Evelyn Morris[Victor Jory
Victor Jory (November 23, 1902 – February 12, 1982) was a Canadian-American actor of stage, film, and television. He initially played romantic leads, but later was mostly cast in villainous or sinister roles, such as Oberon in ''A Midsummer N ...]
; on ''The
Theatre Guild on the Air
''The United States Steel Hour'' is an anthology series which brought hour long dramas to television from 1953 to 1963. The television series and the radio program that preceded it were both sponsored by the U.S. Steel, United States Steel Corpor ...
'' (December 2, 1945) with
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
and
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
and on ''Best Plays'' (November 9, 1952) with
Eva Le Gallienne
Eva Le Gallienne (January 11, 1899 – June 3, 1991) was a British-born American stage actress, producer, director, translator, and author. A Broadway star by age 21, Le Gallienne gave up her Broadway appearances to devote herself to founding t ...
.
Plot
The play revolves around the turbulent love affair between the aging Queen
Elizabeth I of England
Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was List of English monarchs, Queen of England and List of Irish monarchs, Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is ...
and her much younger suitor
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...
, who is ambitious for the throne.
Cast
*
Lynn Fontanne
Lynn Fontanne (; 6 December 1887 – 30 July 1983) was an English actress. After early success in supporting roles in the West End, she met the American actor Alfred Lunt, whom she married in 1922 and with whom she co-starred in Broadway and We ...
as
Elizabeth
Elizabeth or Elisabeth may refer to:
People
* Elizabeth (given name), a female given name (including people with that name)
* Elizabeth (biblical figure), mother of John the Baptist
Ships
* HMS ''Elizabeth'', several ships
* ''Elisabeth'' (sch ...
*
Alfred Lunt
Alfred David Lunt (August 12, 1892 – August 3, 1977) was an American actor and director, best known for his long stage partnership with his wife, Lynn Fontanne, from the 1920s to 1960, co-starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway and West End thea ...
as
Lord Essex
Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, KG, PC (; 10 November 1565 – 25 February 1601) was an English nobleman and a favourite of Queen Elizabeth I. Politically ambitious, and a committed general, he was placed under house arrest following a ...
* Mab Anthony as
Mary
Mary may refer to:
People
* Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name)
Religious contexts
* New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below
* Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
*
Morris Carnovsky
Morris Carnovsky (September 5, 1897 – September 1, 1992) was an American stage and film actor. He was one of the founders of the Group Theatre (1931-1940) in New York City and had a thriving acting career both on Broadway and in films un ...
as
Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626), also known as Lord Verulam, was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England. Bacon led the advancement of both ...
* Percy Waram as Sir
Walter Raleigh
Sir Walter Raleigh (; – 29 October 1618) was an English statesman, soldier, writer and explorer. One of the most notable figures of the Elizabethan era, he played a leading part in English colonisation of North America, suppressed rebellion ...
* Robert Conness as
Lord Burghley
William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley (13 September 15204 August 1598) was an English statesman, the chief adviser of Queen Elizabeth I for most of her reign, twice Secretary of State (1550–1553 and 1558–1572) and Lord High Treasurer from 1 ...
*
Arthur Hughes as
Sir Robert Cecil
Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury, (1 June 156324 May 1612), was an English statesman noted for his direction of the government during the Union of the Crowns, as Tudor England gave way to Stuart rule (1603). Lord Salisbury served as the ...
*
Whitford Kane
Whitford Kane (born Thomas Wheeler Kane, January 30, 1881 – December 17, 1956) was a noted Irish-born American stage and screen character actor remembered for playing the First Gravedigger in numerous productions of Shakespeare's ''Hamlet'' and ...
as
Burbage
*
Phoebe Brand
Phoebe Brand (November 27, 1907 – July 3, 2004) was an American actress.
Life
Brand was born in Syracuse, New York in 1907 and raised in Ilion, Herkimer County, New York. Her father worked for Remington Typewriter Company as a mechanical en ...
as Ellen
*
Louise Huntington as a
Lady-in-waiting
A lady-in-waiting or court lady is a female personal assistant at a court, attending on a royal woman or a high-ranking noblewoman. Historically, in Europe, a lady-in-waiting was often a noblewoman but of lower rank than the woman to whom sh ...
* Annabelle Williams as a Lady-in-waiting
* Royal Beal as Marvel
*
Barry Macollum Barry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name
* Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 1950 ...
as the fool
* Philip Foster as Captain Armin
* Edla Frankau as Tressa
* Anita Kerry as Penelope Gray
* Edward Oldfield as a captain of the guards
* Curtis Arnall as Poins, and as a courtier, a guard and a man-at-arms
* Charles Brokaw as a courier and as Heming
* Robert Caille as a courtier
* John Ellsworth as a man-at-arms
*
Vincent Sherman
Vincent Sherman (born Abraham Orovitz, July 16, 1906 – June 18, 2006) was an American director and actor who worked in Hollywood. His movies include '' Mr. Skeffington'' (1944), '' Nora Prentiss'' (1947), and ''The Young Philadelphians'' (1959) ...
as a herald
Multiple roles as Courtiers, Guards, Men-at-arms:
* Michael Borodin
* James A. Boshell
* Thomas Eyre
* George Fleming
* Perry King
* Henry Lase
* Guy Moore
* Stanley Ruth
* Nick Wiger
* James Wiley
References
*
*''
The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex
''The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex'' is a 1939 American historical romantic drama film directed by Michael Curtiz and starring Bette Davis, Errol Flynn, and Olivia de Havilland. Based on the play '' Elizabeth the Queen'' by Maxwell Anders ...
''
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Elizabeth the Queen (play)
Plays by Maxwell Anderson
1930 plays
Broadway plays
Plays set in England
Elizabeth I
American plays adapted into films