Margaret Webster : a life in the theater / Milly S. Barranger.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Barranger, Milly S.

Series:

Triangulations

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Webster, Margaret, 1905-1972.

Webster, Margaret.

Theatrical producers and directors--United States--Biography.

Theatrical producers and directors.

United States.

Lesbians--United States--Biography.

Lesbians.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

xviii, 367 pages, 12 unnumbered pages of plates : illustrations ; 25 cm.

Place of Publication:

Ann Arbor : University of Michigan Press, [2004]

Summary:

Margaret Webster: A Life in the Theater is an engrossing backstage account of the life of pioneering director Margaret Webster (1905-72). This is the first book-length biography of Webster, a groundbreaking stage and opera director whose career challenged not only stage tradition but also mainstream attitudes toward professional women. Often credited with first having brought Shakespeare to Broadway, and renowned for her bold casting of an African American (Paul Robeson) in the role of Othello, Webster was a creative force in modern American and British theater.

Her story reveals the independent-minded artist undeterred by stage tradition and unmindful of rules about a woman's place in the professional theater. In addition to providing fascinating glimpses into Webster's personal and family life, Margaret Webster: A Life in the Theater also offers a who's-who list of the biggest names in New York and London theater of the time, as well as Hollywood: John Gielgud, Noel Coward, George Bernard Shaw, Uta Hagen, Sybil Thorndike, Eva LeGallienne, and John Barrymore, among others, all of whom crossed paths with Webster. Capping Webster's amazing story is her investigation by Senator Joseph McCarthy and HUAC, which left her unable to work for a year, and from which she never fully recovered.

Contents:

Act 1 1905-1936

Chapter 1 An Itinerant Childhood 7

Chapter 2 Serious Beginnings 27

Chapter 3 The Old Vic and the West End 44

Act 2 1937-1949

Chapter 4 Broadway Nights 63

Chapter 5 Giants and Pygmies 85

Chapter 6 Battle of Angels 108

Chapter 7 The Making of Othello 131

Chapter 8 The American Repertory Theatre 155

Act 3 1950-1972

Chapter 9 Life at the Opera 191

Chapter 10 McCarthy 223

Chapter 11 Unfinished Business 257

Chapter 12 Losing Battles 282.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 337-341) and index.

ISBN:

0472113909

OCLC:

53441395