1949-1950

Play: Whistling in the Dark

Author: Lawrence Gross and Edward Childs Carpenter
Dates: November 1, 2, 3, 4, 1949
Producing Organization: University Theatre
Venue: Washington Hall

Artistic Staff

Director: Francis J. Hanley

Cast List

Hilda: Eleanor Thompson
Joe Salvatore: Lou Garippo
Slim Scanlan: Lawrence McDermott
Herman Lefkowitz: Mickey Carroll
Charlie Shaw: Otis Jordan
Jake Dillon: Jack Powell
Benny: James Maher
Cossack: Neil O’Reagan
Wallace Porter: Pat McAteer
Toby Van Buren: Jo Ann Smith
Cap O’Rourke: Leo Blaber
Operator: Rosemary Donnelly
Harrison: Walter Werner

Production Staff

Stage Manager: James Beymer
Properties: Phoebe Stapleton
House Manager: William Doyle
Head Ushers: Blue Circle

Notes: The three women in the cast of this production were “Vetville wives” (Dome 1950, 286). Whistling in the Dark, directed by Frank Craven, opened at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre in New York City in January 19, 1932, starring Ernest Truex as Wallace Porter. J. Brooks Atkinson called it “an ingenious piece of comic hocus-pocus” (New York Times, Jan. 20, 1932, 16). Red Skelton starred in the 1941 film version of the play.

Additional Source: Program, University of Notre Dame Archives.


Play: Julius Caesar

Author: William Shakespeare
Dates Performed: Nov. 10, 1949, 8:00 P.M.
Producing Organization: The Concert and Lecture Series presents the Margaret Webster Shakespeare Company
Venue: Washington Hall

Artistic Staff

Director: Margaret Webster (1905-1972)

Cast

Julius Caesar: Frederick Rolf
Portia: Louisa Horton
Mark Antony: Kendall Clark
Brutus: David Lewis

and a fine supporting castNotes: Tickets were $1.80, $1.50, and $1.20. The production was done in modern military dress with an emblematic “Fascist eagle” setting. With Eva Le Gallienne and Cheryl Crawford, Webster founded the American Repertory Theater in 1946.

Additional Source:Scholastic 91:6, Oct. 28, 1949, 11; 91:9, Nov. 18, 1949, 12.


Play: Much Ado About Nothing

Author: William Shakespeare
Dates Performed: December 7-8, 1949
Producing Organization: The Concert and Lecture Series presents the Catholic University Players
Venue: Washington Hall

Artistic Staff

Edited and Directed by: Walter Kerr
Costumes: Tom Bohen

Cast

Beatrice: Teddy Marie Kinsey
Benedik: Bill Callahan

others to followNotes: Walter Kerr (1913-1996) was associate professor at Catholic University 1939-49 before becoming drama critic for Commonweal (1949-51), the New York Herald Tribune (1951-66), and the New York Times (1966-83). He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for criticism in 1978.

Additional Source:Scholastic 91:12, Dec. 16, 1949, 11.


Play: Holiday

Author: Philip Barry (1896-1949)
Dates Performed: December 12-15, 1949
Producing Organization: University Theatre
Venue: Washington Hall

Artistic Staff

Director: Francis J. Hanley

Cast List

Linda Seton: Mary Roach
Johnny Case: James Maher
Julia Seton: Jo-Ann Smith
Ned Seton: James Beymer
Susan Potter: Eleanor Thompson
Nick Potter: Leo Blaber
Edward Seton: Lawrence McDermott
Laura Cram: Jane Marqueling
Seton Cram: Frank Malzone
Henry: Charles McCauley
Charles: Walter Werner
Delia: Avalon Vogan

Production Staff

Stage Manager: Ted Stelton
Assistant Stage Manager: Lou Garippo
Properties: Phoebe Stapleton
House Manager: William Doyle
Ushers: Notre Dame Council, Knights of Columbus

Notes: The 1950 Dome praised Prof. Hanley for “having assembled not only five attractive lasses for the feminine roles, but in general the most competent cast seen in Washington Hall for some time (293). Holiday opened on Broadway in Nov. 1928 and was directed by Arthur Hopkins with set design by Robert Edmond Jones. Film versions appeared in 1930 and 1938, the latter with Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant and directed by George Cukor.

Additional Source: Program, University of Notre Dame Archives.


Play: The Gentleman from Athens

Author: Emmet Lavery
Dates Performed: Mon-Wed, 24-26 April, 1950, 8:15 P.M.
Director: Francis J. Hanley
Stage Manager: not found
Sponsoring/Producing Organization: The University Theatre

Cast List

Stephen Socrates Christopher: Lou Garippo
Aunt: Virginia White
Congresswoman: Ann Gullie
pessimistic leading lady: Phoebe Stapleton
Congressman Harnell: Doug Robertson
Larry McDermott, Alfred Wood, John Schneller, Mickey Carroll, etc.

Notes:

Source: Scholastic 91:23, April 28, 1950, 13; Dome 1950, 306, 307.