Friday, May 13, 2011
Page 15
MISC. (Column)
Happy Birthday, Norman Corwin; Congrats, Peggy Webber
By ROGER M. GRACE
One of the most effective dramatic productions either my wife or I ever witnessed took place last Saturday at the Beverly Garland Theater in North Hollywood. It was a radio production by the peerless writer for that medium, Norman Corwin, who was in attendance...four days after celebrating his 101st birthday.
Corwin—whose
CBS dramas with patriotic themes provided inspiration and reassurance during
the tense days of 
World War II—received a spirited standing ovation when
introduced before the performance, and again when it had concluded. The
audience joined the cast in singing “Happy Birthday” to the writer, and a slice
of birthday cake was provided anyone who wanted one.
The prospect of Corwin’s presence was not mentioned in the publicity for the performance, staged by the California Artists Radio Theater, under the guidance of the incredibly gifted producer/director/writer/actress Peggy Webber.
A leaflet announcing the production says:
“Presented in classic radio drama style, Together Tonight: Jefferson - Hamilton - Burr, is a conversation between the scrappy Aaron Burr, the elitist Alexander Hamilton and the down-to-earth Thomas Jefferson, moderated by fictional John Lenox.
“Although such a meeting never took place, Norman Corwin wove the characters’ own words, taken from their writings and speeches, the result is wonderful: he brought our founding fathers to life as human beings, debating the role of the federal government, civil liberties, taxes, race, gender and even matters of personal scandal are deftly illuminated with honesty, insight and a surprising dose of humor!”
That seemed intriguing. Knowing of Corwin’s incomparable writing skill and Webber’s penchant for perfection, I was anticipating an enjoyable show. It was more than that. It was magnificent!
It was stirring and informative, and without even one fluff by actor or sound effects man. It was marred not even by a single instance of a siren wailing from nearby Ventura Boulevard, penetrating the walls of the theater, as sometimes happens.
Webber chose her players well, as nearly always she does (the notable exception being the hiring of Rich Little for the lead part in a play a few years ago, with him botching line after line).
Corwin’s script is a masterpiece. Deftly, brilliantly, the writer fashioned a conversation from the actual words of three historic figures, discussing controversies of the time, such as the prospect of war with France.
What the audience is to imagine is that the three statesmen are gathered on a stage in a Philadelphia meeting hall on a rainy winter night in 1799.
There is an audience in that hall—one larger than that at the Garland Theater; recorded applause of a throng is played at various points.
History is paired with 20th Century technology, as on CBS radio’s “You Are There,” for which Corwin wrote in 1950. (That series was later on CBS television with Walter Cronkite as anchor of fantasized coverage each week of an historical event.)
CART regular Samantha Eggar (lead actress in such movies as “Doctor Doolittle,” “The Collector,” and “The Molly Maguires,” and star of the TV show “Anna and the King” and, briefly, Roarke’s wife on “Fantasy Island”) describes to the radio audience, as a news reporter, what is transpiring on the stage. By virtue of her strong yet mellow voice, her precise enunciation, her versatility, and supreme acting ability, she’s CART’s premier performer.
In this offering, her role was slim, but as announcer John Harlan informs the audience at the start of each production, it’s the nature of repertory theater that an actor in one play will have the lead and in the next role, a minor part. (Harlan was announcer on such TV shows as “Password,” “You Don’t Say,” “Queen for a Day,” “Jeopardy,” “Name That Tune”…a whole bunch more.)
Vice President Jefferson was portrayed ably by Monte Markham (star of four TV series including “The Second Hundred Years” and “The New Perry Mason”). He assumed a manner that was laid back, reflecting a self-confidence not hinting of arrogance, and an inner strength. I have no idea what Markham’s politics are, but if he ran for public office, projecting his perception of Jefferson, he’d be formidable.
British actor John R. Lee impersonated Hamilton, the secretary of the treasury...who had, the script conveys, amassed considerable power in that post. Lee’s diction was impeccable, his acting superb. He was a brooding and volatile Hamilton, bolting from the platform at the end of Act I, after being questioned as to his affair with a married woman, but returning after the intermission.
The other parts were played by two skilled actors who are members of CART’s repertory group: Phil Proctor as Burr, a former U.S. senator, and Richard Herd as the moderator.
The characters engaged in verbal fencing, wit being their weapons.
(A real-life clash between two of the “discussants” in the mythical 1799 encounter in Philadelphia did occur in New Jersey on July 11, 1804. As you’re probably aware, Burr, vice president under President Jefferson, killed Hamilton in a duel, the weapons then being pistols.)
“Together Tonight” made its debut at Indiana University in January, 1976, as a stage play. Markham recounted to the audience after Saturday’s performance that he portrayed Burr in the original production, which toured nationally. Howard Duff had the part of Hamilton and Dana Andrews was Jefferson. (Both are now deceased.)
A revamped version of the play was broadcast in 1996 on National Public Radio under the title “No Love Lost.”
I don’t know what quality the previous productions were, but I can’t imagine any outshining what was presented last Saturday.
It was another triumph for Webber, who has been putting on the CART shows since 1984. For years, they were heard on National Public Radio, and are now broadcast over SIRIUS XM Satellite Radio. Webber is thus a pioneer in yet another medium, having been a television producer in the late 1940s.
She has teamed with Corwin in other productions.
Last year, on May 1, two days before his 100th birthday, a CART tribute to Corwin was presented at the Writers Guild of America Theater in Beverly Hills. Tickets were sold out. There were remarks by other writers—Ray Bradbury, Carl Reiner and Hal Kanter—and performances of a few of Corwin’s works. Actor Ed Asner read Corwin’s account of the idea for and construction of the Statue of Liberty, “Our Lady of the Freedoms,” and both the script and the reading of it were powerful. Corwin spoke a few words of thanks to his well-wishers.
So successful was that program that “Comedy Corwin” was staged on May 29 at the Garland Theater with two of the writer’s light-hearted radio plays being performed.
At various other times through the years, scripts by Corwin have been utilized in CART productions—including one time in 1989 when scenes from the taping were shown on the “Charles Kurault CBS Sunday Morning” show. CART on that occasion presented “A Tribute to Abraham Lincoln, written by Webber, except for scenes that were inserted from Corwin’s “The Rivalry and Ann Rutledge.”
NBC’s “Today Show” aired excerpts from the 75th birthday tribute to science fiction writer Ray Bradbury.
The next CART production will be on July 3 at 1:30 p.m. at the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. According to publicity:
“Take one drunken Shakespearean actor, add a cultured mayor’s wife, set in a wild west barroom filled with red necks plotting to take a pot shot at him and what do you get - a musical by funny man Marvin Kaplan.”
To see what productions are upcoming—and what shows are available on CDs—go to http://www.calartistsradiotheatre.org.
Copyright 2011, Metropolitan News Company