Word: hillier
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Dates: during 1960-1969
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...Pistache, director W. W. Hillier chose someone who can act but not sing, which took a certain amount of guts. Anne Chittenden is a perfect Pistache for the most part, but there are times, there are times. Miss Chittenden succeeds with "C'est Magnifique," but she has a little trouble with "Allez-Vous-En." And if all the acting ability in the world could carry off "I Love Paris," Miss Chittenden might have done it; some songs, though, simply have to be sung...
...Hillier has done a fine job of directing; just when a scene seems to grow static, he makes it explode in five different directions. He has cleverly filled the gaps between scenes, and, best of all, he has staged a thoroughly professional show. Muffs, backstage clonkings, and all the other annoyances one habitually associates with House drama are at an absolute minimum...
...nine scenes which Director William Hillier had adapted from Feiffer's cartoon strips proved entertaining enough, but they lacked the color or movement of Crawling Arnold, the one act play which was conceived explicitly as theater...
Jacqueline Brooks, Bernard Kessel and Edward Higgins cleverly explored the depths of thestock-types they presented. Dean Gitter was good when he wasn't reverting to Willy Loman. And Hillier should be praised for the atmosphere of smooth informality in which he knit the scenes together. It was not until Crawling Arnold, however, that he seemed confident with his material, and didn't feel impelled to superimpose dramatic trickery...
Houghton's play, despite a by-passed chance for an uproarious finale and Hillier's shoddiness, was funny and well performed. Thus, in inagurating its new home, an attractive room directly opposite Widener, the Poets' Theatre has broken a spiral of esotericism which had over-exploited the academic nature of this community. Now Poets' owes a wider showing to both its author and its potential audience. Let's assume that all theater is experimental, rather than a few designated performances...