Word: stagecraft
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Dates: during 1950-1959
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...again in her Chicago Butterfly, in which, after committing suicide, she flung the knife resoundingly to the floor and died somewhat grotesquely, crawling the width of the stage in response to Pinkerton's thrice-called "Butterfly!" But her real failing, say her harshest critics, is not one of stagecraft but of emotional involvement. While some observers recall her on the verge of tears after a performance of Butterfly, others remember her picking herself up after the death scene in Traviata and strolling into the wings humming a pop tune...
Angelic Host. Quiet and intense, Wieland differs from his tempestuous grandfather in temperament, but not in artistic outlook. Both stagecraft innovators in their day, Richard liked his opera gorgeously colored and realistically detailed; Wieland likes to keep his decor schematic and sparse, consisting more of lines and lights than of wood and canvas. Traditionalist critics sometimes say that he keeps things simple out of a lack of imagination, or to save money. But his latest production looked as if it might convert the last holdouts among the traditionalists; almost certainly the Old Man would have been one of the converts...
Spirit, a good sense of stagecraft, excellent singing, and intelligence turns this rather simple story into a charming musical. David Pursley reaches professional heights as Matthew Arnold Fulton influential publisher and loyal party supporter. Wilmer Cody as Wintergreen and Cathy Connoly as Mary are both excellent, although Miss Connoly's singing sometimes drowns out the entire chorus. Wendy Shepherd successfully plays a sultry, shady Diana Devereaux ("I was the most beautiful blossom in all the Southland") and Harvey Zaff out-does Sherman Adams as presidential assistant...
...working up so much creative lather with such a versatile hand, Ustinov is "embarrassed to say how much" he earns. His first love is the theater, especially playwriting. Though London critics have called him a master of stagecraft with a Shavian wit, Ustinov is keenly aware of their criticism that he "wins his battles but loses his campaigns." He refuses to add to his work load by getting into TV to stay. Says he with a furtive smile: "I don't want to do more and give less quality. It wouldn't be fair to the audience." Meantime...
Born in The Bronx 26 years ago, Anne (original name: Anna Italiano) grew up into a dark-eyed, black-haired girl with a craving for stagecraft. "I always wanted to get up in front of people and do something," she says. "When I was a little kid, I used to go up to the WPA workers in the street and ask if they'd like me to sing." After a session at the American Academy, she broke into television at 18, played leading roles for two seasons (Studio One, Kraft Theater], then put in a weary tour in Hollywood...