Early Modern Theatre

1875 to 1945

Henrik Ibsen Thornton Wilder

Henrik Ibsen

1828-1906

• Father of realistic

drama

• Resident playwright

and stage manager

for the Norwegian

National Theatre

• Left his homeland

in 1864

Ibsen’s Plays• Began by writing romantic verse dramas

drawn from his Scandinavian past

• In the 1870s he abandoned verse drama

for realism

• In the 1890s, his work begins to show the

influence of the symbolist movement

Social plays

Explore the interaction of people with

society.

These works deal with such social problems

as…

1. An unhappy marriage

2. Sexual double standard

3. Position of women in society

4. Man’s responsibility to his community

Examples

1. Pillars of Society

(1877)

2. The Doll's House

(1879)

3. Ghosts (1881)

4. An Enemy of the

People (1882)

The Doll’s House

Character dramas

• Explore the

psychological, moral,

and ethical conflicts

within the character

• Example: Hedda

Gabler (1890)

Hedda Gabler

Anton Chekhov

1860-1904

• The major Russian

realist

• Wrote 4 full length

plays

• Most important

work: The Cherry

Orchard (1904)

The Cherry Orchard

Richard Wagner

Wagner

developed the

theory of the all

powerful

director

Duke of Saxe-Meiningen

Meiningen is

considered

the first

realistic

director.

Andre Antoine

1858-1943

• French director

• Showed the world

how to stage

realistic drama

realistically

• Created the Theatre

Libre in 1887

Theatre Libre

1887-1894

• Was an amateur

theatre created to

produce realistic

drama

• Presented mostly

one act plays

• Critical success but

commercial failure

The “Little Theatre” Movement

• “Little Theatres” were private “clubs”

• Public performances of realistic plays were

banned because they were considered

obscene

• But private performances, restricted to

members of the club, were ok

• “Little Theatres” soon opened in London,

Berlin, Moscow and New York

Moscow Art Theatre

1897-• A professional acting

company

• Created by Stanislavski

• To present realistic drama

• First work was The Seagull by Chekhov

• First Americanperformances in 1923

The Group Theatre

1931-1941

• Produce socially relevant dramas

• Introduced Method Acting to America

• Company included Eli Kazan and Lee Strasberg

• Influence felt for next 20 years

Federal Theatre

1935-1939

• Purpose: To provide

work for the

unemployed

• Our only attempt to

create a national

theatre

• Shows were

reasonably priced: 25

to 55c

The Living Newspaper

• Dramatization of a

problem using stories

from the newspaper

• A kind of dramatic

journalism

Characteristics of

The Living Newspaper

• The plays were often plot less

• The major character was the narrator, the

Voice of the Living Newspaper

• Productions were often presented on a

bare stage

• Period and location was established

through costumes, props, and lighting.

From Triple A Plowed Under

“He's dead. I just drowned my son.

I couldn't feed him and

I couldn't bear to see him hungry... “

The Cradle Will Rock

1937

• Presented by FTP

• Directed by Orson

Welles

• A pro-union anti-

business “opera”

• Locked out of the

theatre on opening

night

Opening Night…• The company found an empty house -- the

Venice Theatre

• The actors led the audience on a 1 1/2 mile parade down "Broadway" to the new theatre

• They performed, the show, not on stage but in the auditorium

• The composer was at the piano on the stage

At the Venice Theatre

From Cradle will Rock

The Aftermath…

• Producer John Houseman was fired

• Director Orson Welles quit

• Together they formed the Mercury Theatre

• Which opened with Julius Caesar in November, 1937

Julius Caesar

Federal Theatre Closed• Many objected to the political content of

the plays

• The Federal Theatre was accused of presenting "putrid plays" that were "spewed from the gutters of the Kremlinand . . . directed by Communists"

• Congress voted down the appropriation bill which would have funded the project for four more years

• The Federal Theatre closed June 30, 1939

Eugene O'Neill

1888-1953

• First American playwright to receive international recognition

• Son of James O'Neil

• 1916- "Bound East for Cardiff," is produced by the Provincetown Players

O’Neill’s Genres

• Expressionism: Emperor Jones (1920) and

The Hairy Ape (1922).

• Classic Tragedy: Mourning Becomes

Electra (1931),

• Comedy: Ah, Wilderness (1933)

• Realism: Long Day’s Journey Into Night (

1940 / 1957)

Autobiographical Play

• Long Day’s Journey

Into Night

• Written in 1940, but

not produced until

four years after his

death, in 1957

• Many consider it his

greatest drama

Awards

Four Pulitzer prizes

1. Beyond The Horizon (1920),

2. Anna Christie (1922),

3. Strange Interlude (1928)

4. Long Day’s Journey Into Night (1957)

1936 -- Nobel Price for Literature

Two major criticisms

1. His plays are long, often over 4 hours

2. Depressing

Thornton Wilder

1897-1975

• One of America’s

major playwrights

• Winner of 2 Pulitzer

Prizes for Drama: Our

Town (1938) and The

Skin of Our Teeth

(1942)

• Also won a Pulitzer for

The Bridge of San

Luis Rey (1928)

Our Town

• Wilder’s most

important work

• 3 days in the life of

George and Emily

• Performed on a bare

stage

• Narrator (Stage

Manager) is the

major character

The Matchmaker

1954• Began as The

Merchant of Yonkers (1938)

• Wilder added Dolly Levi, a matchmaker, in 1954

• Becomes Hello, Dolly! in 1964

Symbolist Designers

1. Adolph Appia (1862-1928) – Developed

theory of modern lighting

2. Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966)

Symbolist Design

• Scenery should be three dimensional

• Scenery should be non-literal, it should

evoke the feeling of place

Edward Gordon Craig:

The Scene (1907)

HamletAbstract Study

Hamlet @ MAT, 1908

Expressionism

• Audience sees the presentation through

the eyes of one of the characters

• The character’s view is usually distorted

• Works better in film and television than on

stage

• Most influential: The Box of Dr. Caligari

(1920 German film)

The Box of Dr Caligari