Academy Theatre
Encyclopedia
Academy Theatre is a drama anthology series that aired on NBC in 1949. It ran for eight weeks as the summer replacement for Chevrolet on Broadway.
, arranged for a production of Julius Caesar
to be broadcast to 14 cities nationwide. The play was performed by the Amherst College Masquers and directed by F. Curtis Canfield, a professor at Amherst and Director of Amherst's Kirby Theatre. The broadcast marked the first time that an entire play by Shakespeare aired on television.
During the following summer, Canfield (who would later become the first Dean of the Yale School of Drama
), again collaborated with NBC to bring a series of one-act plays to the network. Academy Theatre was the result.
During a sabbatical as an NBC producer, Canfield convinced the network to create Masterpiece Playhouse, one-hour productions of seven classic plays including Hedda Gabler
, Uncle Vanya
, and Othello
. Broadcast in 1950, each play was produced for the "heavy-budget" sum of $10,000.
Format
The series utilized a different cast each week who appeared in short works by established playwrights. The plays were broadcast live in 30-minute segments on Monday nights.Selected episodes
| Play Title | Playwright | Original airdate | Cast |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Stolen Prince | Dan Totheroh | August 1, 1949 | Shirley Dale, Ian MacDonald Ian MacDonald (actor) Ian MacDonald was an American actor and producer during the 1940s and 1950s. Some of his notable films included:* Warlock * The Lonesome Trail * Taza, Son of Cochise * Hiawatha... |
| Drums of Oude | Austin Strong | August 8, 1949 | Richard Newton |
| In the Shadow of the Glen In the Shadow of the Glen In the Shadow of the Glen is a one-act play written by Irish playwright J. M. Synge, first performed in Molesworth Hall, Dublin on October 8, 1903. It was the first play by Synge to be performed on stage... |
J.M. Synge | August 15, 1949 | Anne Jackson Anne Jackson Anne Jackson is an American actress of television, stage, and screen.-Life and career:Jackson, the youngest of three sisters, was born in Millvale, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Stella Germaine and John Ivan Jackson, a barber who ran a beauty parlor... |
| Summer Comes to the Diamond O | Robert Finch | August 29, 1949 | Jack Davis Jack Davis (actor) Jackie Davis , a native of Los Angeles, California, was an American child actor, notable for appearing in Hal Roach's Our Gang series. His sister Mildred Davis also acted; she appeared in Roach comedian Harold Lloyd's films as his leading lady... |
| Aria da Capo | Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay was an American lyrical poet, playwright and feminist. She received the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry, and was known for her activism and her many love affairs. She used the pseudonym Nancy Boyd for her prose work... |
September 5, 1949 | Michael Higgins Michael Higgins (actor) Michael Patrick Higgins was an American actor who appeared in film and on stage, and was best known for his role in the original Broadway production of Equus.-Early life:... |
Development
In April 1949, Charles R. Denny, NBC Executive Vice-President and a graduate of Amherst CollegeAmherst College
Amherst College is a private liberal arts college located in Amherst, Massachusetts, United States. Amherst is an exclusively undergraduate four-year institution and enrolled 1,744 students in the fall of 2009...
, arranged for a production of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar (play)
The Tragedy of Julius Caesar, also known simply as Julius Caesar, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. It portrays the 44 BC conspiracy against...
to be broadcast to 14 cities nationwide. The play was performed by the Amherst College Masquers and directed by F. Curtis Canfield, a professor at Amherst and Director of Amherst's Kirby Theatre. The broadcast marked the first time that an entire play by Shakespeare aired on television.
During the following summer, Canfield (who would later become the first Dean of the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
), again collaborated with NBC to bring a series of one-act plays to the network. Academy Theatre was the result.
During a sabbatical as an NBC producer, Canfield convinced the network to create Masterpiece Playhouse, one-hour productions of seven classic plays including Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler
Hedda Gabler is a play first published in 1890 by Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. The play premiered in 1891 in Germany to negative reviews, but has subsequently gained recognition as a classic of realism, nineteenth century theatre, and world drama...
, Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, and Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...
. Broadcast in 1950, each play was produced for the "heavy-budget" sum of $10,000.