Harold Lang
Encyclopedia
Harold Lang was an American
dancer and actor
.
in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
two years later and American Ballet Theatre
(then called Ballet Theatre) in 1943. While at ABT, he originated rôles in Jerome Robbins
' Fancy Free and Interplay
, in addition to performing in ballets by George Balanchine
, David Lichine
, Léonide Massine and Antony Tudor
.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Lang moved from ballet to musical theater. He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston (1945), then had more success as a soloist in Three to Make Ready (1946) and Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948). Lang's first major rôle, however, was as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in the original production of Kiss Me, Kate
(1948) — although he did not always get along with composer Cole Porter
. His second major Broadway rôle was Joey in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey. Other Broadway appearances included Make a Wish
(1951), Shangri-La
(1956), Ziegfeld Follies of 1957, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale
(1962). Lang also toured as the Jester in Once Upon a Mattress
. In the long-running Kiss Me, Kate, Lang (as Bill) performed his showstopping solo number, "Bianca", and also performed "We Open in Venice" (as Lucentio) with Alfred Drake
(as Petruchio), Patricia Morison
(as Katharine) and Lisa Kirk
(as Bianca). Lang also performed "Tom, Dick or Harry
" (as Lucentio) with Edwin Clay (as Gremio), Charles Wood
(as Hortensio) and Lisa Kirk (as Bianca).
Although he appeared on television in the early 1950s, Lang made no commercial films. The New York Public Library
has archival films of Lang's work in Fancy Free and Interplay. He also portrayed John Sappington Marmaduke "Bubber" Dinwiddie, the brother of Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield in the Patrick Dennis
mock-bio First Lady. Both Arthur Laurents
and Gore Vidal
reported having affairs with Lang. From 1970 to his death in 1985, Lang was a professor of dance at California State University, Chico
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
dancer and actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
.
Biography
Lang began his professional career as a ballet dancer, making his professional debut with the San Francisco BalletSan Francisco Ballet
The San Francisco Ballet is a ballet company, founded in 1933 as the San Francisco Opera Ballet. The company is currently based in the War Memorial Opera House, San Francisco, under the direction of Helgi Tomasson. SFB is the first professional ballet company in the United States...
in 1938 and then going on to perform with the Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo
Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo was a ballet company created by members of the Ballets Russes de Monte-Carlo in 1938 after Léonide Massine and René Blum had a falling-out with the co-founder Wassily de Basil...
two years later and American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre
American Ballet Theatre , based in New York City, was one of the foremost ballet companies of the 20th century. It continues as a leading dance company in the world today...
(then called Ballet Theatre) in 1943. While at ABT, he originated rôles in Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins
Jerome Robbins was an American theater producer, director, and choreographer known primarily for Broadway Theater and Ballet/Dance, but who also occasionally directed films and directed/produced for television. His work has included everything from classical ballet to contemporary musical theater...
' Fancy Free and Interplay
Interplay (ballet)
Interplay is a ballet made by Jerome Robbins, subsequently balletmaster of New York City Ballet, for Billy Rose's Concert Varieties to Morton Gould's 1945 American Concertette...
, in addition to performing in ballets by George Balanchine
George Balanchine
George Balanchine , born Giorgi Balanchivadze in Saint Petersburg, Russia, to a Georgian father and a Russian mother, was one of the 20th century's most famous choreographers, a developer of ballet in the United States, co-founder and balletmaster of New York City Ballet...
, David Lichine
David Lichine
David Lichine / Дэвид Лишин was a Russian/French/US ballet dancer and choreographer; he was born as Давид Лихтенштейн David Lichtenštejn / David Lichtenstein ....
, Léonide Massine and Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor
Antony Tudor was an English ballet choreographer, teacher and dancer.-Biography:Tudor, born William Cook, discovered dance accidentally. He began dancing professionally with Marie Rambert in 1928, becoming general assistant for her Ballet Club the next year...
.
Beginning in the late 1940s, Lang moved from ballet to musical theater. He made his Broadway debut in the short-lived Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston (1945), then had more success as a soloist in Three to Make Ready (1946) and Look, Ma, I'm Dancin'! (1948). Lang's first major rôle, however, was as Bill Calhoun/Lucentio in the original production of Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate
Kiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(1948) — although he did not always get along with composer Cole Porter
Cole Porter
Cole Albert Porter was an American composer and songwriter. Born to a wealthy family in Indiana, he defied the wishes of his domineering grandfather and took up music as a profession. Classically trained, he was drawn towards musical theatre...
. His second major Broadway rôle was Joey in the 1952 revival of Pal Joey. Other Broadway appearances included Make a Wish
Make a Wish (musical)
Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
(1951), Shangri-La
Shangri-La (musical)
Shangri-La is a musical with a book and lyrics by James Hilton, Jerome Lawrence, and Robert E. Lee and music by Harry Warren.Based on Hilton's classic 1933 novel Lost Horizon, it focuses on Hugh Conway, a veteran member of the British diplomatic service, who stumbles across a utopian lamasery high...
(1956), Ziegfeld Follies of 1957, and I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale
I Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
(1962). Lang also toured as the Jester in Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress
Once Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway...
. In the long-running Kiss Me, Kate, Lang (as Bill) performed his showstopping solo number, "Bianca", and also performed "We Open in Venice" (as Lucentio) with Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake
Alfred Drake was an American actor and singer.-Biography:Born as Alfred Capurro in New York City, the son of parents emigrated from Recco, Genoa, Drake began his Broadway career while still a student at Brooklyn College...
(as Petruchio), Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison
Patricia Morison is an American stage and motion picture actress and mezzo-soprano singer . She made her feature film debut in 1939 after several years on the stage. During her time as a screen actress she was lauded for her patrician beauty, with her blue eyes and extremely long, dark hair among...
(as Katharine) and Lisa Kirk
Lisa Kirk
Lisa Kirk was an American actress and singer noted for her comic talents and rich contralto .-Career:...
(as Bianca). Lang also performed "Tom, Dick or Harry
Tom, Dick or Harry (song)
Tom, Dick or Harry is a show tune from the Cole Porter musical, Kiss Me, Kate, introduced on Broadway on December 30, 1948 by Lisa Kirk ; Harold Lang ; Edwin Clay ; and Charles Wood...
" (as Lucentio) with Edwin Clay (as Gremio), Charles Wood
Charles Wood (singer and actor)
Charles Wood was an American singer and actor. After moving to New York City from Redwood City, California, where he grew up, he appeared in five Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early years:...
(as Hortensio) and Lisa Kirk (as Bianca).
Although he appeared on television in the early 1950s, Lang made no commercial films. The New York Public Library
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library is the largest public library in North America and is one of the United States' most significant research libraries...
has archival films of Lang's work in Fancy Free and Interplay. He also portrayed John Sappington Marmaduke "Bubber" Dinwiddie, the brother of Martha Dinwiddie Butterfield in the Patrick Dennis
Patrick Dennis
Patrick Dennis was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes "Patrick" recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis...
mock-bio First Lady. Both Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents
Arthur Laurents was an American playwright, stage director and screenwriter.After writing scripts for radio shows after college and then training films for the U.S...
and Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal
Gore Vidal is an American author, playwright, essayist, screenwriter, and political activist. His third novel, The City and the Pillar , outraged mainstream critics as one of the first major American novels to feature unambiguous homosexuality...
reported having affairs with Lang. From 1970 to his death in 1985, Lang was a professor of dance at California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico
California State University, Chico is the second-oldest campus in the twenty-three-campus California State University system. It is located in Chico, California, about ninety miles north of Sacramento...
.
Stage appearances
- Fancy Free (April 18, 1944) (Metropolitan Opera House)
- Mr. Strauss Goes to Boston (September 6 - September 15, 1945) (Broadway)
- Three to Make Ready (March 7 - December 14, 1946) (Broadway)
- Look Ma, I'm Dancin'! (January 29 - July 10, 1948) (Broadway)
- Kiss Me, KateKiss Me, KateKiss Me, Kate is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It is structured as a play within a play, where the interior play is a musical version of William Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. The original production starred Alfred Drake, Patricia Morison, Lisa Kirk and Harold Lang.Kiss...
(cast member from December 30, 1948 - July 28, 1950, replaced by understudy Danny DanielsDanny DanielsDanny Daniels is an American choreographer, tap dancer, and teacher.Daniels was a featured dancer in several 1940s Broadway musicals, including Billion Dollar Baby, Street Scene, and Kiss Me, Kate; although he continued performing during the 1950s and after, including a tour with the Agnes de Mille...
when show moved to Shubert TheatreShubert Theatre (Broadway)The Shubert Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 225 West 44th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York, United States.Designed by architect Henry Beaumont Herts, it was named after Sam S. Shubert, the second oldest of the three brothers of the theatrical producing family...
) (Broadway) - Make a WishMake a Wish (musical)Make a Wish is a musical with a book by Preston Sturges and Abe Burrows, who was not credited, and music and lyrics by Hugh Martin.Based on Sturges' screenplay for the 1935 film The Good Fairy, which in turn is based on the play of the same name by Ferenc Molnár as translated by Jane Hinton, the...
(April 18 - July 14, 1951) (Broadway) - Pal Joey (January 3, 1952 - April 18, 1953; 1954) (Broadway, national tour and London)
- The Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your LifeThe Time of Your Life is a 1939 five-act play by American playwright William Saroyan. The play is the first drama to win both the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award. The play opened 25 October 1939 at the Booth Theatre in New York City...
(January 19 - January 30, 1955) (Broadway) - Ziegfeld Follies of 1957Ziegfeld FolliesThe Ziegfeld Follies were a series of elaborate theatrical productions on Broadway in New York City from 1907 through 1931. They became a radio program in 1932 and 1936 as The Ziegfeld Follies of the Air....
(March 1 - June 15, 1957) (Broadway) - Oklahoma!Oklahoma!Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(1959) (Dayton, OhioDayton, OhioDayton is the 6th largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Montgomery County, the fifth most populous county in the state. The population was 141,527 at the 2010 census. The Dayton Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 841,502 in the 2010 census...
) - Once Upon a MattressOnce Upon a MattressOnce Upon a Mattress is a musical comedy with music by Mary Rodgers, lyrics by Marshall Barer and book by Jay Thompson, Dean Fuller, and Marshall Barer. It opened off-Broadway in May 1959, and then moved to Broadway...
(1960-1961) (national tour) - I Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You WholesaleI Can Get It for You Wholesale is a musical with music and lyrics by Harold Rome and a book by Jerome Weidman based on his 1937 novel of the same title. It marked the Broadway debut of 19-year-old Barbra Streisand, who was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in...
(March 22 - December 8, 1962) (Broadway) - Song of NorwaySong of NorwaySong of Norway is an operetta written in 1944 by Robert Wright and George Forrest, adapted from the music of Edvard Grieg and the book by Milton Lazarus and Homer Curran...
(1963) (Warren, OhioWarren, OhioAs of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
) - Show BoatShow BoatShow Boat is a musical in two acts with music by Jerome Kern and book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. It was originally produced in New York in 1927 and in London in 1928, and was based on the 1926 novel of the same name by Edna Ferber. The plot chronicles the lives of those living and working...
(1963) (Milwaukee) - Little MeLittle Me (musical)Little Me is a musical written by Neil Simon, with music by Cy Coleman and lyrics by Carolyn Leigh. The original Broadway production was memorable with Sid Caesar in multiple roles with multiple stage accents playing all of the heroine's husbands and lovers...
(1964) (Gaithersburg, MarylandGaithersburg, MarylandGaithersburg is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. The city had a population of 59,933 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest incorporated city in the state, behind Baltimore, Frederick, and Rockville...
) - No StringsNo StringsNo Strings is a musical drama with a book by Samuel A. Taylor and words and music by Richard Rodgers, his only Broadway score written without a collaborator. The musical opened on Broadway in 1962 and ran for 580 performances...
(1964) (Gaithersburg, Maryland) - The Decline and Fall of the Entire World as Seen Through the Eyes of Cole Porter Revisited (1965) (Off-Broadway)
- The Gershwin Years (1973) (national tour)
Further reading
- Bayles-Yeager, Danni. Harold Lang: If He Asked Me, I Could Write a Book. Canada: Trafford Publishing, n.d. ISBN 1-4120-7135-6