Hassard Short
Encyclopedia
Hubert Edward Hassard Short (1877–1956), usually known as Hassard Short, was an actor, stage director, set designer and lighting designer
in musical theatre
who directed over 50 Broadway
and West End
shows between 1920 and 1953. He has been described as "one of Broadway's greatest directors and lighting designers" by theatre historian Ken Bloom
, and as a "groundbreaking director and choreographer" by John Kenrick
.
After 25 years acting on stage and in films, Short turned to directing and designing in 1920. He made many innovations in stage lighting and design, including the first permanent lighting bridge (Music Box Revue
, 1921) and first the use of a revolving stage
in a Broadway musical (The Band Wagon
, 1931). He continued to direct until 1952.
, the elder son of Edward Hassard Short and Geraldine Rachel Blagrave.
He began his theatrical career as an actor in England in 1895 before moving to New York City
in 1901, where he continued to appear on stage until 1919. He also acted in five films between 1917 and 1921, the last being Woman's Place
.
around 1920; a short piece in The New York Times
in July that year announced "his intention of becoming a vaudeville
impresario
on a large scale", as well as his appointment by producer Joseph Weber
as director of the operetta Honeydew. In this production an electrician operated overhead spotlights above the stage from a bosun's chair
, the first of Short's many innovations in stage lighting.
His first major hits as a stage director came with the series of Music Box Revue
s from 1921–23, which showcased Irving Berlin
's songs. As well as innovative lighting, he included mechanical effects such as moving stages and elevators, though these were not received with universal approval: the critic Gilbert Seldes
complained that "Hassard Short, confusing the dynamics of the theatre with mere hoisting power, moves everything that can be moved except the audience."
Short adapted well to the more limited budgets of the 1930s by staging revues, including many collaborations with producer Max Gordon
and choreographer Albertina Rasch
. In Three's a Crowd (1930), he dispensed with footlights for the first time on the New York stage by attaching lights to the balcony railing. He staged the groundbreaking 1931 revue The Band Wagon
on double revolving turntables, allowing rapid scene changes. His opulent staging of The Great Waltz
(1934), financed by John D. Rockefeller
, was an exception to the tightened purse-strings of the time and confounded many critics by becoming a hit in both New York and London.
His wartime
hits included Lady in the Dark
(1941), Something for the Boys
(1943) and Carmen Jones
(1943). Short continued to work into his seventies: he staged a successful revival of Show Boat
in 1948, and the last show he worked on was My Darlin' Aida, which opened in 1952.
era, Short enjoyed a long-lasting relationship with Billy Ladd, a former chorus dancer.
Lighting designer
The role of the lighting designer within theatre is to work with the director, choreographer, set designer, costume designer, and sound designer to create an overall 'look' for the show in response to the text, while keeping in mind issues of visibility, safety and cost...
in musical theatre
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
who directed over 50 Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
shows between 1920 and 1953. He has been described as "one of Broadway's greatest directors and lighting designers" by theatre historian Ken Bloom
Ken Bloom
Ken Bloom is a New York-based theatre historian, playwright, director, record producer, and author.He began his theatre career in the mid-70s at the New Playwrights Theatre of Washington. With some friends, Bloom co-founded the ASTA theatre. That company became the basis for New Playwrights...
, and as a "groundbreaking director and choreographer" by John Kenrick
John Kenrick (theatre writer)
John Kenrick is an American author, teacher and theatre and film historian. Kenrick is an adjunct teacher of musical theatre history at New York University, Brind School – University of the Arts and The New School, and lectures frequently on the subject elsewhere...
.
After 25 years acting on stage and in films, Short turned to directing and designing in 1920. He made many innovations in stage lighting and design, including the first permanent lighting bridge (Music Box Revue
Music Box Revue
Music Box Revue was a musical theatre revue with music by Irving Berlin. Featuring contributions from a number of writers including Robert Benchley, it debuted at the Music Box Theatre in 1921, where it ran for 440 performances.-References:...
, 1921) and first the use of a revolving stage
Revolving stage
A revolving stage is a mechanically controlled platform within a theatre that can be rotated in order to speed up the changing of a scene within a show...
in a Broadway musical (The Band Wagon
The Band Wagon (musical)
For the film, see The Band WagonThe Band Wagon is a musical revue with book by George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz, lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances...
, 1931). He continued to direct until 1952.
Early life
Short was born in Edlington, Lincolnshire into the English landed gentryLanded gentry
Landed gentry is a traditional British social class, consisting of land owners who could live entirely off rental income. Often they worked only in an administrative capacity looking after the management of their own lands....
, the elder son of Edward Hassard Short and Geraldine Rachel Blagrave.
He began his theatrical career as an actor in England in 1895 before moving to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1901, where he continued to appear on stage until 1919. He also acted in five films between 1917 and 1921, the last being Woman's Place
Woman's Place
- Cast :*Constance Talmadge ... Josephine Gerson*Kenneth Harlan ... Jim Bradley*Hassard Short ... Freddy Bleeker*Florence Short ... Amy Bleeker*Ina Rorke ... Mrs. Margaret Belknap...
.
Directing and stagecraft career
Short decided to give up acting in favour of directing and stagecraftStagecraft
Stagecraft is a generic term referring to the technical aspects of theatrical, film, and video production. It includes, but is not limited to, constructing and rigging scenery, hanging and focusing of lighting, design and procurement of costumes, makeup, procurement of props, stage management, and...
around 1920; a short piece in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
in July that year announced "his intention of becoming a vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
impresario
Impresario
An impresario is a person who organizes and often finances concerts, plays or operas; analogous to a film producer in filmmaking, television production and an angel investor in business...
on a large scale", as well as his appointment by producer Joseph Weber
Joe Weber (vaudevillian)
Joe Weber born Joseph Morris Weber was a vaudevillian who, along with Lew Fields, formed the comedy team of Weber and Fields....
as director of the operetta Honeydew. In this production an electrician operated overhead spotlights above the stage from a bosun's chair
Bosun's chair
A bosun's chair or boatswain's chair is a device used to suspend a person from a rope to perform work aloft. It is distinguished from a climbing harness by the inclusion of a more or less rigid seat, providing more comfort than even the best-padded straps for long-term use...
, the first of Short's many innovations in stage lighting.
His first major hits as a stage director came with the series of Music Box Revue
Music Box Revue
Music Box Revue was a musical theatre revue with music by Irving Berlin. Featuring contributions from a number of writers including Robert Benchley, it debuted at the Music Box Theatre in 1921, where it ran for 440 performances.-References:...
s from 1921–23, which showcased Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin
Irving Berlin was an American composer and lyricist of Jewish heritage, widely considered one of the greatest songwriters in American history.His first hit song, "Alexander's Ragtime Band", became world famous...
's songs. As well as innovative lighting, he included mechanical effects such as moving stages and elevators, though these were not received with universal approval: the critic Gilbert Seldes
Gilbert Seldes
Gilbert Vivian Seldes was an American writer and cultural critic. He was editor and drama critic of The Dial. He also hosted the NBC television program The Subject is Jazz....
complained that "Hassard Short, confusing the dynamics of the theatre with mere hoisting power, moves everything that can be moved except the audience."
Short adapted well to the more limited budgets of the 1930s by staging revues, including many collaborations with producer Max Gordon
Max Gordon (producer)
Max Gordon was an American theatre and film producer. His credits included My Sister Eileen, which he produced both on stage and on film.-Biography:...
and choreographer Albertina Rasch
Albertina Rasch
Albertina Rasch was a naturalized American dancer and choreographer.-Early life:Born in Vienna in 1891 to a family of Polish Jewish descent, Rasch studied at the Vienna State Opera Ballet school and became leading ballerina at the New York Hippodrome in...
. In Three's a Crowd (1930), he dispensed with footlights for the first time on the New York stage by attaching lights to the balcony railing. He staged the groundbreaking 1931 revue The Band Wagon
The Band Wagon (musical)
For the film, see The Band WagonThe Band Wagon is a musical revue with book by George S. Kaufman and Howard Dietz, lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz. It first played on Broadway in 1931, running for 260 performances...
on double revolving turntables, allowing rapid scene changes. His opulent staging of The Great Waltz
The Great Waltz
The Great Waltz is a musical conceived by Hassard Short with a book by Moss Hart and lyrics by Desmond Carter, using themes by Johann Strauss I and Johann Strauss II. It is based on a pasticcio by Erich Wolfgang Korngold and Julius Bittner called Walzer aus Wien, first performed in Vienna in 1930...
(1934), financed by John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller
John Davison Rockefeller was an American oil industrialist, investor, and philanthropist. He was the founder of the Standard Oil Company, which dominated the oil industry and was the first great U.S. business trust. Rockefeller revolutionized the petroleum industry and defined the structure of...
, was an exception to the tightened purse-strings of the time and confounded many critics by becoming a hit in both New York and London.
His wartime
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
hits included Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark
Lady in the Dark is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis...
(1941), Something for the Boys
Something for the Boys
Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.-Productions:...
(1943) and Carmen Jones
Carmen Jones
Carmen Jones is a 1943 Broadway musical starring Muriel Smith in the title role, later made into a 1954 musical film; the play also ran for a season in 1991 at London's Old Vic and most recently in London's Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre in 2007. It is an updating of the Georges Bizet...
(1943). Short continued to work into his seventies: he staged a successful revival of Show Boat
Show Boat
Show 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...
in 1948, and the last show he worked on was My Darlin' Aida, which opened in 1952.
Private life
A homosexual in a closetedCloseted
Closeted and in the closet are metaphors used to describe lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning and intersex people who have not disclosed their sexual orientation or gender identity and aspects thereof, including sexual identity and sexual behavior.-Background:In late 20th...
era, Short enjoyed a long-lasting relationship with Billy Ladd, a former chorus dancer.
Productions
Among the more notable productions that Short staged are the following (original productions unless stated otherwise):| Title | Opened in |
|---|---|
| Music Box Revue Music Box Revue Music Box Revue was a musical theatre revue with music by Irving Berlin. Featuring contributions from a number of writers including Robert Benchley, it debuted at the Music Box Theatre in 1921, where it ran for 440 performances.-References:... |
1921 |
| Sunny Sunny (musical) Sunny is a musical with music by Jerome Kern and a libretto by Oscar Hammerstein II and Otto Harbach. The plot involves Sunny, the star of a circus act, who falls for a rich playboy, but comes in conflict with his snooty family... |
1925 |
| 1931 | |
| As Thousands Cheer As Thousands Cheer As Thousands Cheer is a revue with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Irving Berlin, first performed in 1933. The revue contained satirical sketches and witty or poignant musical numbers, several of which became standards, including "Heat Wave", "Easter Parade" and "Harlem on my Mind." ... |
1933 |
| 1934 | |
| Jubilee Jubilee (musical) Jubilee is a musical comedy with a book by Moss Hart and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. It premiered on Broadway in 1935 to rapturous reviews. Inspired by the recent silver jubilee of King George V of Great Britain, the story is of the royal family of a fictional European country... |
1935 |
| Between the Devil Between the Devil Between the Devil is a musical comedy with book and lyrics by Howard Dietz and music by Arthur Schwartz.-Production and background:The musical opened in pre-Broadway tryouts in New Haven and Philadelphia in October 1937. The original plot had the leading man, Jack Buchanan, as an Englishman who... |
1937 |
| 1939 | |
| Lady in the Dark Lady in the Dark Lady in the Dark is a musical with music by Kurt Weill, lyrics by Ira Gershwin and book and direction by Moss Hart. It was produced by Sam Harris. The protagonist, Liza Elliott, is the unhappy female editor of a fashion magazine, Allure, who is undergoing psychoanalysis... |
1941 |
| Banjo Eyes Banjo Eyes Banjo Eyes is a musical based on the play Three Men on a Horse by John Cecil Holm and George Abbott. It has a book by Joseph Quinlan and Izzy Ellinson, music by Vernon Duke, and lyrics by John La Touche and Harold Adamson.... |
1941 |
| Something for the Boys Something for the Boys Something for the Boys is a musical with music and lyrics by Cole Porter and a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields. Produced by Mike Todd, the show opened on Broadway in 1943 and starred Ethel Merman in her fifth Cole Porter musical.-Productions:... |
1943 |
| Carmen Jones Carmen Jones Carmen Jones is a 1943 Broadway musical starring Muriel Smith in the title role, later made into a 1954 musical film; the play also ran for a season in 1991 at London's Old Vic and most recently in London's Royal Festival Hall in the Southbank Centre in 2007. It is an updating of the Georges Bizet... |
1943 |
| Mexican Hayride Mexican Hayride (musical) Mexican Hayride is a musical with a book by Herbert Fields and Dorothy Fields and music and lyrics by Cole Porter. The show opened on Broadway in 1944.-Production:... |
1944 |
| Marinka Marinka Marinka is an operetta by Hungarian composer Emmerich Kálmán with book by George Marion, Jr. and Karl Farkas, and lyrics by George Marion, Jr. The operetta is a retelling of the story of the Mayerling incident, but with a happy ending replacing the infamous 1889 double suicide of Austrian Crown... |
1945 |
| Show Boat Show Boat Show 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... (revival) |
1946 |
Further reading
- Sederholm, Jack Paul (1974). The musical directing career and stagecraft contributions of Hassard Short, 1919-1952 (Dissertation, 621 pages). ETD Collection for Wayne State UniversityWayne State UniversityWayne State University is a public research university located in Detroit, Michigan, United States, in the city's Midtown Cultural Center Historic District. Founded in 1868, WSU consists of 13 schools and colleges offering more than 400 major subject areas to over 32,000 graduate and...
. Paper AAI7513386.